Some Gigabyte power supply units (PSUs) have been reported to be either dead on arrival (DOA) or could die in an exploding fashion just after a few minutes of non-intensive use. In response to this, the company will be replacing the PSUs of those who have experienced the “fiery” event.
In a recent statement, Gigabyte is aware of the reports from third-party sources that some models, particularly the GP-P850GM 850-watt PSU and the GP-P750GM 750-watt PSU, have very high failure rates, with some units exploding and could potentially be a fire hazard in some cases.
According to Gigabyte, the PSUs in question have a built-in safety feature called OPP or Over Power Protection. For a brief explanation, OPP is there to shut the PSU down in cases where the power load exceeds the maximum wattage the unit was designed to operate.
Both PSUs originally have OPPs set at 120% to 150%, which means that the 850-watt PSU may potentially reach 1020 to 1300 watts before shutting down. Meanwhile, the 750-watt power supply unit can reach 900 to 1125 watts before triggering the safety feature.
In light of recent events, the company has adjusted the OPP trigger points to just 110 to 120, from the original 120 to 150. This would lower the trigger point for the GP-P850GM to just 950 to 1050 watts and GP-P750GM to 825 to 925 watts.
Even though the company deems the PSUs in question safe to use, those who want peace of mind may request a replacement but only for select units that have specific serial numbers.
The Issue
While it is good that the company is making efforts to fix things, there seems to be a problem with their response in that it is blaming third parties for this issue.
As per the statement, those who have reported the issue have used DC Electronic Load equipment for testing the PSUs. However, subjecting the PSUs to high wattages for extended periods may be the reason why the OPPs were triggered in the first place. This is not true, at least according to YouTuber “Gamers Nexus.”
Steve Burke, the host of the YouTube channel, said that while the OPP feature worked as intended when putting the units at full load, the PSUs would surprisingly fail at just 60% load almost immediately.
This issue is a huge problem since Newegg bundles the PSUs in question with some Nvidia 3000-series graphics cards. In other words, those who bought the bundles are likely stuck with some potentially problematic power supply units.
Now, as Steve points out in the video, not all of the GP-P850GM and GP-P750GM PSUs are bad. In fact, if you’re using any of these models and your PC is doing fine, you probably do not need to change it.
But what do you think? Is Gigabyte putting the blame on third parties instead of taking full responsibility for their products?
