Is this safe?

[darklink5510]

Today I was at a surplus store and noticed that they were selling PSU's, they were 400w and were only $25. I was going to buy one when the sudden thought came to me "Is this even safe to use?" as I noticed that the metal looked very cheap and all the other parts looked low quality (ie. fans, grill, and case looked low quality), however the plugs looked safe. They were also being sold in sealed plastic because they were bought in boxes of 20 or something so they didn't even come with instructions and were poorly labled.

I was wondering if anyone thinks these things are even safe to use.
P.S. I would just use it test to see my original PSU was broken or my mother board was.

 

[hunter315]

They were probably super low quality then, probably some cheap chinese knockoff of raidmax PSUs which have a habit of blowing themselves up. I certainly wouldnt get one of the cheapo PSUs, it likely isnt safe.

But if you are going to get a cheapo PSU get this one
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817152032
That is the power supply used in this video,
http://www.corsair.com/cinema/movie.aspx?id=622747
atleast you know that your $25 will buy you some fireworks with that one

 

[JohnnyLucky]

ROFLMAO

 

[505090]

is it a good idea no

does it work yes

 

[jsc]

Hey, at least the fan grill is a separate piece instead of being punched out of the metal on the back panel.

 

[randomkid]

For testing purpose, the $25 should be good enough.

Heck, I got a $10 450w PSU ( but stating 230w true power ) powering up an X2 5200+ and 9500GT (plus all standard PC components) for some 6 months. Still running fine even with the 5200+ OC'd from 2.7Ghz to 3.2Ghz. Don't worry guys, its a "ready to throw away" rig. I just want to know what will happen to the PC if the PSU explodes so I can help answer those post asking for same questions with first hand experience...

 

[huron]

I would not trust anything critical to a PSU like that - it can do some serious damage if it does not function properly due to poor/cheap construction. People may have OK experiences, but I wouldn't trust my equipment to something like that.

 

[darklink5510]

Well guys thanks for all the great input had a feeling most of you would say no to being a good idea, hope to get more post.

To hunter: Ya I thought the PSU would be like cheap fireworks but the plan was to use it just one for a test rig and find out which part of my comp is broken because I have replacements for every part of my comp except a PSU.

 

[randomkid]

darklink, just go for it... the problem with generic PSU is that they are mislabeling the power rating. Because of this the uninformed user load it beyond what can really be handled and therefore the PSU overloads and dies in some cases taking some other components along with it.

Some generic PSU manufacturer like Powerlogic has been honest enough to put "true power" rating so while they sell the product with 450w model, they put the true rated power to only 230w. Gives you enough guide.

I have checked for any statistics in the web for generic power supply failure in the market and have been reading forum discussions about I never heard a regular user suffer from generic PSU failure more than from a branded one. It all depends on the use. In your case, I think to use the $25 PSU just for one time testing should be fine. Heck, you may even use it to build up your other components into a full PC for moderate use.

 

[darklink5510]

Thanks randomkid, and I think I will use it for my test and see where it goes whether it kills my test computer or not. (maybe I should do it outside instead of my basement in case something does go wrong and some cheap fireworks go off)

 

[darklink5510]

i now ask the question, should there be a best anwser and if so who?

 

[cjl]

Even when running at a perfectly reasonable load, the voltages and ripples may be out of spec, so I wouldn't use it with any components that you would mind destroying.

 

[randomkid]

i now ask the question, should there be a best anwser and if so who?

Ha ha ha... this is totally up to you...

 

[505090]

Ha ha ha... this is totally up to you...

and that would be why this ranking system is a joke, FYI most peopel pick the first person to answer them regardless of if they right or not

 

[randomkid]

and that would be why this ranking system is a joke, FYI most peopel pick the first person to answer them regardless of if they right or not

I disagree. The ranking system is sound and certainly serve its purpose if put to good use. But like any system, it can be abused. However, the defect is not in the ranking system but in the people who abuse it or misuse it. I know what you mean when people pick totally nonsense answers but it is up to them. If I saw anything like that I just paste the post to this:

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/forum2.php?config=tomshardwareus.inc&cat=65&post=34&page=1&p=1&sondage=0&owntopic=1&trash=0&trash_post=0&print=0&numreponse=0&quote_only=0&new=0&nojs=0

 

[darklink5510]

Easy people, I want your opoin on who gave the best awnser for I am no expert and wouldn't know who gave the best anwser

 

[505090]

well i gave the best answer of course..

but seriously it really is a matter of opinion, so pick whoever provided you with the most information on the subject

 

[huron]

Agreed - give it to the person who gave you the most relevant information.

It's no big deal - it's always nice to get the "best answer," but that's really up to you - it's all about who helped you the most.

 

[darklink5510]

Alright as long as there won't be any hard feeelings about it, I've had it when i picked the best anwser everyone complained about it.

 

[darklink5510]

Best answer selected by darklink5510.