How old is your PSU?

Tetras said:
If you can tell me the:
- typical hours (per day) you're using the PC at idle & the hours you're using the PC at load
- the idle and load wattage (at the wall, preferably)

then I can run the numbers for a titanium PSU.
Click to expand...

This i can do!

4 hours at load, 1 idle
460-480w showing on the monitor at the moment playing The Long Dark
90w it seems sat in windows (idle).
 
Seasonic SI2 II 500w that I've had new since around 2007 and still in use today though its showing its age now and I wont put any gpu in it that uses more than 225w though it managed a 275w AMD 290 non x like a champ way back in the day and when it eventually dies I'll have no issue picking up another Seasonic.

Crazy now though how there GPU's alone that can draw more power than my whole PSU. :eek:
 
TruffleShuffle said:
This i can do!

4 hours at load, 1 idle
460-480w showing on the monitor at the moment playing The Long Dark
90w it seems sat in windows (idle).
Click to expand...

This is a really vague figure for comparison sake, need to check PSU efficiency at the specific wattage to be more accurate:
Titanium: 94%
Gold: 90%

480 watts at the wall, 90% efficiency, would be 432 watts DC.
The Titanium PSU would only need 460 watts for 432 watts DC.

This saves you 20 watts, for 4 hours, which at £0.34 a kWh is 3 pence a day, or £11 a year.

Most of the testing is done in the US, which I think also makes the efficiency figures not quite right for the UK.
 
My PSU is a FSP 700w Gold rated is at least 10 years old, which I got for free. I don't know how efficient it is now and have no plans to change it.
 
A few Corsair PSUs that have been running just fine for 10+ years. I've bought cheaper PSUs in the past (thinking I could save money) and they've died on me. I think if you invest a bit in a PSU, you can generally expect them to last a long time.
 
I was using a Corsair TX650 Bronze from 11 years ago to run my PC, it's served well through many upgrades until my 5800X and 970.

I got a 3070 this year and replaced it with a 2019 RM750 Gold for a little extra wattage, and figured it may be time to let it rest. It served incredibly well, I just wanted some peace of mind with a new GPU.
 
Odd development. I havent replaced the PSU yet, but the PC isnt trying anywhere near as hard when playing The Long Dark today. the only difference is that i INCREASED the graphics settings last night. I noticed that V-Sync was off, and that even on 'Ultra' a number of the sliders for draw distance and detail get set to mid-points. So i maxed them out to see how it would affect the FPS. No affect on FPS, game looks better than ever now obviously too, and i dont know how but the GFX card seems LESS used.

Will keep monitoring, but at the moment the plug is showing a draw of 218w while i'm running around in TLD, same as before when it was drawing 400+w.
 
TruffleShuffle said:
it's V-SYNC! Litterally switching it off nearly doubles the power draw from the PC! going to start a new thread on this in the Graphics card channel.
Click to expand...
That's surprising .... assume its only gpu wattage going up, or cpu as well?
So, I gave it a go on mine ... same results with v synch ON then OFF? 320W gpu/37W cpu. Odd how gpu hits power limit even though it is undervolted, maybe MSI Kombuster stress test has something to do with it?
Anyhow, still not sure why you get these differing power draws, what kit do you have?
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Coolermaster 650W from 2013 on old i7-3770k build.

Due a service by myself.

I'll need to open it up and use air compressor on it at work.

A wee nosey to see if any bulging caps that need marked with red pen and a sniff around. I'm not expecting any issues.

I'm confident the service is all it will need, and good to go for many years.

I need to find a use for the old PC with my current GPU, though.
 
It's going to depend on usage and requirements, but anything gold+ from a reputable brand should see you good, it's debatable amounts of efficiency beyond that. If you use the system regularly expect the lifespan to be somewhere around where the warranty is (with some margin of error, a larger or negative margin for crappier brands). Have a mix of EVGA and Superflower golds across systems, and they're much the much but holding up... (one EVGA is really holding out and a few years beyond warranty now).
 
Still running my EVGA SuperNova G2 1000W from 2014. Currently powering my 5950x with 7900xtx. Not sure if its time to replace it as nearly 10 years old.

Dont want to get the famous POP! and all my components get blown out.
 
Corsair AX850 Titanium, originally sold in 2018 (not to me), returned to corsair for repair, I bought it manufacturer refurbished in 2020 with 10yr warranty (starting from the date it was sold to me, not the date of original sale to the previous owner).

I've had PSUs last 10-15 years before though. Infact the only PSUs I've ever seen die were either cheap unbranded ones or quality ones hit by electrical surges during a storm. If you live in a storm-prone area always buy (and renew) surge protectors.
 
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My Corsair AX1200i is still going strong after 8 1/2 years.

I thought at the time that £240 was a lot to spend on a PSU but given the 1600 watt version currently sells for twice that I'd say it was a bargain.

It's done me proud so far and is still in warranty for another 18 months, hopefully it lasts even longer than that.

I've a few other PSU's around the place that are much older and still working but they've not been used almost every day like the AX1200i so I think it's unfair to include them in any lifespan measurement.
 
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