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LAN party from 2003
(files.catbox.moe)
The heat... The smell...
"...in you're LAN"
My second favorite Peter Gabriel song
Can you imagine the power bill after running all those CRTs? Damn.
Googling around it seems a 21" draws around 100W, which isn't as much as I thought; it's kinda a florescent light with more steps. A florescent backlit LCD doesn't use a whole lot less, and a modern 30-something inch LED backlit uses, as far as in an tell, about 1/3 that. So, for typical sized monitors, only ~70W more for CRT.
In contrast, the GPU wars mean that (I think?) power consumption in gaming desktops has gone up somewhat substantially
a 500W PSU was fairly beefy in 2003 (I think), whereas 1000W or more is pretty standard for a gaming computer now (obviously it's not drawing rated power, but assuming headroom % is roughly the same...).
My completely unsubstantiated guess would be that a LAN party setup as pictured would draw more power at idle, but a modern LAN party would draw more under load.
I know enough about power systems to know that we're going to hit a hard limit on how much max power we're going to be able to plumb into a computer soon.
A single North American power circuit is approximately 120v and limited to 15A. The numbers wiggle a little from place to place, I've seen many that are running 115v or even closer to 110v. The 15A limit is not quite accurate either, since it's not recommended to load a circuit more than 80% for any continuous load, so your realistic maximum continual draw would be around 12A.
Some newer homes are being built with 20A, but most homes are still generally using 15A breakers.
At 120v, on a 15A circuit, you shouldn't consistently pull more than 12A, or 1440W. The line will max out at 1800W when the breaker/fuse will start to trigger.
So as power supplies hit 1200 to 1400 watts, you'll need to ensure that nothing else on the circuit will draw any significant power. A few displays and whatnot are fine, but with a 1200w PSU, you can't exceed 240w of additional draw while operating within the recommendations.
There are a few solutions to this, the obvious one is move to 20A, which can draw 1920W within the recommended power draw for the circuit, so you could have an 1800w system and about 120w of additional items before hitting the recommended limits, and 480w of total overhead before the breaker goes. The downside is that such circuits require thicker cables in-wall (12awg when 14awg is far more common in homes).
One option I'm aware of that nobody seems to consider is that in NA, the power delivered to the home is approximately 240v split-phase. 240v is generally only used for things like stovetops and ranges, electric dryers, water heaters, resistive heating in forced air furnaces, and air conditioning/heat pump systems. Though, it is entirely possible to convert a simple outlet to 240v. To be safe, you will need to get new receptacles, but you can reuse the wires already in the wall for 240v. I believe the NEMA 6-15R is the one that's rated for 240v operation in NA, and it's not dissimilar to the standard NEMA 5-15R that is the typical "North American" receptacle. However, a standard plug (aka a NEMA 5-15P) will not fit into the 240v receptacle. Any outlets on the same circuit would need to be changed so a 120v only device does not get plugged into the 240v receptacle. You can wire it for 240v at 15A which can provide up to 2880W of power without rewiring the house.
The trick will be to find a NEMA 6-15P to C13 connection for the PC and peripherals, and double checking that they will accept 240v power (all monitors and whatnot need to be set up to accept 240v power). On older power supplies, this is a simple switch on the outside of the PSU, though newer units will be switched, so they will detect the input power automatically.
I'm not recommending anyone does that, but if you do, talk to an electrician to ensure you're complying will all local ordinances.
Despite that, it is an option that most don't seem to consider.
Personally, I need to have some rewiring done in my residence and I'm going to see if I can get a dedicated 240v 20A single receptacle circuit installed for my computer, with the appropriate receptacles and everything.
To note: most 240v connections also have a neutral line (like what you would find with an oven or dryer), which the NEMA 6 receptacles do not have, they are 240v only. This, along with the fact that most 240v receptacles are rated for 30A+, makes them generally very large. The NEMA 6-15R and NEMA 6-20R are the 15/20A versions of 240v AFAIK, and they're not really any larger than a standard receptacle.
