PSU lifespan?

Acme said:
I had a Winpower self combust rather spectacularly once. :D

The best part was that the computer remained on whilst there were visible flames. Amazing...
Click to expand...
actually that Phenom II x4 940 with a gigabyte mobo and unbranded PSU - I thought that it was the mobo starting to fail after 8 yrs but perhaps it was the PSU? I had to keep reducing the number of HDD's to get a successful boot.
 
EVGA have a few PSU's with 10 years warranty. So I imagine them models should be good? I got my daughter a EVGA 750w gold a couple of years ago when the Ryzen 7 1700 came out - so far its working fine but I should hope so.
 
I currently am having a problem. Perhaps now ignore my posts above. I have an overclocked FX8350 (4.0 to 4.4 ghz) bundle (Gigabyte ultra durable mobo) from OcUK Dec2015. I bought a new Kolink Bronze 600W PSU to go with it https://www.overclockers.co.uk/koli...us-bronze-modular-power-supply-ca-02d-kk.html

So it is 3.5 years old now. I am now having boot problems unless I take the OC off. What is it likely to be and how do I check? Is it more likely to be the PSU rather than the mobo? Presumably the CPU doesn't burn out this easily as it is just a piece of silicon. Do I simply check by hooking it up to another PSU?
 
My OCZ ZS 750w Bronze is still going strong, having outlasted the company that made it. It's technically a budget model and I'm guessing it's about 7 years old now.

It's been on easy street the last few months with a 65w Ryzen 7 2700 and just an RX 550 (neither O/Cd). Back in the day it proved itself with an FX-8350 and two GTX 970s in SLI without a problem.

I have no reservations continuing with it for at least the rest of the lifespan of AM4.
 
BlackAle said:
My previous PSU a Corsair HX520 (made by Seasonic) was used for over a decade before I retired it (still working), my current Seasonic has a 12 year warranty, so I may still be using it after 15 years.
Click to expand...

My HX620 is an elderly 12 years old and is still going strong in my current PC which pulls 400W+ from the wall socket.
I have picked up a RM850x for for my new Zen 2 build which is waiting until 7/7
 
Alan1969 said:
EVGA have a few PSU's with 10 years warranty. So I imagine them models should be good? I got my daughter a EVGA 750w gold a couple of years ago when the Ryzen 7 1700 came out - so far its working fine but I should hope so.
Click to expand...
I just read a review of the EVGA gold and apparently they are made by superflower so that explains why they get so good reviews, and they often have 10 yr warrantys.
 
All my current computers use Antec (Seasonic built) power supplies and as and when I've needed another, I have put the new one in my main rig and moved the others down one so that the older power supplies are used in the least frequently used computers where they are under less load/stress. Once they are out of warranty, I open them up every few years to give them a good vacuum out and a general visual inspection. The only issue I ever had was when one of the modular SATA outputs stopped delivering 12 volts but that was traced to a dry joint that was repaired with a blob of solder. Some of them are well over ten years old by now and still seem to be ok.

One surprising PSU I came across was a cheap unbranded one I bought new about 12 years ago from a local shop for £20. It was meant as a stopgap for a friend who ran a garage and needed to get his PC working urgently as he relied on it for all his invoices and it was costing him revenue. The PSU was only meant to last a few days whilst I ordered him a decent one online. However, because the PC was now working and he was always producing invoices, he kept postponing the date to change the PSU and it ended up never getting replaced. Two years ago he sold the business and gave me the old computer for parts. The PC had spent its life under the desk on the floor and had operated for twelve hours a day, six days a week for over ten years. The PSU was full of fluff and other workshop detritus, but it had never faltered once in all that time. One thing that may have helped was the workshop was unheated, cold and draughty all year round and the PC had a good supply of cool air. Also, it was only running Windows XP with a Microsoft Access based accounting programme and was never under any real stress. Should it have been used in a way that demanded more from it, it may have had a much reduced lifespan.
 
bakes0310 said:
I have a 3 year old superflower 1000w platinum PSU. How long should you keep a PSU for, what's the first signs that a PSU is dieing?

