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How to tell if a PSU is dying?

Go to solution Solved by Langdon,

Thanks, everyone! Can't really pick one best answer, they all have helped. :)

Hey, guys. I'd like to know if there are any signs or anything to tell if a PSU is about to die. 

I'd like to know beforehand so I can pull it out and swap it, just in case it explodes or something. 

Also, how often should I change my PSU?

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i don't think you should change your psu at all, unless you're buying really cheap ones (unlike the one in your signature)

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I usually change my PSU when I completely rebuild a computer (every 4 years or so). However, I still have a couple of old ones around that still work. A good PSU will last longer than the computer.

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Hey, guys. I'd like to know if there are any signs or anything to tell if a PSU is about to die. 

I'd like to know beforehand so I can pull it out and swap it, just in case it explodes or something. 

Also, how often should I change my PSU?

PSU's degrade over time because its capacitors age. Your PSU isn't very good, but it isn't terrible either. It doesn't sound like the type of power supply that will "take others with it", so as long as you have it connected to a surge protector, you should be fine. Use it until it dies.
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Pretty much anything beyond normal operation can be a hint, but there's no definite answer without using a multimetre. Look out for:

Changes in noise (e.g. fan over-revving, high pitched capacitor noises when not on load).

Unexplained BSODs.

Delayed startups. 

Smoke and fire pouring out the back.

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When time comes you will know it. (Cause your PC won't start ^^)

My Pc: Cpu: I7 4790k @ 4,8 Ghz @1,25 volts, Motherboard: Maximus VII Formula, Graphicscard: 2x Titan X @1,4 at stock voltage (soon to be replaced), Ram: 32 gb Corsair Dominator Platinum 2133 Cl 9, SSD: 2x 850 Pro 1 Tb in Raid 0, 2x Samsung 840 Evo 1 tb raid 1,, PSU: Corsair HXi Series 1000W 80+ Platinum, Case: H440. Soon to be watercooled again, maybe, probably, the Titans are too loud. 

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You can't really tell, but if it's constantly ramping the fan speed up and down and you're getting blue screens then you should replace it.

There are 10 types of people in this world, those who understand binary, and those who don't.

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I got hints my power supply was doing bad when the fan was running faster at the same load. Also, I used a Killawatt, and it was showing my Power Factor was getting in the 70's when it was an 80+ power supply. Also, my overclock was starting to show sings of instability. Programs would crash, CPU would linger in the low power states even after the CPu was being loaded, etc. If your PSU is out of warranty you can (cautiously) open it and inspect capacitors. Though I don't recommend that to someone who has no experience with high voltage. 

When i doubt, get a new one and ask a tech savvy friend to examine your old one. a Corsair 500w modular PSU can be had cheaply and used as a spare while your main one is out of the shop. 

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Trust me it's not going to explode, you will just get power delivery problems that will shut down your computer / prevent it from starting. You may however experience BSOD's etc from uneven power delivery when it's about time.

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Thanks, everyone! Can't really pick one best answer, they all have helped. :)

Case-NZXT H440 | Motherboard-Gigabyte Z77X-UD3H | RAM-Kingston HyperX Blue 2x8GB 1600MHz | CPU-Intel 3770K @ 4.3GHz at 1.215v | Heatsink-Coolermaster Hyper212 Evo | GPU-EVGA GTX660 SC | SSD-MX200 250GB | HDD-Seagate Barracuda 3TB | PSU-EVGA GS650

Mouse-Logitech G600 | Keyboard-Ducky Shine 3 MX Blue. white backlight | Headphones-Audiotechnica ATH-M50s. Beyerdynamic DT990

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