Worth risking cheap PSU for 2/3 days?

if I needed a new PSU for my main gaming PC, I would order one straight away on next delivery, there would be no debate on the CIT PSU, I could live 1 day without the PC

I would like to add that I did have a CIT PSU running in a PC that was on all day everyday. It lasted a couple years before it died.... HOWEVER...

When it died , it took the motherboard, the cpu, and a USB keyboard out with it. I replaced it with a seasonic psu ( along with new mobo cpu).

I would never put an unbranded psu in anything but a disposable system made out of second hand bits

The point of contention on my part is the amount of time. Days is fine, years isn't because long term use is what brings these issues out.
 
When it died , it took the motherboard, the cpu, and a USB keyboard out with it. I replaced it with a seasonic psu ( along with new mobo cpu).

ouch yeh

this is the thing rly its ok to risk it ourselves but to recommend to others id feel bad if this happened

i dont think many/any psu makers will give you the cost of the parts it broke back?
i know with apc and their surge protection they have some sort of guarantee, tho ive never claimed on it so i duno
 
I think the point is, cheap PSUs have a record of failing and taking out other components with them, so why risk it at all?

The OP has made the right decision even if nothing were to happen.
 
ouch yeh

this is the thing rly its ok to risk it ourselves but to recommend to others id feel bad if this happened

i dont think many/any psu makers will give you the cost of the parts it broke back?
i know with apc and their surge protection they have some sort of guarantee, tho ive never claimed on it so i duno

There's a distinct difference that some people are missing. Running a cheap crappy PSU for a few days isn't the same as relying on one for years.
 
120gb SSD Saumsung

AMD A10 5800k

Asrock fm2a75m-dgs Mobo

8GB DDR3

2 case fans

GTX 750 ti

I only use it for Diablo 3 and WoW


With that spec I'd say you'll probably be fine, I highly doubt you'd be even putting it under 250 watts at the wall when gaming, unless you're heavily overclocked.

Keep an eye on the temp of the psu's exhaust. If it feels warmer than you'd expect, beware.
 
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I've seen a CIT PSU go pop on it's first switch on, taking a GPU with it, my friend wasn't too happy, I've also seen an Superflower within a few days also go pop (albeit didn't kill anything else) as an example of how PSU's can work.

It's a bit much to say it's a gamble, but I wouldn't feel happy with a £15 PSU powering a £400 rig when I KNOW if it did fail it could take those components out with it. I'd feel much safer with a better branded PSU like what the OP has done with his decision and bought an EVGA.

Will the PSU blow up within a few days? Probably not.
Would I trust the PSU? Not comfortably.
Would I suggest the OP to use it? No, because I wouldn't use it.
 
Spoffle, give it a rest. You've had your say.
I certainly wouldn't risk my kit with a cheapo PSU. Had a Q-Tec one years ago that decided to junk itself due to the 12V line not being powerful enough. It helpfully took out my motherboard when it went pop.
Ever since then I've only put quality, branded PSUs in my rigs.
 
Because you are, this thing over cheap PSUs is a learnt behavior passed down from "my mate said" to "my mate said" that cheap PSUs explode the moment you even think about using them

I wouldn't risk it, from personal experience and 'not my mate said'. I've learned the hard way that poor quality PSUs can and will wreck systems and also they do it giving some of the hardest to diagnose problems on the way. Deliberately keeping away from saying cheap here, price is no reflection of quality or what will happen when the unit fails - I too lost a motherboard and HDD to a Hiper blowing out and they priced in with the other top end PSU.

These days I will not build or use a PC without a decent quality PSU if I can help it, Seasonic is my preference and their OEMs, liking the Superflower and a couple other makes I've got in use atm. I also don't plug one of my machines into the wall without a surge protector but thats just me being paranoid I guess.
 
Personally I am torn between two sides.

I have recently became rather disenchanted with the amount of over the top recommended hardware these days, as well as much of what can only be refered to as scaremongering.

