How long can the "right" PSU last?

[RealNeil]

I wouldn't use it. I had four PSUs that were 4 and 5 years old and I started phasing them out about 6 months ago.
All are replaced with quality Gold rated PSUs now.

Years ago I had an Antec PSU go out in a new build. It was 6 months old at the time. It took my CPU, Motherboard, GPU, and RAM along for the ride. All of it was a total loss. Antec didn't want to do anything to help me with it, so they've been on my shit list ever since.

A PSU is the cornerstone of any PC build. This is where you never take chances, and you don't buy cheap either. Many of us feel this way. A lot of us know this from experience.

 

[Mr.Scott]

OEM is more important than brand name. Every brand out there has good and bad units.
Knowledge is power, know what you're actually buying.

I still bench on a 10 year old Turbocool 1200. Thing is a tank.

 

[Folterknecht]

OEM is more important than brand name.

And that 's why you are supposed to buy Seasonic PSUs!

 

[JalleR]

her is a Rereview of a 10year old PSU

https://www.hardocp.com/article/2018/05/31/thermaltake_toughpower_1200w_psu_10_years_later/

 

[Thefumigator]

I would go for an 80 plus psu, just because of power efficiency. But that's me.

 

[RCoon]

I have an Antec EarthWatts PSU that's 8 years old, and a SeaSonic M12II that's 7 years old, both still going in systems that are turned on nearly 24/7/365. There's no reason a top quality PSU shouldn't last for 10 years.

 

[jboydgolfer]

That suggests planned obsolescence. I don't abide by that. The warranty period can be used as a rough guide to determine the minimum life expectancy - not how long it will last.

You're welcome to your opinion Bill, I'm not gonna argue with you. im certainly not interested in helping you understand warrantees.

 

[Frick]

If you want to expand the term to any power supply the answer is decades. SMPS's are more complex than say a transformer and a graetz bridge but a properly built one could last decades as well. We're not talking consumer electronics here though, think military grade.

 

[Deleted member 67555]

I'm on year 10 on my main PC's PSU...
At most I've only ever used it at 50-60% of it's design potential and currently I am at about 40%.
I already have it's replacement and have had it for a few years.. I'm just not in a hurry to replace something unnecessarily.

Edit:
I think it was in 2016 I lost 2 PC's and a TV to a blown transformer..
One of the PC's was instant death and the other followed a week later.
I can't express enough how bad that sucked.
The PC that died a week after the first died when the PSU popped... It literally sounded like a wooden sauce spoon smacking a cast iron skillet.

 

[jboydgolfer]

I'm on year 10 on my main PC's PSU...
At most I've only ever used it at 50-60% of it's design potential and currently I am at about 40%.
I already have it's replacement and have had it for a few years.. I'm just not in a hurry to replace something unnecessarily.

Yup, smart choice. Why fix a part thats not broken?

 

[dorsetknob]

Only Reason(s) to replace a good quality PSU are
its fubarded or it does not have the correct power connections ie enough GPU power connectors

 

[Papahyooie]

I have a PSU that I built my first PC with in 2000... and that came out of a computer that was running windows 95....

Still going strong, though that particular machine doesn't get used much (old games, etc) It doesn't even have 24 pin ATX, only 20.

 

[Bill_Bright]

You're welcome to your opinion Bill, I'm not gonna argue with you. im certainly not interested in helping you understand warrantees.

That's good. Because suggesting warranties are there to tell consumers when something will fail indicates a clear lack of understanding warranties. And your reply to jmcslob indicates that - not to mention is totally contradictory with that idea.

I already have it's replacement and have had it for a few years.. I'm just not in a hurry to replace something unnecessarily.

Yup, smart choice. Why fix a part thats not broken?

I agree 100%. But by your previous logic, it was "planned" to fail years ago when the warranty ran out, and so should have already been replaced due to imminent doom looming overhead!

Warranties are not subscription based. They are not like software that, for example, stops upgrading if you don't renew your subscription, or reverts back to on-demand instead of real-time.

Sorry jmcslob. That's the problem with buying ahead and warranties. The warranty period begins on the date of purchase! Your brand new PSU may be out of warranty before you break the seal on the box. And according to one individual, its planned obsolescence clock has been ticking all this time!

