Turning ATX on without Mobo?

[Pugsley]

I can get ya some 500A 5V suplys.......... no there are no errors in that statement!

[FlyingPenguin]

AT power supply switch wires are insulated too

Actually they're not, which is the main reason we don't use AT power supply designs anymore. The 120v AC came out of the PSU and went to the power switch on the front panel of the computer. Sometimes there was some heat shrink tubing around the switch contacts, but usually there wasn't. Even when they were it wasn't hard to pull back the heatshrink casually, and touch a live contact with a screwdriver. You touch those switch contacts you'll get a very nasty shock.

An ATX PSU has no high voltage exposed to the user what-so-ever (unless you open the PSU, and then you're on your own anyway).

The AT design is a holdover from before it was accepted that casual users would be openning a computer case.

The ORIGINAL AT design (IBM PC and AT) didn't have this problem because they (wisely) integrated the power switch into the PSU. This was fine when all computers were desktop designs sitting under the monitor. When tower cases became the norm, the power switch needed to be moved to the front thus exposing high voltage in the case.

[dadx2mj]

Actually they're not, which is the main reason we don't use AT power supply designs anymore. The 120v AC came out of the PSU and went to the power switch on the front panel of the computer. Sometimes there was some heat shrink tubing around the switch contacts, but usually there wasn't.

Really? The one I use for testing fans and such has a nice rubber boot all around the contacts where the wires hook up to it. 110 volts hurts a little bit but it does not really scare me anymore I have been hit with it so many times. I got hit in the mouth with it one time but that is a different story and trust me that hurt more than I care to remember. Not sure if it was the current or me biting two big cuts into my tongue that hurt the worst.

[impuresoul2k3]

All of mine do too