How does a psu esplosion damage hardware?

0bAm3

Member
I have a nice computer but my psu is not name brand so im worried my computer will break in the case of an exposion. I want to know if the explosion itself would kill the components (fire or the bang) or will it send a jolt of electricity that breaks my computer. If it is the explosion that damages it then im fine because my case covers the psu as long with the psu’s own case but if its a jolt that destroys it then i need to change it immediatly but the problem is that i dont know how many watts my computer needs
 

_Pete_

Active Member
If it explodes ("fire or bang") it could destroy a lot more than your computer. That said if any power supply dies, frequently there is an initial power surge. Not even overload protection can always protect against this surge and other components get destroyed. I was an electronics engineer in a former life and it is surprising how often this happens even with the most sophisticated protection. The way a PSU works, very very basically, is that it takes mains voltage, 240 volts OR 110 volts and drops it to 12 volts and 5 volts to drive your computer. If that high voltage, or part of that high voltage, gets on to the low voltage side then the components that only want to see a low voltage will be destroyed.

As far as buying a PSU for your computer buy the one with the highest wattage rating you can afford your computer will only take what it needs. Also go for well known makes. But don't think that even expensive branded PSUs are indestructable, they are not. Your best, by far, protection is to ensure that all your IMPORTANT files are backed up somewhere else other than your computer.
 

_Glitch

Active Member
_Pete_
Yeah, it can be a bad day if that happens. I had a PSU at my previous school blow up. It required an electrician to fix some broken wirering on the roof.

i tried the calculator but i dont know the name of my hard drive or the number of all the leds in my case because some are being covered by a thick plastic. i need to open my case and deassemble a metal plate to see the hdd

If it's a physically spinning harddrive, just pick SATA 7.2K rpm.
And for the LED's just pick 15 leds. Makes little difference in the calculation.
 

0bAm3

Member
luckily im not at all worried about the data on my computer because most of the data is just steam downloads i dont have important files. what im worried about is my gpu or cpu getting damaged or destroyed. I get a small electric shock when i place my elbow on the corner of the outside of the case and touch my desk at the same time. it only shocks me on my elbow though.
i got offered this psu

https://www.amazon.com/EVGA-BRONZE-...01FYDU8X6/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8
 

_Pete_

Active Member
That smallshock you are getting is probably static electricity. that can, and does, destroy more electronic components than duff power supplies. Some people are more prone to static than others. The amount of static that is around you is also affected by things that furniture and carpets or what you are wearing are made of. If you are gong to be doing any work inside your computer you would be wise to have a look at anti-static procedures whilst working with electronic components such as GPUs and CPUs and other components for that matter.

Sorry about the waffle that goes on to nearly halfway through the video. But there are others vids there on this subject.


I don't know about the PSU. I only buy as cheap as chips. But I don't have high end stuff and I am not a gamer or anything. Someone else will have to hellp you with that.

None of these videos are me incidentally. I do not post anything on You Tube.
 
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