How are Power Supplies allowed to be 'over specified'?

[EnergyEclipse]

Hello! I just have a inquiry on the over specifying of the power output capabilities.

 

The first thing it seemed I was warned about when assembling my first new computers was about avoiding the cheaply made power supplies generally found on sites like eBay. However, it always seemed a little odd that one of the main reasons for avoiding them was because cheaper units would 'overspec' the capabilities in an attempt to fool the uninformed into thinking they're getting a bargain. Why is it that these units aren't under it seems any regulations regarding what wattage these PSUs can actually do? What is letting them sell units that cannot do what they claim?

 

Thank you very much in advance for any replies,

-EnergyEclipse

[STRMfrmXMN]

There are no regulations for it really. They sell a product that sells and that's capitalism.

[tikker]

I think (but I could be wrong) that the wattage is what the unit is theoretically able to handle, given its design (i.e. voltage and amperage design). Whether or not this is actually possible comes down to the quality of the components and the efficiency. The labels like 80+ bronze, silver, gold etc. have minimum requirements of the PSU's efficiency at certain fractional loads that need to be met in order to carry that certification.

Cheap units get away with it, because they don't bother with getting that certification I guess, so there is no real promise to keep.

[Newbithian]

I would imagine it'd be rather challenging and cost-prohibitive to sue some dude in China for misleading advertisement.

 

That said, I generally avoid "cheap generic power supplies," a la the kind often found in pre-built systems, because they have a tendency to fail shortly outside of their warranty period, sometimes taking other more expensive components with them. A cheap generic power supply may be able to supply 1000W of power, but not reliably maintain that load.

[Unimportant]

34 minutes ago, EnergyEclipse said:

Why is it that these units aren't under it seems any regulations regarding what wattage these PSUs can actually do? What is letting them sell units that cannot do what they claim?

Ratings for power semiconductors are usually given at 25°C. The devices tend to perform progressively worse the hotter they get and a properly engineered unit will derate the components for the given operating temperature range. So, theoretically, the cheap unit can probably deliver it's stated output, at 25°C (or even less), which is unrealistic, but it's probably enough to get a pass.

 

A lot of cheap units also carry a brand name that does not even officially exist, so who would you reprimand?

 

And, on a more political note, there's nothing better then a informed consumer doing his own due diligence. If you want governments to police (trivial) things like this you'd find it'll end up costing lots of taxpayer money for little in return.

[turkey3_scratch]

What the wattage of a power supply is is contradicted anywhere and everywhere, so there's no real, definite communal understanding. In fact, I challenge anybody to tell me what the wattage of a power supply is, and I'll be able to show you how your definition is seemingly narrow and doesn't cover all cases. 

[Stefan Payne]

7 hours ago, EnergyEclipse said:

Why is it that these units aren't under it seems any regulations regarding what wattage these PSUs can actually do? What is letting them sell units that cannot do what they claim?

Because there is nobody that feels responsible about that shit.

 

Here in Germany there were some instances where people tried to get the state institutions to do something about a unit that had fake PFC. And its impossible.

The "Verbraucherschutz" (Customer Protection NGO) said that its not of interest to them because nobody is interested in that.

 

So the only possibility would be that you make either a computer shop or better some PSU under your label and sue the competition that tries to import PSU that are not allowed here.,,

 

 

But in the End, only the ones who don't know shit about electronics and don't think one second about the price and don't know "you get what you paid for" buy that cheap ebay shit.

Its pretty obvious that they have to take shortcuts to be THAT cheap when every "Named brand" cost double of that or more.

 

 

I believe you could sue the companys who import or sell those shitty PSU in Germany or even most European states. But nobody does that. That is the Problem...