Plenty of PC components seem to fail, motherboards, GPU's, memory, SSD'd. See threads all over the internet. i would hazard a guess that there are plenty of viable non fashionable options with regards to useable PSU's.

I think the 750ti and your system in general is not that demanding, but also see nothing wrong with taking a break from the PC until you purhcase a more trustworthy PSU that may get forumite approval.
 
People indeed over exaggerate the risk with PSU's, I've used LOADS of el cheapo psu's ( Mainly MS Tech), and had many go pop. They never took out a board with them, for 3 days, come on. As long as you don't game on it there's nearly no chance of anything happening, a PC with just full cpu load will pull what, 200 watts tops ?

We are talking about running a pc for 3 days for home+office use, not full on gaming for years or mining or whatever.

Also, fearing sub 100 quid PSU ? Come on, are you an idiot ? A 2nd hand Be quiet or Corsair in the 500w range is only 30-35 ish. Semi decent ish branded psu's like Coolermaster can be got for 15 euros for a 460 W one 2nd hand... I agree with spoffle, snobbish imo.
 
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two ways of looking at it:

it's only a few days, go for it.

OR

it's only a few days, dont bother risking it.

personally, PSU without even a 6 pin pcie cable? bin it straight away, dont even bother.

Also, fearing sub 100 quid PSU ? Come on, are you an idiot ? A 2nd hand Be quiet or Corsair in the 500w range is only 30-35 ish. Semi decent ish branded cpu's like Coolermaster can be got for 15 euros for a 460 W one 2nd hand... I agree with spoffle, snobbish imo.

I dunno, I've seen so many corsairs go bang that I really don't think i'd throw money at a 2nd hand one :eek:
 
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Well, ironically, my TX850 was also unstable, I got a new one from corsair under warranty after 4 years though ( free upgrade to CX series :D).

I'm a pretty heavy pc user though, pc is running 12 hrs a day and have many stuff in my case and often gaming. Most people who only use the pc a few hrs or less per day are fine with a cheap psu.

I'm so comfy with them MS-tech psu's that I expect them to go pop under full load, but take a gamble anyhow.

Psu goes pop> Replace psu under warranty for customer.
No complaints > yay, bet payed of. They probably don't game.
 
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Spoffle, give it a rest. You've had your say.
I certainly wouldn't risk my kit with a cheapo PSU. Had a Q-Tec one years ago that decided to junk itself due to the 12V line not being powerful enough. It helpfully took out my motherboard when it went pop.
Ever since then I've only put quality, branded PSUs in my rigs.
Give what a rest? It's a discussion forum, we're discussing the topic.

Shall I give it a rest because my opinion is at odds with your own?
 
Personally I used to run 5830s in crossfire on a no name 600 watt PSU and it was fine for months, bearing in mind I used to be an idiot (who even bought 5830s anyway let alone two?) I'd say it'd be fine for browsing etc and games like super meat boy? without issue.

But then in the other direction I wouldn't risk it myself anymore, I've taken a more overkill approach. As of tomorrow I'll be the owner of a superflower 1300w and my system won't even use half of that.
YET!
Just have a think to yourself about the risk vs reward, is it worth gaming for a day or two with the possibility of having to wait even longer when/if your rig dies?
 
Don't game on it until you get a decent psu. Idling/browsing etc.. should be fine.

agreed, had a CIT 500w PSU paired with an asus crosshair board and phenom 6 core, at the time was latest stuff, was in same boat and waiting for funds to get a better replacement PSU, was fine booting, idling, office and web tasks. Done some gaming and thought this is ok all going great. The next day my PC failed to post and kept beeping. Upon further inspection the CPU power connector had melted and fused itself to the motherboard and burnt two pins dry!

To me lesson learned. I will never 'risk' or 'skimp' on PSU again.

Of course I had bad luck here, and this may or may not happen, but it's like running out in the middle of the road, you may or may not get hit, its your choice to do so but there is always a risk there.
 
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