10 years old PSU

[Nickel16]

Hi guys,

 

i´m currently using an almost 10 year old PSU from Seasonic (M12D-750) which i own since the beginning. It is still working just fine but i was wondering whether it could become dangerous to keep running on this PSU (even though everything is working).

I´m particularly concerned about other pc parts taking damage from it one day.

 

Thanks in advance!

 

[Spotty]

11 minutes ago, Nickel16 said:

i´m currently using an almost 10 year old PSU from Seasonic (M12D-750) which i own since the beginning. It is still working just fine but i was wondering whether it could become dangerous to keep running on this PSU (even though everything is working).

I´m particularly concerned about other pc parts taking damage from it one day.

That PSU should be fine. If you're still running the same system you were 10 years ago then just keep it. Worst case scenario if it does fail and take other components with it you only lose 10 year old hardware which probably isn't worth a great deal anyway.
If you buy new hardware to replace your system then buy a new PSU to go with it.

[Nickel16]

@Spotty

 

Thanks for your reply! Unfortunately i´m not running the same system anymore. Since this summer i´m with a completely new build (besides PSU and case), which is why i´m concerned about it. As you said, if i was still running my old system from 10 years ago it wouldn´t really matter if components get damaged... 

So your advice is to replace the PSU aswell now?

[Spotty]

Just now, Nickel16 said:

So your advice is to replace the PSU aswell now?

What specs for your new system? If you've replaced the rest of the system then I'd replace the PSU as well.

 

 

[Nickel16]

@Spotty

 

My new Rig:
Gigabyte Z390 Aorus Pro

I7-9700k 

Noctua NH-D15

MSI RTX 2070 Gaming X

16 GB Corsair Vengeance 3200 MHz 

500 GB Samsung 970 Evo Plus

1 TB Corsair Force 510 

4 TB Toshiba X300 (4TB)

 

Thanks for your advice! I´m not really looking forward to cable manage everything again but i might actually do it... 

[Spotty]

1 minute ago, Nickel16 said:

My new Rig:
Gigabyte Z390 Aorus Pro

I7-9700k 

Noctua NH-D15

MSI RTX 2070 Gaming X

16 GB Corsair Vengeance 3200 MHz 

500 GB Samsung 970 Evo Plus

1 TB Corsair Force 510 

4 TB Toshiba X300 (4TB)

Quick estimate looking at those parts and I'd put the price of that around US $1600-$1750? Maybe more if you're in another country with higher prices or sales tax etc. Spending $75 on a new PSU would be worth it.

 

Were you considering any PSUs, or would you like some suggestions?

[Nickel16]

11 minutes ago, Spotty said:

Quick estimate looking at those parts and I'd put the price of that around US $1600-$1750? Maybe more if you're in another country with higher prices or sales tax etc. Spending $75 on a new PSU would be worth it.

 

Were you considering any PSUs, or would you like some suggestions?

Yeah thats about right. I´ve spent about 1450€ which is just shy of 1600 US $. I haven´t really looked into this topic thusfar so suggestions/recommendations are verly welcome

I should note that noise level is really important to me when choosing pc parts. Maybe you got something for my needs? 

[Stormseeker9]

Corsair rm550x is always a solid choice.

 

[Spotty]

Just now, Nickel16 said:

Yeah thats about right. I´ve spent about 1450€ which is just shy of 1600 US $. I haven´t really looked into this topic thusfar so suggestions/recommendations are verly welcome

I should note that noise level is really important to me when choosing pc parts. Maybe you got something for my needs? 

If you're in Europe you should be able to get a Bitfenix Whisper M 550W. If not the Corsair RM550x is a good PSU and quiet as well.

[Nickel16]

3 minutes ago, Stormseeker9 said:

Corsair rm550x is always a solid choice.