I never even thought about that. So we're back to having a dedicated appliance circuit installed, just like microwaves back in the 1980's.
And the idea of running a 240v outlet to my PC? I already need one installed for the car. May as well do both at once now. I'm gonna need a bigger breaker box.
Oh, and Technology Connections did a video a while back that touched on having a "smart panel" to work around limited house service power. In it, I learned that not everyone is wired for 100A and have 50A instead. And the neighborhood itself may be limited in how many folks can upgrade to 100A. So, some people are going to hit that wall with power-hungry devices like EVs and 1.5+ kilowatt PCs. IIRC, electrical codes limit how many more circuits you can add before you're "maxed out", regardless of how much total power draw you typically have for the whole house.
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Also efficiency.
All PSUs have efficiency curves and are rated differently. You can't always trust the published numbers either.
Your 750W PSU might pull closer to 937W from the wall when you're asking it for a full load, if it's rated at 80% efficiency. Those ratings are not linear though and usually have a sweet spot around 80% of max load.
I.e. It will be most efficient at around 600W (80% of the 750W max load). At higher loads it will be even worse, possibly drawing closer to 1000W from the wall.
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Oh yeah, modern PCs use a lot of power under load, I was renovating the main room in my condo in the middle of Canadian winter and was keeping the place warm by having two PCs mining crypto since I didn't have a baseboard!
Key here is “under load.” When a computer is sitting idle nowadays it can use only tens of watts. My older computers often would burn 200w at all times just sitting there doing nothing.
wonder what that smelled like
exactly how it looks
Like someone threw thermal paste and hormones on a barbecue
With a dash of sour milk
In Louisiana ... in July ... with no air conditioning
I remember the static of those CRT's having a particular smell too
I went to a well air conditioned one of these and surprisingly I don't remember it being a big deal. Looking how people are dressed here though.... probably rough.
i can smell that room through my monitor, and 22 years later
What are they playing?
What's with all the shirtless people? We mostly kept our clothes on at our LAN parties.
I can imagine it's just really hot in there with the computers and monitors going.
I feel like aircon wasn't as common back then, especially strong enough to cool all of that
It's more likely it wouldn't be able to handle the number of people + PCs. They are sized for use, and they may be hitting the limit with just the people in there, then add the BTUs coming off all that hardware, and you've got yourself a sauna.
aircon wasn't as common back then
^ OP thinking 20-years ago was the 1960's. ;)
Maybe it is an Australian thing?
In 2009 the school I went to got aircon
I have lived in very few houses that have had aircon, if they did it was evaporative and near useless. The house I am currently in is getting aircon installed next week.
It might be hot in Australia, but mainly we just built houses with insolation and fly screens.
It would depend on the event hall. If it was in a warehouse like hall and in spring or fall, sure you'd keep your shirt on.
If it was in a event hall with a lower ceiling, carpet on the floor and just some form of insulation it'd get crazy hot really fast. Because on top of thousands of PC's there'd be thousands of people too. In summer it'd be even crazier. I definitely remember going shirtless at some of those lans.
all plugged into one janky power strip.
I think I was going to the wrong lan parties in the 90s because we all kept our shirts on, even when it was hot.
Remember the smell at your parties? Imagine the smell here
(Not hating, I was there too, wouldn't trade it for the world, but I would be ok with a little febreeze and Old Spice)
I do, and I remember buying people deodorant as a hint. It never worked.
You can tell this is AI because there are girls there
I see we are also telling jokes from 2003.
Let me tell you about chuck Norris...
Just living in the moment, not a phone in sight.
Is that Tom in front of the construction lights?
I recognise almost all of those tower cases and had a couple myself.
Had MIDI parties in the 90s cuz we didn't have network cards yet. Just one big ring of machines all daisy chained together with MIDI cables. And it was awesome.
Only person with a top is a woman haha
AC system prolly couldn't handle all that heat!
Fuck yeah.
I’m amazed at how few flat screens there are. Probably not yet good enough for gaming.
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this post was submitted on 28 May 2024
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