While planned obsolescence (where PSUs stop working after a specified warranty period) is not technically illegal, it is highly unethical. But more to the point, it is certainly silly to suggest it exists because (1) it would require all PSU makers to "conspire" to implement this "feature" and that is illegal. And (2) all it would take is one ethical company to refuse to comply with the "kill timer" feature to wipe out all their competition and take over the entire market. Beyond that, I'm certainly not interested in helping you understand "free markets" and "anti-trust" laws. That's not the topic of this thread.

Only Reason(s) to replace a good quality PSU are
its fubarded or it does not have the correct power connections ie enough GPU power connectors

Right. One other reason might be if you added additional hardware or upgraded your graphics solution and you now need a bigger PSU to support them. Not because the warranty ran out. But even then, the old PSU can go back on your shelf and be used in another build that has smaller power demands. No need to toss it in the trash bin.

Years ago I had an Antec PSU go out in a new build. It was 6 months old at the time. It took my CPU, Motherboard, GPU, and RAM along for the ride. All of it was a total loss. Antec didn't want to do anything to help me with it, so they've been on my shit list ever since.

I sure cannot say I would not be upset too, but it really is not fair to hold a grudge years after this incident - not when there's no proof it was actually the PSU that took out the connected components. It worked for 6 months. If this happened the first time you powered up, I would suspect the PSU too. But after 6 months, it likely was Mother Nature or some other extreme power anomaly zapping the power grid,. When she's determined and targeting you, nothing can stop her.

IMO, you should have filed a claim against your UPS maker (you had your computer on an UPS, right?). No? Then you had it on a surge and spike protector, I hope, and you should have filed your claim against them.

I am not aware of any PSU maker who will cover damage to connected devices.

I have used many Antecs in many builds. But like many brands (Corsair comes to mind), I avoid their entry-level lines. I have an EarthWatts 430W Green still chugging along (and in near silence too! ) after 9 years. And while the design of many Antec cases won't win any fashion awards, their designed function and quality construction tend to be top notch. Antec makes some great (and quiet) case fans too.

 

[Deleted member 67555]

@Bill_Bright
When I bought it I thought my PSU was the problem... It ended up being the mobo was warped.
The warping caused a solder to slightly separate on a cap in the bios area on a gigabyte z87...just above the x16 pcie slot.
I'm not exactly worried about the warranty expiring since it's a Seasonic Platinum.. It still has 8.5 years

 

[Bill_Bright]

It is always good to have a spare PSU handy. If nothing else, you can use it to test fans and drive motors. But, also, since everything inside the computer case depends on good, clean, stable power, a good troubleshooting starting point is to swap in a known good PSU.

A warped motherboard is not good. That suggests a faulty case as it is the case's job to provide a perfectly flat mounting platform (on top of the standoffs) for the motherboard. Either your case had a factory defect, or somehow became "untrue" (bends were no longer exactly 90°) due to mishandling (fell off the FexEx truck during transport?). I received a Corsair 400 case that was not "true" . It would wobble because only 3 of the 4 feet touched the floor unless I pressed down on the case top with considerable weight. Since the box it came in was undamaged, I have to assume it left the factory that way.

Since then, I always test cases to make sure they are "true" before mounting the motherboards. Any case that is not true may torque or warp a motherboard, or at least put undue and uneven stress on the motherboard mounting points. Either way, not good.

 

[RealNeil]

(you had your computer on an UPS, right?). No? Then you had it on a surge and spike protector

There were two systems, side by side. Both of them were on the same house circuit. (both were on surge/spike protectors)
One had the Antec PSU and the other had a Seasonic PSU. Both systems had the same motherboards, CPUs, and memory. The GPUs and HDDs were close to the same specs in each box.
The Antec blew and killed the system. The Seasonic box continued to work properly for years afterward.

That's proof enough for me. It hasn't happened again since I quit Antec.

Once bitten, twice shy.

 

[Bill_Bright]

That's proof enough for me. It hasn't happened again since I quit Antec.

I learned long ago that when it comes to electronics, one event is not proof of anything. And for sure, one event with one sample of one model number is not indicative of a lousy brand.

If it was, and I felt that way about all products, I would probably be sitting naked in an open field with no possessions whatsoever. For no brand of any product could be trusted.

Once bitten, twice shy.

Yes, that is true. But only with the same dog.

 

[eidairaman1]

Idk , i'll not trust a PSU that has been running on different systems for about 10 years , It might finger you at any moment.

