How often should you change PSU?
- Thread starter Lysander
- Start date
Absolutely. Since all these 800W+ PSUs became mainstream there have been more and more posts asking if an 8800GT will be OK with a 400W PSU, etc. With the focus on efficiency these days, a mid-range PC of 2007 probably uses less power than one of 2005! I think it's unlikely that a dual-core 8800GT rig will use more than 250-300W.
The other hardware manufacturers aren't helping either. My X1800XT box recommended a minimum 400W PSU
Let us know if it allows you to overclock further, as compared to the cheaper PSU. Should be interesting.
Not unless your new board requires a standard not supported by your PSU.
Well, I obviously don't notice any difference day to day, but I can now rest assure the chances of my PSU blowing up have been massively reduced.
sunama said:
Agreed. I'm only running 520W with 3 HDs, an X1800xt, 4x2GB and it runs fine.
Ahh. So in otherwords no "actual" change. The only thing you got by replacing your psu was the assurance (more a mental thing than physical).
It would be interesting to see the failure rate of the Hyper psus. Obviously there are a lot of anecdotes, but for every negative anecdotes, Im sure there must be 10s if not 100s of Hyper PSUs that are functioning without a hitch. Without actual numbers though, we will never know. A Poll would go some way to giving us a some sort of idea.
A simple poll would not be enough. It would require a full survey covering different makes of PSU, the longevity of each, whether it was replaced because it died or for other reasons, time before failures, etc, etc.
But personally I feel that they are probably not quite as bad as people make out. not that it matters to me any more once I get my corsair installed
That is what I think, too. The problem is that reports of failures spread like wild fire on forums. As an example, no one in this thread has yet reported having had a problematic hyper psu. I thought that perhaps Mulder had one, but this was not the case. He was acting purely on what he had read on forums.
not that it matters to me any more once I get my corsair installed
I actually think you are wasting money here. But do let us know if it allows you to overclock further.
My antec 420w started making a nasty smell after two years I powered down my PC and didn't power it back up until my new Corsair 520 was installed. Hopefully the antec will get swapped under warranty but I didn't want to be computer less while I waited for a swap out!
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same here, ive had the 580w type r for about 16 months now 24/7 and it has worked without fault.
maybe one day it will blow up and take out my entire system, however.
OEM's including Dell mainly use FSP PSU's built for them that's why Dell's are reliable.
And I can say 100% that EVERY single cheapo PSU I have ver had or fitted whilst building a PC has failed, not one or a few EVERY one and this is in 10 years of building PC's and part of it for my income like I build around 100-150 PC's per year.
Ive only ever used one cheap psu. It came with the case, 235w, 9yrs ago, £30 (including the case). I think it's name is 'Suntech'.
I used it for 2.5yrs solid with no problems and now only use it when Im testing fans or hard disks. I still occassionally use it to power up full systems (which it does), during testing. Never had a problem with it.
It was cheap and hasnt failed yet.
I used it for 2.5yrs solid with no problems and now only use it when Im testing fans or hard disks. I still occassionally use it to power up full systems (which it does), during testing. Never had a problem with it.
It was cheap and hasnt failed yet.