PSU age, usefullness, debate open

Discussion in 'General Hardware' started by ifixit, Oct 24, 2016.

  1. ifixit

    ifixit Guest

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    So I dragged this out of another thread I was in as I didn't want to side track the issue but stevienicks reply really got me thinking



    My specs were not updated which I explained to him in another post BUT it did make me think..


    Here's an intersting question does the age of a PSU matter if it has the right motherboard connectors.

    Seeing that the PSU supplies stable DC voltages to the motherboard at 3.3, 5 and 12 volts and the board then takes over power distribution of the dc voltages.

    Because you mention that supply is old, no argument there lol, it's been hanging around my test bench for years.. however when I m,ake a up test rigs etc, it's allways been my goto PSU and it's never let me down. I service take good care of it always have. It's rating doesn't support SLI or anything but it switches on everything I have plugged into it so far..


    Should I really bin old blue for my test rigs.. opinions?

    as in it's like a gem of the batch.. must have got a good run of components that day.
     
  2. Extraordinary

    Extraordinary Guest

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    PSUs internals such as caps get old and worn, can not perform like they could when they were new, can not handle the load they could when they were new

    Old PSU supplying the correct voltages at idle is one thing, but put it under load and the weakest link pops, possibly taking the rest of your system out with it, not really worth the risk IMO

    £150~ every 3-5 years isn't a bad deal to give the rest of your system the best chance of not being fried, and be sure thirsty hardware like GPUs/CPUs are getting enough juice when they need it
     
  3. ifixit

    ifixit Guest

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    Ty good point.

    Yes I do think i'll replace my backup now and PSU's are cheap as chips these days. Glad he actually said that to me now, I just never ever thought about it.
     
  4. lucidus

    lucidus Ancient Guru

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    I use mine as long as it is providing the right voltages and I'm not getting things like random restarts under load. My previous corsair tx750 had those two issues barely after warranty expired and I bought a new one or else I would've continued using it.
     

  5. alanm

    alanm Ancient Guru

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    Good caps (obviously) are more durable than cheap ones. No.1 degrader of caps is heat. Always look for Japanese caps in PSUs and ensure it has more headroom than needed. A PSU that only runs at half power produces far less heat than one running near peak. So if a system needs 500w, go for a quality 750w. Should last longer.
     
  6. Agent-A01

    Agent-A01 Ancient Guru

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    Depends on if its a high quality PSU.
    A very high quality PSU can run its rated specs for years, easily 5-10 years.

    Not sure what PSU you have in particular but if it's really old i would replace it regardless only if you power on new systems with.
    New hardware requires a newer ATX spec, old power supplies are incompatible in some regards.
     
  7. airbud7

    airbud7 Guest

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    This^.....maybe I got lucky but this psu is going on 9 years and still kicking/ knock on wood :D
     
  8. ifixit

    ifixit Guest

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    R9 280x > n dead 290x

    Reviews were praising Enermax at the time I originally purchased it, at 495w it was a top of the line model from Enermax as well. from memory and my god, how long have I had it.

    I never new FSP were so good but it turned out that they make most of the other brands out there.

    The research I did on this PSU paid off it's top quality..., and runs probably less than half it's rating, I had ordered the 650 but they had none so they sent me a 750 :) PBtech NZ..freaking awesome.. modular etc.


    this will give you a run down on FSP top line quality.

    http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story&reid=456

    He's damn good at PSU reviews and made an honest one here.


    Though back to my Enermax. I am still keeping it, changed my mind again, for usefulness it's great, it's less than .003 ac on the dc lines, and it seems to handle anything I have thrown at it. As my test rigs are usually low power consuming stuff, just working on HDD's Linux etc it's good for that.

    I new it was no good for the 280x or 290x hence getting a decent modular PSU,

    but like others have said quality makes savings, whats the point of paying extra to throw it away like it was made in china(think mine was made in Taiwan :) )
     
  9. jbmcmillan

    jbmcmillan Guest

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    I have an old Enermax 465 watt still working here not currently in a rig but was until about 3 months ago.lol I think it's from 2003-4
     

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