What's the worst that could happen if you use generic PSU?

[obor]

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Ok, not everybody has deep pockets that could afford expensive branded PSU, so they opt for generic PSUs. I know most of you would say go for a branded PSU FTW! but lets get things into perspective and point out the reasons that warrants us to purchase a decent PSU.

Lets say you are on a budget, 20K more or less, you buy a mobo and plan to use an oboard PSU, RAM, HD, and everything else. Lastly, you buy a casing with generic 500W PSU and managed to squeeze everything within your budget. The question is, would a branded PSU really neccessary? Would an additional 5k more or less be worth every penny? Does it mean that if you could not afford a decent PSU, then dont build a rig?

If you opt to use the generic PSU with the casing, whats the worst that could happen?

Masters, your thoughts... Examples and personnal experiences would be greatly appreciated.

[bahiista]

well worst is to buy another set of CPU

[ajol]

you will keep buying a generic psu.... to replace your dead generic psu...

generic psu have no warranty....

worse case some pc components get damage along the way...

you will have frequent restarts and computer freezes up...

as a rule if you really just want generic psu...

don't go for high end Video cards, motherboards......

go for the low end...

also don't attempt to overclock.... or you can get BSOD

[kazki]

I've tried using a generic PSU which exploded...due to unknown reasons. And this damaged my mobo in the long run...

there are branded PSUs which only costs around 2k-3k...it's not really that heavy on the pocket. It's a good investment for your rig...

[DrE]

Though I think its always better to be preventive and be cautious, some of it is marketing hype too. For a cheap rig with no overclocking I think its acceptable to get a generic psu, provided you calced the estimated power consumption of your rig, the lowest possible efficiency of the generic psu and are aware of the risks involved. It all boils down to the saying "You get what you pay for". Personal opinion.

[ajol]

just recently

my cousin upgraded to 8800gt

using dynamo 550w..... it died on first boot....

good thing the PSU died not the 8800gt....

[erwin_rommel]

if onboard lang nga video or mga low end nga videocard imong gi gamit, ok ra man ang generic nga 500w pero if mag videocard na gani ka og arang2x like ati2600xt, aw paniguro nalang bisan kanang 400w lang nga silverstone ok na na

[obor]

if onboard lang nga video or mga low end nga videocard imong gi gamit, ok ra man ang generic nga 500w pero if mag videocard na gani ka og arang2x like ati2600xt, aw paniguro nalang bisan kanang 400w lang nga silverstone ok na na

Thats what Im thinking, depende lang tingali na sa imo rig, especially GPU.

[spookey]

yup, depende ra na sa imo rig kung kailangan jud ka og effiecient PSU.

anyway, here's my experience in my PIII (Asus CUSI) days, my 300w generic PSU busted 3 HDD's (2x20GB and 1x40GB) and 2 videocards. then a computer hobbiest friend of mine said it might my PSU and offered me his spare 500w PSU from then on my hardware stopped failing and everything run smoothly. from that day on i promised myself not to use generic PSU again on my personal rig. so when i upgraded from PIII to ahtlon x2 939 i used coolermaster real power 550w sli. a few days ago when i bought a 9600GT OC for my c2d e6600 i replaced my good old coolermaster PSU with silverstone zeus 750 watts (ST75ZF).

[krkchn]

Make sure lang your power source is stable, and kaya sa supply ang specs. Put UPS. And expect it to last about a year before destroying your motherboard, so pagbantay jud. Generic ra ako gamit kay mahalan rako sa high end. But mu-last ra until ma-obsolete ang PC. Other reason kay maguba ra gihapon ang Branded basta walay proper care.