What would happen if you exced your PSU's power limits?

[Firearm2112]

Not that I plan on doing this, but what if you build a system that requires, at minimal load 500w.

 

And your PSU is 510w (I know they dont make 510w PSUs, just go with it)

 

So you boot up, and somehow it dosent kill itself on startup. Lets say you play a game or 2 and start to overclock and it exceeds 500w.

 

What would happen? Well duh something would explode... But really. What would happen if you went over your PSU's wattage?

 

I wonder if anyone has made a video of this happening in action.

[Lays]

A good PSU will automatically shut-down, shitty ones, who knows. 

 

Think the term is called over-current-protection.

[Mooshi]

Considering a Titan can run off a 500w psu if the unit is high quality..what the feck are you wanting to run?

[Clyne]

It could blow up if it was a bad power supply.

[Lays]

Considering a Titan can run off a 500w psu if the unit is high quality..what the feck are you wanting to run?

 

He said he wasn't planning on doing this, read the dam OP

[nightlitezzz]

Most systems will automatically shut down to prevent any damage. The bad ones will stay on, overheat, things will explode, etc.

[M-ursu]

It will just shut down, there is no way that it could harm your other parts

[Mooshi]

He said he wasn't planning on doing this, read the dam OP

 

The "dam" OP? I didn't know I was on Hardware Canucks, my bad.

 

But yeah, a serious answer. The system would shut down so it doesn't turn into an explosion.

[thekeemo]

1. KABOOM!

2. throttling???

3. shutdown

[flibberdipper]

It would either pop (crappy power supply) or it would shut down (good power supply). It's called over-current protection.

[quan289]

It depends on the unit. Premium high-end units are often so over-engineered that it is capable of outputting FAR what it is rated for. For example, the Delta build Antec HCP-1200 had shown to output ~1700wDC with still providing excellent electrical performance. Here's a video of it drawing 2200wAC from the wall.

 

Typically, though. If the power supply is honestly rated and is a quality PSU, that 510w should be outputting 510w continuously for an extended period of time. Exceeding what it is rated for by a good amount will set off the protection, where it would safely cut off power to your system. However, if this was a poor, quality PSUs where you are actually exceeding the capability of the power supply, it may burn out, explode, and/or cause immediate damage to the component(s) of your computer.

[MasterJV]

It will turn itself off if you have a good quality power supply with the right safety certifications. A bad power supply will either A] Blow up B] Start a fire C] Die and take other components with it.

[daemonowner]

The correct answer is it depends on the unit. The more detailed correct answer is two posts above.