Nothing wrong with mine but I would like to save some money on a new build next year by not getting an expensive PSU.
Click to expand...

I have the same PSU, it's about 5 or 6 years old now (I've lost count), apart from a very small issue with the fan recently where I got it all working again by opening it up and cleaning it out, it's still going strong.
 
Had to raise a RMA for my 6 year old Seasonic over the weekend, PC started randomly turning itself off with no warning. They've approved it will see what they say once it's back to them.
 
Acme said:
I believe one of the well known PSU testing/review sites took a (good quality) PSU which they tested 12 - 15 years ago and re-tested it.
The results were not within the original specification anymore, but were still better than some brand new cheap units
Ill try and find the article when I get to work. :)
Click to expand...

HardOCP is where they tested a few:
https://www.hardocp.com/article/2019/03/28/seasonic_x750_750w_psu_10_year_redux/1 seasonic x750 (passed)
https://www.hardocp.com/article/2015/03/09/silverstone_olympia_1000w_power_supply_7_year_redux/ silverstone olympia 1kw (fail - ripple)
https://www.hardocp.com/article/2018/03/12/cooler_master_real_power_pro_1000w_psu_10_year_redux/1 CM real power pro 1kw (fail - torture test)


ForTheQuestions said:
would a Corsair 650TX still be "alright"?
Click to expand...
which model exactly? corsair has released/re-released the TX series a few times.
 
ForTheQuestions said:
Was just asking in another thread about re-using old parts for a new PC, would a Corsair 650TX still be "alright"? It's about 5 years old and tbh I've not used my PC much in the time I've had it.
Click to expand...
I would suggest that providing the new PC has a power consumption well under the output capacity of your current PSU, then you "should" be ok (considering that PSU output diminishes as they get older).

Edit: while I was writing this post, "tamzzy" posted above - see the links that he posted - that may help you come to a decision.
 
tamzzy said:
HardOCP is where they tested a few:
https://www.hardocp.com/article/2019/03/28/seasonic_x750_750w_psu_10_year_redux/1 seasonic x750 (passed)
https://www.hardocp.com/article/2015/03/09/silverstone_olympia_1000w_power_supply_7_year_redux/ silverstone olympia 1kw (fail - ripple)
https://www.hardocp.com/article/2018/03/12/cooler_master_real_power_pro_1000w_psu_10_year_redux/1 CM real power pro 1kw (fail - torture test)



which model exactly? corsair has released/re-released the TX series a few times.
Click to expand...

Thats the one. They may have failed the tests, but they still work pretty well and would most likely not cause harm to other components.
 
Acme said:
They may have failed the tests, but they still work pretty well and would most likely not cause harm to other components.
Click to expand...
indeed. it's all relative i guess. if one is spending over a grand, then better to have the peace of mind and get a new psu.
mostly it's the ripple that can cause no end to troubles if it's out of spec...but that being said...a quality psu can last a long time (a la seasonic x750)
 
tamzzy said:
which model exactly? corsair has released/re-released the TX series a few times.
Click to expand...

I've had a look and actually found the box and the receipt was inside, it's actually 8 years old. The model number on the side of the box is CMPSU-650TX and after a little bit of Google it seems that it was made by Seasonic. (Which is/was highly regarded as reliable PSU makers?) So even after 8 years should it still be fine to run? As I said I've not really used my PC much in the last few years.

Appreciate the reply.

Paul_RD said:
I would suggest that providing the new PC has a power consumption well under the output capacity of your current PSU, then you "should" be ok (considering that PSU output diminishes as they get older).

Edit: while I was writing this post, "tamzzy" posted above - see the links that he posted - that may help you come to a decision.
Click to expand...

It'll be powering a Ryzen 2600, RX 570, 16GB Ram and a couple of SSD's, so hopefully that'll be well within the 650W the PSU says, even including the diminishing power due to age.

Thanks for replying.
 
ForTheQuestions said:
So even after 8 years should it still be fine to run?
Click to expand...
probably. you still get the natural degrading of the electrolytic capacitors over time; but i suspect without much use over the last few years, the psu shouldn't pose too much of a danger to the innards of your computer.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom