If they put 2x 12pin HighPower connectors and they wouldn't be burning up because each would be delivering just 300W. But they explicitely don't allow board partners to do it themselves, because NVIDIA is bunch of controlling assholes.

I, for one, would rather just see them use a couple of 2/0 AWG welding cables, bolted onto a 5mm copper plate on the board. If you need 200 amps, make it look like 200 amps.

In Europe, this is no biggie

I just saw a reputable 2400W kettle on a random online store for 50€

Looks like there are 3000W options too

With 2.4kw you can just use it as a space heater, and a strong one at that!

They could have just used normal 8 pin connectors in that case.

What about the rest of the computer though?

Oh! I knew European outlets operated at higher voltage, but I didn't know the standard circuits supported such high current. Jealous!

The real answer to the burning cables is to divide the wattage between the six wires on a single connector, which most of the 50-series cards don't do that. That results in ~15 amps across a single scorching cable.

I live in a 50 year old house. All the breakers are 16A, so 220V x 16A = 3.5kW

The electric sauna does three-phase @ 400V. My energy tracker usually peaks around 9.5kW when it's heating.

If they need 2x12pin connectors they could go with the standard mobo ATX24, stable, sturdy.. hell, at this (powerl) point they could just use a 220V cord.

3600W is the maximum a power socket is rated for and the fuse triggers at 3800W. So, cutting it pretty close.

PCI bus bar on top.

Most are actually 230V which is even more at standard 16A, 3680W to be precise.

Countries that use 110V have so many weird limitations that we don't even know in Europe. For them, 230V is the "special" outlet for special purposes.

Nominally EU voltage is 230V, and may be 240V. In fact, it can be as high as 230V +10% = 253V. Higher voltage means more power for a given current, so nominally it's 16A x 230V = 3.68kW, but you could have say 16A x 250V = 4.0kW.

If your sauna is 400V then it sounds like you'll be 230V (400V / sqrt(3) = 230). But the voltage can also be 230V -6% = 216V, so 220V is within scope.

But yeah, standard voltages in the EU are either 230V/400V or 240V/415V. They've been harmogenised, but if you look at the numbers you'll see the trick - 230V +10% is roughly the same as 240V +6%. So the range is 230V-6% and 240V+6%.

You've got a 3 phase connection though so you might find you've got different single phase breakers on different phases (eg lights on one phase, sockets on another), with slightly different voltages for each one.

It's the same current but double the voltage

And wiring is typically rated for current limits not voltage (within reason). Some 12 gauge wire doesn't care if you're pushing 12V, 120V, or 240V but is only rated for 20A.

I wouldn’t use that kind of power continuously. AFAIK the sockets are supposed to handle 16A for at least six hours, when they are new. When charging your car on Schuko sockets it’s good practice to limit it to 10A and check for the socket temperature after a while. Also, any connections in the cabling can have increased resistance with age and heat up with heavy continuous use. That shouldn’t matter that much when running a kettle or toaster for a few minutes, but charging a car or gaming for hours can become a problem.

Are there many consumer PSU's with two ATX24 connectors? A quick search only shows Phanteks making one.

That's almost 1W per dollar!

The easiest way to think about it is that the conductor is rated for the current, and the insulator is rated for the voltage. Now, once you get into the nitty gritty, they're more intertwined than that, but it's close enough for a surface level explanation.