Never skimp on your PC’s power supply

If you’re a PC gamer, you’re no doubt aware of how hard it is to get certain components like graphics cards and CPUs right now. Either they’re completely out of stock, or being sold for a ridiculous markup. Which has naturally made a lot of consumers upset. Especially now that everyone is locked inside with little to do except work and game. This has forced some conventional retailers to start getting creative. And by creative, I mean shifty.

There’s a wee bit a of scandal brewing right now regarding bundles. Now, on the surface, this isn’t a terrible idea. It gives customers the opportunity to get those hard to find components at a price close to MSRP, while tossing in another commonly available part they may need for their build anyway. This effectively deters scalpers, as they don’t want to be saddled with a warehouse full of stuff they can’t resell at huge markups. Seems like it’s a big win for consumers. Of course things often sound better on paper than they work out in practice.

Instead, what retailers are doing is using these bundles to clear out their own warehouses of unsold merchandise. Which again isn’t a hugely terrible idea. However, it’s being alleged that some of those goods being included in these bundles may actually be defective. Which is the reason why they never sold in the first place.

Currently, one particular PC parts retailer, themed after a popular breakfast food, has been selling Gigabyte branded power supplies as part of their bundle program. According to customer reviews and other anecdotal reports around the internet, these power supplies can damage components, arc, or burst into flames in some cases. We haven’t been able to confirm this ourselves. However, popular YouTube PC building channel Gamers Nexus is currently investigating the issue. They were the same team that exposed a similar fire hazard with NZXT PCIe risers earlier this year.

Of course this isn’t isolated to our ovum based shop either, as many pre-build manufacturers are pulling the same trick. Actually, it seems like everyone is. For some reason, the whole PC sales space has always been a bit sus, as the kids say. Straddling the line between legit retailers and those “electronics liquidation” stores you see in seedy suburban strip malls.

Now, if you’re a seasoned PC modder like myself, you know to avoid cheap power supplies like the plague. However, this does pose a serious risk for fist time builders who are unaware of the risks. This issue is particularly problematic, as these supplies often have a well known brand attached to them. Unfortunately, many of these brands don’t actually manufacture their own units. There’s really only a select few factories that do. These later get re-labelled for resale, much like so many cheap earbuds on Alibaba. It can be real difficult for beginners, and even some pros, to separate the wheat from the chaff. It doesn’t help either that some formerly reputable companies can go down the tubes, or vice versa.

A good rule of thumb though is to never skimp on the power supply. Even if that means having to cut back on some other part of your build due to tight budgets. It should always be treated as the single most important part of your computer. Because if something goes wrong, there’s a high chance it can take everything else down with it. As such, most veteran builders treat any cheap units as ticking time bombs. Lower quality components, especially capacitors, which store a lot of energy, tend to fail suddenly and catastrophically. Now that’s not to say that all cheap supplies are bad, or that all expensive ones are good. However, they should always be looked upon with a healthy dose of suspicion.

So how do you protect yourself? Well, the easiest way is to do your homework. Read customer reviews, as well as reviews from reputable PC hardware sites and channels. Budget that little extra to get a higher quality unit. And as always, don’t be afraid to reach out to the PC building community for advice. Lastly, beware of any “free” upgrades offered as part of pre-builds. Better take the extra steps than watch your shiny new rig go up in smoke.