How old is too old?

Mr_Orange

Mr_Orange

Mr_Orange

Associate
Joined
5 Jun 2006
Posts
1,095
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?
 
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?
 
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?
Click to expand...
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.
 
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.
 
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".
 
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.
 
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 ?
 
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?
Click to expand...
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.
 
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?
Click to expand...
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.
 
Last edited:
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.
Click to expand...
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
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom