Very old PSU in new build - good idea?

[s4keru]

Hi, for the last few years I had fun with getting older, cheap (no more than $150, only used parts) but well working builds up. From the first build about 5-6 years ago (C2D E6400, 4 gigs DDR2, 250GB HDD and Geforce GT430) I am still using very old, but quality PSU: Tagan TG-380-U01 which is 380W unit. I used it without a problem while upgrading these systems first to C2Q 8400, 8 gigs DDR2, Radeon HD 5770 Super OC, 1 TB HDD, and now to i5-650, 8 gigs DDR3, Geforce GTX 650 (non Ti) and 1TB HDD. To this day this Tagan PSU is working perfectly fine without any issues almost everyday. The problem is: it is now a 15 years old unit. Because more parts are getting cheaper now where I live (Poland) I plan to make a move to Ryzen. The planned specs are:

Ryzen 3 1200
ASRock A320M-HDV

GoodRAM Iridium Blue 2x4GB 2400MHz DDR4 CL15 DIMM

Some basic 120GB SSSD, nothing special or fancy.

 

Want to keep GTX 650 for a while (i know it will bottleneck but it will get upgraded later) and 1 TB HDD. The question is: should I power it with a PSU this old? Well it works fine for now but who knows if it will later. Also i don't want to do any OC. I can open the PSU and check if there are any signs of wear off, cap leakages or sth. But still, do you think it will be safe to use? It have all cables I need for modern builds: ATX 20+4 pin, 12v CPU 4 pin, PCIe 6 pin, some molex and SATA cables.

 

I am looking for an advice if it is safe to use (assuming that there are no critical signs of wear off) and if not then what PSU can you recommend for this build (quality 350W 80 Plus 230V EU certified, like i don't know Corsair will be good, or should I look for something a little more powerful? I want this setup to be energy efficent (planned GPU is GTX 750 TI, 950 or 1050, depends on price and availability)

 

Thank you in advance 

[Dimondminer11]

2 minutes ago, s4keru said:

Hi, for the last few years I had fun with getting older, cheap (no more than $150, only used parts) but well working builds up. From the first build about 5-6 years ago (C2D E6400, 4 gigs DDR2, 250GB HDD and Geforce GT430) I am still using very old, but quality PSU: Tagan TG-380-U01 which is 380W unit. I used it without a problem while upgrading these systems first to C2Q 8400, 8 gigs DDR2, Radeon HD 5770 Super OC, 1 TB HDD, and now to i5-650, 8 gigs DDR3, Geforce GTX 650 (non Ti) and 1TB HDD. To this day this Tagan PSU is working perfectly fine without any issues almost everyday. The problem is: it is now a 15 years old unit. Because more parts are getting cheaper now where I live (Poland) I plan to make a move to Ryzen. The planned specs are:

Ryzen 3 1200
ASRock A320M-HDV

GoodRAM Iridium Blue 2x4GB 2400MHz DDR4 CL15 DIMM

Some basic 120GB SSSD, nothing special or fancy.

 

Want to keep GTX 650 for a while (i know it will bottleneck but it will get upgraded later) and 1 TB HDD. The question is: should I power it with a PSU this old? Well it works fine for now but who knows if it will later. Also i don't want to do any OC. I can open the PSU and check if there are any signs of wear off, cap leakages or sth. But still, do you think it will be safe to use? It have all cables I need for modern builds: ATX 20+4 pin, 12v CPU 4 pin, PCIe 6 pin, some molex and SATA cables.

 

I am looking for an advice if it is safe to use (assuming that there are no critical signs of wear off) and if not then what PSU can you recommend for this build (quality 350W 80 Plus 230V EU certified, like i don't know Corsair will be good, or should I look for something a little more powerful? I want this setup to be energy efficent (planned GPU is GTX 750 TI, 950 or 1050, depends on price and availability)

 

Thank you in advance 

Bad idea. Like I was just told in a post a few minutes ago the PSU is the most important part of a PC. And one that old could go cablooey any time now.

[GoldenLag]

2 minutes ago, s4keru said:

ASRock A320M-HDV

at least get a good board like the b450 Pro4. 

 

 

like dont buy A-series boards. 

 

3 minutes ago, s4keru said:

PSU can you recommend for this build (quality 350W 80 Plus 230V EU certified, like i don't know Corsair will be good, or should I look for something a little more powerful?

cx450 (2017) from corsair as minimum

[FloRolf]

Energy efficiency starts with the PSU so get a new one. Get some gold rated unit, you can find good ones in the PSU Tier list here on the forum. 

[Herman Mcpootis]

you really sure you want to use an ancient PSU that more than likely has failing capacitors? it can kill off some of the parts if it dies and cost may more than a replacement.

