Ask Jacob
Using a British Desktop in the USA
Thursday, November 2, 2006 / Hardware
Can we use our British Apple Mac desktop computer in the USA? What do we need to make this possible? Liz Jagger
Voltage is the major difference between British and North American power. Most Mac towers will work with 120 volt or 240 volt power. Older G3 and G4 towers had a red voltage switch on the back next to the power cord plug in. Newer G4 towers, G5 towers, and Mac Pro systems have auto switching power supplies. Whichever tower you have will work as long as you have the proper American Power Cable (A-53162). You can get a new cable for less than $15. Some iMacs and other non-tower Macs will auto switch and others will not. For those units look on the case to see the power rating. All G3 and newer laptops will also work here provided you buy a replacement power cable.Good luck and welcome Stateside.






