It was reported that when I bought a cheap power supply unit online for my home-built PC, it turned out to be an inferior product with lumps of iron and soil inside.

Many people have had the experience of purchasing parts online to keep the price as low as possible when building their own PC. However, there have been reports of people purchasing power supply units online and receiving them with lumps of iron and soil inside.

Is there a genuine reason this cheap PSU has a block of iron filings in it or are they trying to make it feel heavy?
by u/RedditCringe990 in pcmasterrace

Redditor finds heavy block of iron shavings inside cheap PSU, also appears to lack safety protections | Tom's Hardware
https://www.tomshardware.com/pc-components/power-supplies/redditor-finds-heavy-block-of-iron-shavings-inside-cheap-psu-also-appears-to-lack-safety-protections

A user named RedditCringe990 reported on the online bulletin board site Reddit that he had purchased a power supply unit called ' Equites T500 ' with a power supply capacity of 500W.

When RedditCringe990 disassembled the Equites T500, he discovered that a mysterious iron block was attached next to the capacitor.

According to RedditCringe990, who removed the iron block, there was no cord connected to the iron block, and the purpose of its installation was unknown.

When this iron block was disassembled, iron and soil wrapped in plastic were revealed from inside. The image below shows RedditCringe990 disassembling the iron block.

Tom's Hardware, an overseas media outlet, said, ``The purpose of this iron block is to make the power supply unit feel heavier than its actual weight, giving the user the impression that it is a high-performance unit.'' I'm guessing. In addition, Tom's Hardware says, ``Just because a power supply unit is heavy does not necessarily mean it has high performance, but in general, most high-end power supply units have a variety of functions to expand their functionality than cheaper power supply units. 'They have additional components and tend to be heavier than products with lower power capacity.'

Following RedditCringe990's report, a user named Hattix confirmed that the Equites T500 does not have any input protection features, including overcurrent protection. Furthermore, he suggested that the Equites T500's mechanism will not be able to achieve the manufacturer's nominal power supply capacity of 500W, and that it is likely to remain at only 250W.

Comment
by u/RedditCringe990 from discussion
in pcmasterrace

If overcurrent protection is not installed, current exceeding the specified value may cause catastrophic failure of the power supply components, potentially damaging the system. Therefore, use a power supply unit with overcurrent protection function, overvoltage/low voltage protection function, overcurrent protection function, overheating protection function, and short circuit protection function to prevent fatal damage to the PC when trouble occurs. Ideally, you should use a unit that has the ability to shut off the power supply itself beforehand.

Tom's Hardware also states, ``It is important to use a power supply unit from a reputable manufacturer that has undergone appropriate safety testing,'' and urges you not to use inferior power supply units like the Equites T500. .