Watched a client fry a $1,200 gaming rig with a cheap power supply last Tuesday

They saved $30 on a no-name PSU and it took out the motherboard and GPU in a single spark storm, how do people still not get that the power supply is the one part you never cheap out on?

2 comments

2 Comments

robin8361mo ago

I read somewhere that those cheap PSUs often lie about their actual wattage, like they'll slap a "750W" sticker on something that can barely handle 400W. The fire hazard part always gets me too, because a lot of those units don't have basic safety features like over-voltage protection. People always think "it's just a power supply, how bad can it be?" but it's literally the thing that GUARDS all your expensive parts from the wall power. That $30 "savings" just turned into a $1200 lesson for someone and I bet they'll never make that mistake again.

paul_webb451mo ago

Yeah no, they actually do have OVP sometimes. It's the build quality that's the real gamble though.