This video of a power supply blowing up shows why you should never cheap out on your PSU

PSU fails dramatically

It's accepted wisdom at this point that there are some things you probably shouldn't cheap out on: Tires, tattoos and medical devices sit among the top. But I say a good PSU should be up there if you want your rig to stay intact, as you definitely don't want it blowing up while attached to all of your pretty components. And a recent video going around Reddit has made me doubly sure of that fact.

As shared to the PCMR subreddit, a tech worker was testing a PSU for a potential RMA for a customer. They plugged it in, and within a second, the entire back of it blew up, causing a fire. The sound it makes as it does so is truly horrible, with multiple components frying. At least, with video footage, they show why the RMA is justified.

The employee luckily stepped away very quickly and appears to have avoided any harm. The PSU in question is a VSP Megamax, and judging from the picture showing off the aftermath, it's a 750 W model. The user who shared this clip, Front_Cookie_1198, says the OEM is China-based Jiumeng, a budget manufacturer.

The original poster also says the model claims to have a Cybenetics Silver rating (a high power efficiency just under Gold), but doubts the quality control process of the OEM to really verify that.

No one got hurt here, but it's lucky that this fault wasn't tripped when it was actually plugged in to a computer, as it could be rather dangerous and could risk burning your rig, or even your house with it. If it turns on as usual but malfunctions a little while after, there's a chance it might take you a while to realise your PSU is on fire before it's already too late.

This is a great reminder to never cheap out on your PSU. You want something efficient, trusted, and worth the cash, even if it bumps up the price of your build. And it's very understandable why some might opt for cheaper PSUs in the wake of the memory crisis.

RAM, storage, and even graphics cards are getting more expensive, so one might think that cheaping out on other parts of the rig would be a good way to scrape back a few dollars on the setup. But a good PSU is absolutely necessary—and a cheap, unknown one is not worth the risk.