PSA: Don’t open a PSU. It’s dangerous and can kill you. There is nothing inside to service or upgrade.
PSA: Don’t open a PSU. It’s dangerous and can kill you. There is nothing inside to service or upgrade.
34 Comments
Says the people that don’t want you to find the $2000 in gold in every PSU.
This place is not a place of honor.
It’s a mistake one makes only once.
You will have to oil that fan sooner or later anyway, there is no avoiding it.
Watching your screwdriver embed itself in the ceiling, and hearing the thundercrack as you short the capacitor, is the best feeling. Who needs eyebrows, anyway?
what about the fan
But can I stick a bunch of paper clips in the side and repair it like a ship in a bottle?
Are you a ghost?
For real though, I guess this needs to be said. Saw a post few months ago with 5-6 people telling someone to clean the caps on the high side with rubbing alcohol.
I’ve pretty much opened and modified every single PSU I’ve ever owned. Has not killed me yet as far as I know.
Also, don’t stick your dick in a plug socket.
You know, obvious common sense.
Darwinism award incoming for anyone dumb enough to even consider that 😅
Taking the correct steps to prevent damage or self harm to one self when working on a PSU I would rope it in similar hazard to people working on CRT Monitors/TVs, keep it/you in good isolation from any ground, use plastic/non conductive tools while working on one, verify in a safe manner that the capacitors are discharged, and by any means, use a multimeter to check points all around if there is any chance there may be any remaining charge. This is purely for someone who knows EXACTLY what they are doing, OP is right in the sense of it is extremely dangerous and can kill you, I have a scenario where a 1300W PSU with custom cables might be worth probing around to see where the failure point is, specifically after it was shipped across country when it worked prior. I do not expect to find the exact cause since it was so subtle in how it died, but I’d call this an “exploratory surgery” if you will, seeing how an Antec HCP 1300 died.
That’s what a PSU manufacturer that wants me to buy another one would say…
You must be that guy who sold the other guy the PSU with an extra weight inside.
I was helping a friend build a pc though a voice chat. He’s putting in his psu so I can’t he can’t fuck that up so I go afk. I come back and he started dismantling the damn power supply. Thankfully didn’t touch the funny coil
I mean, if you unplug them and be careful when opening you can take a look inside, just remember how to put it together again.
Lmao, this sub is turning into some npc-forum. Post a picture of a PSU in here and half the sub is foaming from the mouth in unison while they’re trying to decide which reply out of three to use: Its dangerous, your going to die or never open a psu.
I once screwed in a light bulb all by myself so I’m basically an electrician. I’ll be fine!
I’d open any PSU that I’m unsure of the warranty status to clean dusts off, or occasionally failing fan. Most important thing is to discharge the unit before disassembly.
I’d advocate for an informed procedure for those into tinkering or just curious, but well gatekeeping is easier than educating.
but but…..its the best way to improvise a claymore! /s
My PSU opened itself, and I was shocked that it was heading towards me to shock me.
But I want to eat those big old cruncy capacitors.
Jokes on you, I’ve always wanted to be a lightbulb.
But I need to find out if there is iron filings in my PSU.
I have replaced the fan in a couple PSUs. I survived.
I definitely opened a couple of psus. But not once thinking of using it again.
I opened one up when I was a kid messing around with old components. Lucky I didn’t hurt myself.
Natural selection
Any device still connected to mains can kill you. As for PSU itself… well, if it is well made then it has discharge resistors and will be totally safe in a minute. If you get shocked it is too short duration to harm you, it is still very unpleasant and i do not recommend; the scare you get is more dangerous, you can have a panic attack since it will make your heart race because of all the adrenaline that floods your body.
But, if you don’t know what is inside, why are you opening it? Curiosity is not a good reason, the likelihood of you breaking it is high. Those of us that know what they are doing are scared enough to have proper respect and know the safety precautions, those who don’t.. don’t know where the dangers are.
And i say again: getting zapped by a large capacitor FUCKING SUCKS!! I rather get shocked by 240V mains than cap. You see a flash of white light while your muscles contract and then comes the adrenaline. It really, really sucks. The larger it is, the more scared you need to be. And if it is so big that you could kill if you throw it at someone, those can certainly kill you. The amount of energy stored inside is serious business.
But the capacitors taste soo good, like sour candy
Really? I worked with high energy electronics for twenty years.
Ran RF equipment that could literally cook your insides.
Have a NASA specification training advanced soldering.
Have taken apart and reassembled power supplies that produced hundreds of amps of current and tested and repaired high voltage power supplies we had to isolate in inch thick polycarbonate safety shields and adjust with fiberglass tools.
And you are telling me not to open my PC’s power supply because it will kill me?
If I want to take the time and effort to fix my PC’s power supply I will. Please don’t play the nanny state for my benefit.
This is what enermax said to me when I wanted to buy a replacement fan from them, because the original died. So I had to buy a new PSU and blacklist enermax forever (intentional used custom fan).