How old is too old?

Mr_Orange · 18 Oct 2023 at 14:55

Like most people the PSU (Corsair TX650) is the oldest component in my case. It must be 10-15 years old at this point.

Is it worth upgrading before it goes pop or is it a case of use it until it doesn't work any more?

Jay85 · 18 Oct 2023 at 17:13

Probably yes, that is getting on abit.

I would change it for a peace of mind and keep that old one spare for testing purposes.

adidan · 18 Oct 2023 at 17:18

I've had two PSUs that reached about 10 and then go bang.

ryu · 18 Oct 2023 at 19:29

Not always the easiest question to answer but I would assume there is to some degree a correlation to usage.
Would it be fair to say a PSU that has powered a PC 247 for 10 years with high load would have a higher probability of failing than one that you know has only been turned on once a month for 10 years?

BUDFORCE · 19 Oct 2023 at 06:09

I'm still rocking a Corsair HX850 of the same vintage.

srekal34 · 19 Oct 2023 at 06:19

ryu said:
Not always the easiest question to answer but I would assume there is to some degree a correlation to usage.
Would it be fair to say a PSU that has powered a PC 247 for 10 years with high load would have a higher probability of failing than one that you know has only been turned on once a month for 10 years?

Its the other way around. The not used one will have higher probability of failing, in terms of PSU - provided they both worked in reasonable conditions.

Rroff · 19 Oct 2023 at 06:36

If older than approx. 2008 manufacture then I generally recommend changing after 10 years (see capacitor rot, etc.), anything newer than that generally uses more solid state components, has better thermal management and protection systems, etc. etc. warranties can be 10+ years on the better ones and usually rated for in excess of 100,000 hours MTBF - probably last somewhere between 15-20 years under moderate use and reasonable temperatures.

Tetras · 19 Oct 2023 at 16:24

Mr_Orange said:
Is it worth upgrading before it goes pop or is it a case of use it until it doesn't work any more?

I retire old PSUs to old PCs, or in your case, I'd retire the old PSU with the old PC.

If you plan on spending £1000 on a new one, then I wouldn't be using it again.

Mr_Orange · 20 Oct 2023 at 10:35

Thanks for all the he replies. I think I'm going to wait until I see something good on offer. Seems to be a good middle point of "replace it right now" and "it's probably ok".

Bickaxe · 21 Oct 2023 at 12:05

I still use my RM850 from 2013 but 10 years is my limit so will change it on my next upgrade in the next 6 months.

Grimley · 21 Oct 2023 at 13:19

I've usually change PSU's when I'm building PC's for family, I buy a new one for me & the old one is a handmedown. Not done that for some time now.
These days, I'm of the school where when you have a major upgrade of your hardware, you change the PSU if you suspect it will not be up to the task.

Alasdairhurst · 21 Oct 2023 at 22:08

Bickaxe said:
I still use my RM850 from 2013 but 10 years is my limit so will change it on my next upgrade in the next 6 months.

Snap. Both this and a 7 year old HX750 both turn off randomly when paired with a 3080ti so hoping it's not the GPU and may have to look at getting a more modern PSU

P.B · 21 Oct 2023 at 23:23

Still rocking silverstone thor 1350w since release, and been through many high end systems. Never had a problem, curious to see what puts in E waste heaven ?

V_R · 21 Oct 2023 at 23:30

This thread made me think....

BUDFORCE said:
I'm still rocking a Corsair HX850 of the same vintage.

I also have a HX850, turns out mines from 2009. :eek:

BUDFORCE · 21 Oct 2023 at 23:47

V_R said:
This thread made me think....

I also have a HX850, turns out mines from 2009.

I mine could quite well be the same age.

V_R · 22 Oct 2023 at 13:40

Should we be worried?

JollyJamma · 30 Oct 2023 at 07:35

Mr_Orange said:
Like most people the PSU (Corsair TX650) is the oldest component in my case. It must be 10-15 years old at this point.

Is it worth upgrading before it goes pop or is it a case of use it until it doesn't work any more?

That’s old for a not the top of the range model is the problem.

Any AX or HX or PSU with a 10 year warranty is going to last far longer than an entry level or even midrange model.

I upgraded my mom’s PC to an RM750i in 2019 that was already a few years old and I’m not worried.

It had a TX650 watt originally (or something of that sort) and I’d not be happy if it still ran that.

That being said, I built my mom her PC in 2017(?) and it’s still a great machine (i3-8100,MSI Z370 board,16gigs of RAM,Crucial MX500) and if it went bang today, it’s done extremely well and would get her to go buy a Mac lol.

Ollie83 · 6 Nov 2023 at 07:25

I ran a 2008 Corsair HX1000 until last month. The fan rattles a little but otherwise... Solid. Upgraded to the HX1000i

Pottsey · 6 Nov 2023 at 08:09

Mr_Orange said:
Like most people the PSU (Corsair TX650) is the oldest component in my case. It must be 10-15 years old at this point.

Is it worth upgrading before it goes pop or is it a case of use it until it doesn't work any more?

Use it until it doesn't work anymore. Though make sure you have data backups if required. When a PC becomes unstable and crashes one of the most overlooked components is an old PSU that can cause crashing.

JollyJamma · 6 Nov 2023 at 08:13

Pottsey said:
Use it until it doesn't work anymore. Though make sure you have data backups if required. When a PC becomes unstable and crashes one of the most overlooked components is an old PSU that can cause crashing.

Well that’s bad advice.

A psu can pop and take the whole system with it.

I replace hard drives and power supplies preemptively as both can lead to immense loss.

I use everything else until it stops working though…or until I got bored and want to play with something shiny lol