Here's the deal: my Thermaltake 420 is getting flaky. The +12 rail dips as low as 11.68, leading to major stability issues at high speeds. When I go back to stock speed (boring!) it sits at 11.86-11.92.

This PSU should be able to do better than that. It _was_ better than that.

So anyway, I sent an e-mail to the store I bought it from about warranty, and they told me to bring in my whole rig for testing. First off, their shop is notorious for having monkeys who know nothing, so I don't want to do that.

I'd like to make the PSU dead for sure, as in no power. That way I can take in just the PSU so they can replace it. Any ideas on how to do this without obvious signs of tampering/physical damage?

stick pens or paperlips or fingers in the fans to stop them. cover holes.

well.. I tke it you cant open it... maybe you could short circuit it... ?

Hmm, theres nothing I can think of that DOESNT have the potential of killing you, but will switching that little switch in the back of the PSU that changes it from 110v to 220v or something like that do anything when plugged in? I no what its for, but i've never seen what happens if its messed up....BTW, what are you using to check your volts?

put some sawdust or iron filings next to the intake and pour slowly (may be visble) or just light incense or smoke next to an intake (OUT OF YOUR CASE)

why cant you just take it back? or tell them that "the 12volt rail is dipping below 11.7 volts which is causing stability issues"

i had to go through that 2 times, both in 2 months time frame and both being *cough* Thermaltake *cough* 480wt butterflys.

they told me ok and they let me pick out another one.

edit* if you really wanted to kill it, cover all the vents, and take a paperclip and on the 20pin atx, plug one end into the green (power on) wire, and the other to any of the black wires (ground) and plug a few fans into it and then plug it into the wall. wait about 2 hours and hopefully it overheats and frys.

I just might try that anyway. They told me to bring in my whole system, likely so they can try to blame something else.

I'm using a DMM to test, and it's always within +/- .05 volts of what the BIOS reads.

Thats the best option without putting anything else at risk. Juse let the sucker overheat and let it go poof. I would recommend doing this outside without any flammable near.

Just plug it in and with a rubber covered pair of pliers get a paper clip in it trough the fan, the fan is easy to stop. then stick an unfolded paper clip inside and wiggle on or under the pcb

many good suggestions there, just don't fry yourself in the process *leather gloves, and nothing flammable nearby*

i thought you would burn one up by simply running it without being plugged into anything, except the wall of course, no mobo, nothing on the psu leads

use the paper clip trick to turn it on, (take it out of your case, and do this outside) then just dump water inside it till it sparks and dies, then let it dry up and away you go to the store to get a new one. mabye tap a cup onto, a stick and stand lime 6 feet away, and pour the water into the vent? also wear rubber gloves, and jeans, not shorts, as io am assuming it will throw sparks pretty far.

um, water will leave obvious sign of abuse to anyone competent who looks inside, dry or not

This is easy.

Do short the #13 PW-ON with a ground, then switch it to 230v and plug -er in.

Do It Outside. Away from pets or any other flammables.

There WILL BE SPARKS.

But that PSU will never be any deader.

How about you smash it with a hammer, then say god told you to and if you didnt he would kill your dead uncle.

hahaha that just sounds funny, so its in my sig now.

Put it in a duffle bag and spin it around for several minnits to let velocity do its work. It should either cause the fuses to implode, or something else to break internally.