I recently had an issue with another person regarding a PSU. I tested it in a system that was complete but rather lightweight, and probably did not come anywhere near loading it to its capacity of 1200 watts. The other person tried to use it, and told me that it failed the first day; that he had it repaired; and that after the repair it failed again the first day. He demanded to know whether I had tested it under full load (I had not) and for how long (not very long).
Unfortunately the communication was rather adversarial, so I didn't get any more information than that, and I'm not in a position to ask for more.
My question: how realistic is this scenario? If a 1200 watt PSU gives no signs of trouble when tested for a few minutes with a load of 200 or 300 watts, is it reasonable to count on it working over the long run under full load? Or do I really have to test it under full load, or over much longer period of time, or both?
Unfortunately the communication was rather adversarial, so I didn't get any more information than that, and I'm not in a position to ask for more.
My question: how realistic is this scenario? If a 1200 watt PSU gives no signs of trouble when tested for a few minutes with a load of 200 or 300 watts, is it reasonable to count on it working over the long run under full load? Or do I really have to test it under full load, or over much longer period of time, or both?