Blowing up

[Axiom99]

Hey all, so trying to build my first pc this summer, and after just learning what a psu was a week ago and reading online, I am sold on the idea of buy well now and don’t pay later. However im reading all these stories about quality psus blowing up and it is honestly sort of worrying. How often do high end psus kill themselves/what can you do to not have one blow up. 

[Ravendarat]

Like anything electronic you can always end up with a bad one but in reality QUALITY PSU rarely die in short order, obviously eventually they will die but it takes years. When you hear about stuff blowing up/catching fire it’s low end garbage. Just use the psu tier list on the forum and pick from the higher end stuff and you’re fine

[Semper]

In the ten years i've been building systems for myself and others (another 7-8 years just for myself before that) I've encountered two PSU failures, one due to a failed surge protector (PSU manufacturer not at fault), family member's system. The other mine, about six months ago, after about four years of use. I opted for a reputable brand (EVGA, believe my specific model was OEM by FSP, and while it wasn't ever to be considered a  top-tier unit, it failed "safely" in such a way that the damage can be considered minor; a 7200rpm 1tb drive. EVGA had a new unit at my doorstep two days after I submitted for an RMA, faster than the unit I purchased to replace it (my current one) I had ordered the day of failure.

I'd say my two examples are on the high end for personal experiences.

[aisle9]

PSUs in particular are measured in quality by the sum of their parts. Sure, that Diablowup unit can push 380W, but it's pushing it across crappy Chinese caps on a pathetic PCB with inadequate cooling and a shrieking ball bearing fan, and sooner or later, bang. Meanwhile, something like a Corsair RMi can push its 650W through quality Japanese capacitors over a well-designed PCB with great cooling and a quiet FDB fan that will last forever. The RMi doesn't make sense for everyone, but a featherweight PSU that's standing on the precipice every second that it's turned on never makes sense.

[hello_there_123]

Not very often

[Cyracus]

High end units aren't immune to failure, but on the relatively rare cases when they do fail they're less likely to take your entire computer with them.