How often to change PSU?

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spree01

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Jun 3, 2016
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Hello I'm gonna upgrade my old graphicscard for a 1070. Now this is the most expensive single component that Ive ever bought.
Makes me a bit worried about my old PSU, it works fine (no problems at all) it's coming up on 5 years old tho.

Ive heard so many horror stories of psus failimg and destroying a bunch of stuff, should i change my working psu now just to be sure? Wouldnt be fun at all if the psu gets too old and destroys my expensive graphics card...

PSU: FSP500 60apn 500w
 
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SR-71 Blackbird has already put in his two cents. And while I don't necessarily agree with his choice to include the CXM series from Corsair, I do know that he knows what he's doing a good bit better than I do. Not that I'm not smart, the guy's simply a genius.

I guess I'll throw in my two cents as well... Or maybe one cent since I only have one suggested unit. Bad joke, I know. Moving on...

I'd recommend the Seasonic S12ii 620W Bronze. Please don't be turned down by its lack of a 80+ Gold rating. These are simply efficiency ratings and do not represent actual PSU quality. I believe that the Seasonic S12ii Bronze series (although a slightly older design) still competes with many modern 80+ Gold designs like the Corsair RMx series.
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clutchc

clutchc

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It will depend on...
1) how often the PSU was running above its efficiency rating and for how long
2) how long the PSU has been in continuous use over the years
3) how clean the local electrical service is (spikes, surges, low voltage, noise)
4) quality of the unit. (yours is not one of the best. poor +12V specs. unsuitable for the GTX 1070)

Change it.
 
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bwinzey

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Power supplies don't die of age. Power supplies break when they are:
1) under constant stress for a long time, and components overheat and burn
2) overheating due to dust buildup and/or the cooling fan breaks due to age
3) running during power surges
Your power supply is made by a brand which seems, although not popular amongst PC builders, of high quality. They make many other types of power supplies, including medical PSU's, which have to be of extreme quality (otherwise they wouldn't be allowed to sell them).
It also seems good, because it has an 82% efficiency. It also says that the power supply can endure 100,000 hours running at 100% load. Correct me if I'm wrong, but that's 10+ years.
 
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spree01

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Thank you all for your answers, looks like I will be buying a new one. Dont want to spend too much on a PSU, is any of these ones good? Which one of these? (If neither is good just tell me, I go with good products rather than cheap ones)
https://www.inet.se/filter/595?&properties=%7B%2294%22:%7B%22min%22:%22500%22,%22max%22:%22750%22%7D,%22-2%22:%7B%22value%22:%221%22%7D,%22-1%22:%7B%22min%22:%22389%22,%22max%22:%22599%22%7D%7D


PS: I dont need more than 500W, always good with a bit more tho.

Does all PSU's work with all cpus and gpus? I got no idea when it comes to PSU's
 
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weberdarren97

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Aug 10, 2015
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The Corsair RM750x would be the best one that I see on the highlighted section at the top.

I can't see the rest of the page since my PC is freaking out that the page is in another language. (my brother has translator extensions installed, to me they're just bothersome)
 
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spree01

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The corsair is not a part of the list, here are the ones that I was thinking of (budget PSU's)

Be quiet system power 8 500W

Cooler master b2 500W

Cooler master ?b2 600W

Evga 500B 500w

Fractal design effekt 500W (or same one with 600W)
 
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turkey3_scratch

turkey3_scratch

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A lot of this is all fluff, though. Has 82% load under what load conditions? 50% load as tested by the 80+ organization? Only thing is, the 80+ organization’s tests put a decent amount of load on the minor rails, efficiency can vary in a real-world system in 2016 where the minor rails are near useless. 100,000 hours running 100% load. A lot of stuff depends on the environment it is in, and what precisely is defined as 100% load. Personally, I don't take the word for it when companies say stuff like this. But it could very well last that long for all we know, who knows? I don't really know what the capacitors inside it are like.

