I still have one system rocking an Enermax Gold 365W PSU..I believe this was from the "launch" of the 80+ Gold standard... Never skips a beat.. And most PCs dont need 1000W PSUs unless they rock a RTX Space Heater or an RX equivalent
How old is too old?
- Thread starter Mr_Orange
- Start date
Soldato
I think my super flower 1200 is about 5 years old . When is a good time to replace your power supply ?
Associate
This is something I’ve been pondering as I’m using an EVGA G2 750w from 2014, so it’s now 10 years old.
I know they’re good PSUs but should I be thinking about changing it at this point?
I know they’re good PSUs but should I be thinking about changing it at this point?
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Associate
I'd hang on to it until it's out of warranty. It should have a 10 year warranty, so you're 1/2 way there.
Soldato
I was about to ask the same question. I currently have a Seasonic X-series 660w psu, which must be around 10-12 years old now. Its working perfectly and has been a great psu with no issues and is super quiet. Seems a shame to get rid of it, but with my new card requiring a new power cord standard and it being so old, I figure its time to replace. Looking at getting the 750w Asus, which I believe is made by Seasonic.
As per earlier in the thread a lot of the recommendations to replace at 10 years comes from an era where https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capacitor_plague was a thing, it shouldn't affect any PSUs built in the last ~15 years. Though if you are driving the PSU close to its capabilities I'd also recommend replacement at around 10 years - which is one of the reasons why I've always recommended slightly overspecing on the PSU.
Only thing I would say with the X-Series the fan on them is rated to last about 8 years (I'm not sure whether that is based on 8 years of 24x7 operation or based on an expectation of being used say 7 hours a day or something) on average at nominal operating temperature, which is probably why the warranty is 7 years :s (in reality 10+ years shouldn't be an issue for the fan and the PSU itself will last a good few years longer than the fan).
EDIT: There is a lot of murky stuff going on behind MTTF/MTBF, etc. failure ratings in reality most of them generally equates to around 15 years of moderate to high daily usage.
Only thing I would say with the X-Series the fan on them is rated to last about 8 years (I'm not sure whether that is based on 8 years of 24x7 operation or based on an expectation of being used say 7 hours a day or something) on average at nominal operating temperature, which is probably why the warranty is 7 years :s (in reality 10+ years shouldn't be an issue for the fan and the PSU itself will last a good few years longer than the fan).
EDIT: There is a lot of murky stuff going on behind MTTF/MTBF, etc. failure ratings in reality most of them generally equates to around 15 years of moderate to high daily usage.
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Associate
- Joined
- 30 Aug 2014
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- 668
How is it possible to tell the age of a PSU?
Can you tell the age of mine?
Can you tell the age of mine?
Its not always the case the PSU just stops working one day. My 12+ year old PSU faded out. Over the last 9+ months of its life it I was getting random crashes sometimes going weeks without any problem then a day of crashing then fine again for weeks. It turned out it was the PSU causing the random crashes. PSU's are like that, some can run 20+ years without any problem some will barely last 10 years. Each year you run a PSU it increases the chances of them going pop or running into stability problems. In short old PSU's can cause stability problems that are not always apparent are being caused from the old PSU.
Personally I wouldn't replace a perfectly working PSU if everything is running stable. But I wouldn't reuse a 8 or 10+ year old PSU in a rebuild or new build. I would rather put the money for a replacement PSU towards a full new build. Just make sure you have backups in case the PSU goes pop.
First two digits of barcode relate to year, I think, but idk if that's manufacture or design.
Associate
- Joined
- 30 Aug 2014
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- 668
2014? Seems about right. Very solid PSU.
Associate
To be honest depends on quality and power draw. I personally wouldn't want a expensive newbuild with a psu that's older than 7 years old.
Caporegime
Before anyone bins an old PSU, I'll take it for my retro builds.... 
Caporegime
double post, forum being glitchy 
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my EVGA SuperNova 850 G2 is 9 years old and I’ve never had it out of eco mode, been an absolutely brilliant PSU, I am considering swapping it out next year on its 10th birthday but I dunno, the upheaval is putting me off!
I know when you change a PSU you should also change all the cables but is that so too if you go with the same brand and wattage?
Always been curious about that.
I know when you change a PSU you should also change all the cables but is that so too if you go with the same brand and wattage?
Always been curious about that.
Associate
I've got two power supplies that are over 15 years old and still run fine even have no fan noise seasonic 650 been on 24/7 on a vm box and a corsair 760 in a gaming rig for about the same amount of time (moved from system to system 2600k to a 13900k)
I've only upgraded the corsair in the last few months due to aesthetics.
I've only upgraded the corsair in the last few months due to aesthetics.
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