r/pcmasterrace • u/Front_Cookie_1198 • 1d ago

Hardware PSU fails dramatically

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57

u/ankor77 1d ago

OK I guess next time I build a PC Im plugging in the PSU outside of the system to test it first....

18

u/Papuszek2137 7800x3d | 5070ti | 64GB | 4k OLED 1d ago

Well you need a circuit to simulate the load also.

17

u/Only_Information7895 23h ago

Well if it explodes without a load then it will explode with a load on it.

But like this it won't melt the other components with the fire and the questionable voltages sent out.

4

u/Papuszek2137 7800x3d | 5070ti | 64GB | 4k OLED 22h ago

Well yeah but not exploding without a load doesn't guarantee the same under load.

2

u/jake04-20 21h ago edited 21h ago

I think they're just saying that if you want to do your full due diligence and test it prior to installing it, you would need a circuit on there to simulate some type of load being drawn to get a true test in. Not applicable to the person in the post, but that post is an example of a really rare edge case. At that point if you truly want to "test" it, you would need to jump pins, simulate a load, and test each power rail with a multi meter. Just simply plugging it in and not seeing fire is hardly a test.

I've converted old PSUs to work as a DC bench power supplies to charge my RC batteries, and they make ceramic load resistors that have a high internal resistance and can simulate a specified wattage of "usage". I installed one in my project for this purpose.

3

u/Meal__Team__Six 22h ago

Just use paper clips to short circuit all the pins, to simulate max load. 

Source: I’m an unlicensed electrician

4

u/Dangerous-League-812 23h ago

Some psus fortunately come with a tester piece

2

u/Otherwise_Patience47 21h ago

Really? How it looks like? Could you show us?

-4

u/Dangerous-League-812 21h ago

You really think I'm dumb enough to provide an image with Metadata on it? 😂

2

u/Otherwise_Patience47 21h ago

Uh…if you worry so much someone wants to find your location or whatever is that you are against (believe me, I know what you mean), you know there’s tools to purge the information from it, right? But ok, I’ll just ask Gemini instead. I hate AI, but for basic stuff like this, it is great.

1

u/Abacus118 18h ago

Good PSUs usually come with testing caps you can put on.

5

u/Megaranator GTX970 i7 860 Win 10 Pro 23h ago

It's always a good idea to test the system outside of the case cause it can be PITA to take out stuff afterwards

1

u/jake04-20 21h ago

The interesting part is the PSU needs the pins jumped on the 24 pin connector to simulate a PC is connected. This shouldn't have happened at all.

-1

u/Powerhouse_pr_ 1d ago

You are supposed to ALWAYS test it right away or you will be installing a dead PSU. Have fun with that one…