I know their website advertises medical use. But I'm sure there are plenty of "mdeical PSUs" made by Delta and the likes in basic Dell machines that hospitals probably use. Delta is about as professional as it gets for commercial power supplies.

Also, running a PSU at 100% load for a long time, I don't exactly see how things are going to " burn" per se. That's like saying a bagel won't cook in 100F weather, but if a bagel is in 100F weather for 10 years straight, it'll be burnt and cooker. no, it'll just remain warm as it was from the start.

Most common failures you'd see in PSUs:

1) Capacitors, easily replaceable
2) Fan, needs re-oiled or replaced
3) Connectors on cables spreading and shorting out either from heat or humidity (why gold-plated connectors are the best on cable ends!)
4) Resistors, transistors, anything?
 
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spree01

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Jun 3, 2016
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The corsair is not a part of the list, here are the ones that I was thinking of (budget PSU's)

Be quiet system power 8 500W

Cooler master b2 500W

Cooler master ?b2 600W

Evga 500B 500w

Fractal design effekt 500W (or same one with 600W)

Thanks for your fast answers as well.
 
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bwinzey

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What I was trying to get at is simply that you shouldn't just replace a PSU because its 'old'. They don't wear out over time. Failures 1 and 4 which you stated are simply situational, which, as I was saying, can happen because of stress at any time, independent of age. I've never seen #3 happen but I can imagine why it could happen from heat.
 
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weberdarren97

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How do you know this? Did they test it for 11.2 years before releasing it? If so, they released a design that's over a decade old.

These numbers are usually only estimates. Just because something says it lasts 10 years doesn't mean it'll still be working like new after ten years have gone by. Will it still turn the system on? Maybe. Will it be a stable system? Maybe. Will the PSU still be within spec? After ten years, I'm not really sure about this one. Depending on the quality of the individual model, it could swing either direction.
 
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spree01

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Hey mate, attention back to me! :D
I want your opinion on which PSU to choose, of those listed above. Or if none of them are good, can you name a good PSU under 80 bucks?

Here are they again:

Be quiet system power 8 500W

Cooler master ?b2 600W (or 500W)

Evga 500B 500w

Fractal design effekt 500W (or same one with 600W)
 
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weberdarren97

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SR-71 Blackbird has already put in his two cents. And while I don't necessarily agree with his choice to include the CXM series from Corsair, I do know that he knows what he's doing a good bit better than I do. Not that I'm not smart, the guy's simply a genius.

I guess I'll throw in my two cents as well... Or maybe one cent since I only have one suggested unit. Bad joke, I know. Moving on...

I'd recommend the Seasonic S12ii 620W Bronze. Please don't be turned down by its lack of a 80+ Gold rating. These are simply efficiency ratings and do not represent actual PSU quality. I believe that the Seasonic S12ii Bronze series (although a slightly older design) still competes with many modern 80+ Gold designs like the Corsair RMx series.
 
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birdsoup74

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birdsoup74

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Hi Spree. I know this is late but i hope it helps others asking the same question today. I have had Top of the line PSUs fail around the 5-7 year mark. I only buy psu from reputable brands. I have owned the best psu from Antec. I have noticed with my usage. I leave my computer on 15 hours mon - friday and 24 hours sat-sun. Mon_ Friday i turn it on around 4pm and shut it down at 7 am and turn it back on at 4pm. The weekends i leave it on. I think its a good idea to replace it around 5-7 year mark if you are using it consistently for a medium to heavy user. They do degrade over time. i dont think you will notice a performance drop as it gets older but when they fail that's it from my experience. No warning as well. You have a psu for 5-7 years with med to heavy use, than you got your moneys worth. Replace it before it gives you a real headache.
 
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jankerson

jankerson

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I just replaced my Seasonic M12ii 620W as it was over 7 years old and that with 24/7/365 use. 3 years of that was constant heavy use 24/7/365.

2+ Years past the warranty period so I figure I got my money out of it.

It's still good however so I can use it as a backup unit or test unit.

Could I have still used it?

Possibly, but I figured it was on borrowed time so I replaced it.
 
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