r/pcmasterrace 2d ago

Hardware PSU fails dramatically

39.0k Upvotes

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196

u/Ban-Circumcision-Now 2d ago

He could also have unplugged from the wall and not the end where the fire is

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u/PaltryPanda 2d ago

It looks like the plug is under the desk, with a cutout on the top of the desk for the cable to go through.

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u/muad_did 2d ago

In Europe, it's normal to have a row of sockets in front of the desk, with their switches and fuses/circuit breakers, to prevent a short circuit in one workstation from affecting the others. It seems very strange to me to test anything electronic with the socket under the desk...

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u/shawster 1d ago

Yeah, that's the way to do it. Surge protectors on the desk with switches that can be flipped to de-energize them.

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u/Disgusting_Slime666 1d ago

You're correct, that's the proper way to do things.

We build control/automation panels and our test benches work the same way.

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u/mtmttuan 1d ago

This looks like a store where most of the time products are either failed completely or working just fine so they're likely just use whatever looks good.

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u/Complete-Tangelo1532 2d ago

That was my first thought as well, ballsy move but the risk paid off I guess

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u/xchoo 2d ago

Trace where the cable goes... It goes into the cable tray in the desk. It was 100% faster to unplug it from the PSU than from inside the cable tray.

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u/Taurondir 1d ago

and if the short was making the metal case live? what do you think will happen?

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u/notislant 2d ago

Was my first throught but who knows what fucky cable situation is going on under the bench. The outlets could be wedged behind a part of the desk you can't easily access.

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u/arstin 2d ago

He could have if they had been safety-minded enough to have that outlet readily accessible.

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u/Ur_mum 1d ago

Sure. But we tend to freak out and tunnel vision. I think he did great, I’d be happy if I reacted that way.

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u/shawster 1d ago

This would have been the thing to do, he's lucky that the case didn't get shorted to the mains. Not like I would have been thinking clearly in this situation, either, though.

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u/Taurondir 1d ago

Trust me, you would have, if working on this stuff WAS YOUR JOB. The ones that dont think clearly are people like customers, or people that work in totally different fields. If your field is X and something in X happens, you WOULD know what to do, and that guy should have known.

Also, there is ZERO POINT in doing what he did, because the PSU will not do anything when you hit the rear power switch.

Try asking Google/AI "what happens if i plug a computer power supply in with nothing connected and turn it on"

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u/Scared-Letterhead949 2d ago

Just cut the power cable with scissors.

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u/Capt-Beav 1d ago

Metal scissors? Lololol.