PSU - How long do you keep yous?

=XDC=FluphyBunny · 15 Jun 2011 at 21:58

As title. I've read a few times about how a PSU gradually loses power after years of use. So do people get rid of theirs at a certain age or wait for it to show signs of failure?

Reason I'm asking is mine is a Hiper 580W Type-M Black bought in May 2007 and used daily (pretty much) for gaming.

When should I start to worry, especially given it was at the cheaper end of the market when I bought it?

panyan · 15 Jun 2011 at 22:01

stuartw_b said:
I've read a few times about how a PSU gradually loses power after years of use.

ive not heard this, but if it was true, i;d expect a good 5+ years out of a psu before it "lost power"

Reaper 392 · 15 Jun 2011 at 22:08

oh no, not another hiper user. there is a club on OcUK called the Hiper explosive club, where people have had the PSU blow up on them.

sooo, my recommendation is to get rid of it ASAP and replace with the antec 620W PSU thats on offer right now

*edit*
the hiper explosive club (14 members)

shannowdr · 15 Jun 2011 at 22:15

Wow, that Hiper 580W must be the last one that hasn't gone pop !

Would suggest you start looking now for a new psu rather than later

Atom · 15 Jun 2011 at 22:21

HX620 here, 5 years old next Feb.

Started out powering a Q6600/X1950 pro and recently my overclocked 2600k/gtx480. Looking at a upgrade to corsair gold 850 so I can use the hx620 in a server I am building.

It has never missed a beat.

kae2 · 15 Jun 2011 at 22:23

I get a new PSU everytime I build a new PC... so every 5 years or so!

setter · 15 Jun 2011 at 22:35

My current hx 850w was bought second hand, not exactly sure how old it is tbh. But it works flawlessly, prior to that i owned an enermax noisetaker 600w that i sold after 2 years of use, that was replaced by a thermaltake toughpower 750w that i sold after a years use. Only reason for selling it was because i was able to get the hx 850 at a very good price.

[Darkend]Viper · 15 Jun 2011 at 22:39

I keep them till they either go pop or are not powerful enough anymore. I had a Hiper Typer-R 480w that I got around 2005 I think and it exploded around 2008, and then was replaced with a Hiper Type-R 650 (or somewhere round that figure) Modular version. I've had some PSU's last 10 years in pc's without a fault but then had some that have failed within months.

kmufc77 · 15 Jun 2011 at 22:40

^Setter,for your peace of mind it was only a few months old when i sold it to you

EGuitarStar · 15 Jun 2011 at 22:43

I have a 400W Tagan from 6-7 years ago still working fine. (I've jinxed myself now probably!)

=XDC=FluphyBunny · 15 Jun 2011 at 22:44

Yikes !

Erm when it does go whats the chances of it taking some other components with it?

thedude23 · 15 Jun 2011 at 22:46

How do you when you psu is on the way out?are there any symthoms?

setter · 15 Jun 2011 at 22:49

kmufc77 said:
^Setter,for your peace of mind it was only a few months old when i sold it to you

Yep, it looked brand new mate, a fantastic investment. Considering that im running a pretty highly clocked cpu and 2 overclocked gpu's, it doesnt stress the unit at all, even under load it's extremely quiet.

Lemin · 15 Jun 2011 at 22:50

Enermax Noisetaker 600W, bought October 2005 from ocuk. Stll running mates Q6600 oc & GTX 280. £79 well spent.

ryu · 15 Jun 2011 at 22:51

bought an enermax liberty 620w, about 3 years ago from the members market, still running fine and its pretty much never been off

hanluc · 15 Jun 2011 at 22:58

thedude23 said:
How do you when you psu is on the way out?are there any symthoms?

I had an Alkasa PS that made a rather annoying high pitched whine just from the mains supply being switched on, googled it, and read it was a sign of it being on its way out. Packed in about a month later.

Also had a rig that would post sometimes, sometimes not, then not at all, that was the PS.

Reaper 392 · 15 Jun 2011 at 23:00

stuartw_b said:
Yikes !

Erm when it does go whats the chances of it taking some other components with it?

by the looks of things it seems reasonably low. only one of the 17 PSU's in the hiper explosive club took some parts with it. however, the antec 620W high current gamer is at a very nice price right now, so if your worried i'd get one of them. also, you can think of it being better to spend £50 on a new PSU now, which will last for a good few years, rather than spending the £50 a year down the line, along with £100 for a new motherboard

setter · 15 Jun 2011 at 23:02

stuartw_b said:
Yikes !

Erm when it does go whats the chances of it taking some other components with it?

Theres a bit less chance of a good quality unit taking other parts out, not always guaranteed though. I had a brand spanking new seasonic 600w psu blow the first time it was turned on, killed the motherboard, cpu and ram.

thedude23 · 15 Jun 2011 at 23:07

hanluc said:
I had an Alkasa PS that made a rather annoying high pitched whine just from the mains supply being switched on, googled it, and read it was a sign of it being on its way out. Packed in about a month later.

Also had a rig that would post sometimes, sometimes not, then not at all, that was the PS.

So eventually it just wont bother turning on?

Buchanan0204 · 15 Jun 2011 at 23:16

I've had my Thermaltake Toughpower 750W for 4 1/2 years now. Never had any issues.

It still runs the original [email protected], day in day out. As well as 5 drives, a 6970 and some other random computery bits and bobs.

One thing that impressed me was when I fitted my 6970 it had a dedicated 8 pin PCI-E as well as a 6 pin. I wasn't expecting such an old PSU to have these and was expecting to have to use a molex adapter.

Don't think they make PSU's anymore. If they did, I'd definitely get another. If and when I build another rig for myself, I will update, primarily for the fact it's not modular and it has an absolute tonne of connectors. Cable management is a **** !