Only cheap crap models that are made by sirfa, hipower, some cwt.

I agree with @dorsetknob

Only replace when it fails or has signs of undesired performance.

All electronics are like this, some are doa, some last 2 seconds, some 30seconds, some an hour, some a day, weeks, 1 year, 20+ years, 50+ years.

 

[erpguy53]

I have an Antec Basiq BP500U for several years (I put it into one of my relative's PC replacing an old Bestec PSU) and the Antec BP500u 500w is still working great. Also have an Enermax EG465P-VE FMA II (now a rare & hard to find PSU) on my HP m8417c computer and still going strong and on my other custom built PC w/ a Gigabyte board I have a Seasonic S12II-620 620w PSU also working well

 

[eidairaman1]

I have an Antec Basiq BP500U for several years (I put it into one of my relative's PC replacing an old Bestec PSU) and the Antec BP500u 500w is still working great. Also have an Enermax EG465P-VE FMA II (now a rare & hard to find PSU) on my HP m8417c computer and still going strong and on my other custom built PC w/ a Gigabyte board I have a Seasonic S12II-620 620w PSU also working well

Iirc bestec used cwt, highpower/hec or sirfa.

 

[Gasaraki]

My Enermax 850W from 2008 is still going strong. It's now powering my 2080 X58 just fine.

 

[kapone32]

I have used OCZ, Thermaltake and Corsair PSUs and my favourite is Corsair. I still have the TX850M from 2008 and a TX850M from 2017 and a HX1200! as my current PSU. All of them still work and the TX850M and HX1200! came with a 10 year warranty. The only PSU that died was a Ultra 750W LED from Tiger Direct (remember them) that lasted for 4 months. The LED fan still works though lol. The basic principle is that you never skimp on your PSU and get the best your money can afford. It honestly doesn't surprise me that your PSU is still viable.

 

[TRIPTEX_CAN]

After lots of testing, gaming, and overclocking setup ive decided to replace the psu. I think in a system with lower wattage needs this unit would still be fine.

Im finding that under heavy load on both the cpu and gpu the system is becoming less and less stable.

Initially with this cpu I was running a gtx1060 with less case fans. Now that ive added several more rgb higher rpm fans and a swapped for a gtx1080 the system isn't behaving like it should.

Overclocks that were stable are no longer stable and whats stable in something like cinebench isnt stable in BFV or other cpu heavy games.

Psu calculators put my system draw at 650-670w. I dont think this unit is able to supply that much powere as reliably anymore... sure for few minutes but not sustained.

If i kept the 1060 and less non rgb fans I dont think I'd ever have noticed

 

[Shou Miko]

Doesn't help if you buy a bigger watts psu then needed so it can actually last a longer time because it will never be under 90-100% load?

I am not sure where I picked this up.

 

[Bill_Bright]

Psu calculators put my system draw at 650-670w.

The only calculator worth using is the eXtreme Power Supply Calculator. This is for 3 distinct reasons.

1. They have a full time dedicated staff researching components,
2. The calculator is extremely flexible, providing many options - instead of guessing or padding for what they think you might have,
3. It is the most conservative.

#3 is probably the most important. All PSU calculators pad the results a little to avoid recommending an underpowered supply. But, by far, the eXtreme Outer Vision PSU calculator is the most accurate because it is so flexible with so many input and utilization options.

With that in mind, I came in no where near 650W. I topped out at 458W with a recommended supply of 508W. You have not included your full specs so I guessed and added my own padding by saying you run at 100% CPU utilization, have 4 x 140mm fans, 2 x 8GB RAM, and I entered 16 hours per day for utilization and gaming.

So I don't know how you came up with 650W - 670W.

Doesn't help if you buy a bigger watts psu then needed so it can actually last a longer time because it will never be under 90-100% load?

Yeah, not really true. But buying too big is still not the best idea as PSUs (even 80 PLUS PSUs) tend to be most efficient when running ~50% loads. When under utilized, they are least efficient, but that does not affect longevity.

Running at 90-100% is not bad, but can affect longevity because the supply will be subject to higher temps for longer periods of time. While those temps should not be excessive, it is still long term exposure to higher temps that might increase aging.

Another downside to running at 90 - 100% for long durations is that likely will cause the fan to run faster increasing wear on the bearings and more importantly (to me, at least) is increased fan noise. And I hate fan noise.