[Herman Mcpootis]

4 minutes ago, s4keru said:

Ryzen 3 1200
ASRock A320M-HDV

GoodRAM Iridium Blue 2x4GB 2400MHz DDR4 CL15 DIMM

Some basic 120GB SSSD, nothing special or fancy.

 

Want to keep GTX 650 for a while (i know it will bottleneck but it will get upgraded later) and 1 TB HDD. The question is: should I power it with a PSU this old? Well it works fine for now but who knows if it will later. Also i don't want to do any OC. I can open the PSU and check if there are any signs of wear off, cap leakages or sth. But still, do you think it will be safe to use? It have all cables I need for modern builds: ATX 20+4 pin, 12v CPU 4 pin, PCIe 6 pin, some molex and SATA cables.

grab a corsair CX/M, be quiet system power 9 or xilence performance A+, 2200G+B350/450 Pro4+3000mhz ram kit and sell off the gtx 650.

[s4keru]

12 minutes ago, Herman Mcpootis said:

you really sure you want to use an ancient PSU that more than likely has failing capacitors? it can kill off some of the parts if it dies and cost may more than a replacement.

Well i don't know if it have anything faulty now, haven't looked inside yet. As I said earlier, it works perfectly fine without any powerdrops, overheating or stability issues.
I am little scared bedcause of it's age that's why I am asking

 

The PSU question is closed - ordering a new one now. But the thing that intigued me now:

13 minutes ago, GoldenLag said:

at least get a good board like the b450 Pro4. 

 

 

like dont buy A-series boards. 

 

cx450 (2017) from corsair as minimum

 

Why I should avoid A series board? I don't need OC because I don't want to do it, Also don't need any fancy stuff and features, only basics. What I need from MOBO is: it works, and it is stable, it support parts that i plan to put in, it will not die in few days or weeks. That's all

[GoldenLag]

Just now, s4keru said:

Why i should avoid A series board? I don't need OC because I don't want to do it, Also don't need any fancy stuff and features, only basics. What I need from MOBO is: it works, and it is stable, it supports parts that i plan to put in, it will not die in few days or weeks. That's all

A320 wont support 3rd gen and they are universally horrid boards. you honestly want tp pay that little extra for the PRO4

[s4keru]

Just now, GoldenLag said:

A320 wont support 3rd gen and they are universally horrid boards. you honestly want tp pay that little extra for the PRO4

Sounds fair enough to me, I will probably reconsider next build plan then 

 

Thank you for advices, and being so fast

 

Have a nice day

 

 

[Spotty]

25 minutes ago, s4keru said:

The question is: should I power it with a PSU this old?

Absolutely not.

 

34 minutes ago, s4keru said:

I can open the PSU and check if there are any signs of wear off, cap leakages or sth.

No...

If you need to ask whether or not it's a good idea to use a 15 year old PSU, then it's a safe assumption you lack the skills to do this safely and could kill yourself in the process. Not even sure what you're expecting to see? Just because the caps haven't leaked doesn't mean the PSU is in good condition. Pointless endeavour anyway since the PSU needs to be replaced. The only thing you should be doing with that PSU is recycling it somewhere that accepts eWaste.

[s4keru]

12 minutes ago, Spotty said:

Absolutely not.

 

No...

If you need to ask whether or not it's a good idea to use a 15 year old PSU, then it's a safe assumption you lack the skills to do this safely and could kill yourself in the process. Not even sure what you're expecting to see? Just because the caps haven't leaked doesn't mean the PSU is in good condition. Pointless endeavour anyway since the PSU needs to be replaced. The only thing you should be doing with that PSU is recycling it somewhere that accepts eWaste.

Well, I know that it is dangerous and I know how to do it safely. Did it few times earlier for fun with all the safety rules. I started this thread to make myself sure that it is bad idea to still operate with a PSU this old. Why I wasn't sure? Well, you probably heard the rule if it works - don't touch it. I know that as electronics age they're getting worse and worse, completely different than the wine. Just wanted to make myself sure that it is time for changes

[LukeSavenije]

14 minutes ago, s4keru said:

f it works - don't touch it.

which doesn't apply to something that can literally fry your system...

[s4keru]

6 minutes ago, LukeSavenije said:

which doesn't apply to something that can literally fry your system...

Yeah, if it will fry some used cheap stuff like that i5 and cheap GTX 650 - I will not cry, but as I said planning to do upgrade of it to something modern which will be definitely more painful if PSU kill it. That's why this thread was created.

 

Now if someone can close it, it will be great, i know everything I wanted to know now.

 

Again, huge thanks

[LukeSavenije]

4 minutes ago, s4keru said:

Now if someone can close it

select in your opinion the best answer and click on the checkmark below it, that'll mark it as solved

 

and all of us generally appreciate some likes if you got time