 

Thanks for your recommendation! I´m gonna look into it. Probably gonna go with a bit more wattage tho 

[Nickel16]

2 minutes ago, Spotty said:

If you're in Europe you should be able to get a Bitfenix Whisper M 550W. If not the Corsair RM550x is a good PSU and quiet as well.

Yes, bitfenix is available for me in Germany. Didn´t really hear much about that brand though. Gonna consider it aswell! Thanks

[Stormseeker9]

2 minutes ago, Nickel16 said:

Thanks for your recommendation! I´m gonna look into it. Probably gonna go with a bit more wattage tho 

You dont need more wattage.. I run a 2700x / 2070 on my rm550x. 

 

 

[Nickel16]

1 minute ago, Stormseeker9 said:

You dont need more wattage.. I run a 2700x / 2070 on my rm550x. 

 

 

Not neccessarily at the moment but if i go with a 2080ti equivalent in future i would probably push a 550W PSU really hard. Also (as far as i´m informed - correct me if i´m wrong) a PSU with higher Wattage will be cooler, quieter and more efficient, since it doesn´t run under full load at any time, right? 

[Spotty]

24 minutes ago, Nickel16 said:

Also (as far as i´m informed - correct me if i´m wrong) a PSU with higher Wattage will be cooler, quieter and more efficient, since it doesn´t run under full load at any time, right? 

Not really.

 

Cooler - Higher wattage = more heat generated (when it's running at a higher load). Sometimes higher wattage units will use larger heatsinks, but they could also just use the same as the lower wattage versions. Such is the case for the Bitfenix Whisper as an example with the same heatsinks on the 450W model and 750W model which brings us in to quieter...
Quieter - Depends on the PSU and the controller for the fan... Higher wattage PSUs may be louder at higher loads because they need to run the fans faster to move more air to cool it. Then there's all the PSUs with zero-RPM/Eco/passive operation where the fans don't spin under certain temperatures and load, but again that depends on the PSU itself. No one size fits all answer to this question.
Efficiency - Doesn't make much difference, maybe 1% either way depending on the load. Nothing noticeable. Both the RMx and Whisper suggested are 80+ Gold rated.

 

For example here's the RM550x efficiency chart. Since you're in Europe you'll be on 230V which is the black line. As you see once you hit about 20% load or so efficiency plateaus with only a very slight drop in efficiency as load increases.

ftp://members.cybenetics.report/PDF_Reports/d/cybenetics_enO.pdf

 

The reason to go with a higher wattage PSU is because your components consume more power. Beyond that there's not much benefit, but there's also not much downside either besides paying more.

[Nickel16]

4 minutes ago, Spotty said:

Not really.

 

Cooler - Higher wattage = more heat generated (when it's running at a higher load). Sometimes higher wattage units will use larger heatsinks, but they could also just use the same as the lower wattage versions. Such is the case for the Bitfenix Whisper as an example with the same heatsinks on the 450W model and 750W model which brings us in to quieter...
Quieter - Depends on the PSU and the controller for the fan... Higher wattage PSUs may be louder at higher loads because they need to run the fans faster to move more air to cool it. Then there's all the PSUs with zero-RPM/Eco/passive operation where the fans don't spin under certain temperatures and load, but again that depends on the PSU itself. No one size fits all answer to this question.
Efficiency - Doesn't make much difference, maybe 1% either way depending on the load. Nothing noticeable. Both the RMx and Whisper suggested are 80+ Gold rated.

 

For example here's the RM550x efficiency chart. Since you're in Europe you'll be on 230V which is the black line. As you see once you hit about 20% load or so efficiency plateaus with only a very slight drop in efficiency as load increases.

ftp://members.cybenetics.report/PDF_Reports/d/cybenetics_enO.pdf

 

The reason to go with a higher wattage PSU is because your components consume more power. Beyond that there's not much benefit, but there's also not much downside either besides paying more.

Good no know! Thanks mate! 

[Nickel16]

Just now, Nickel16 said:

Good no know! Thanks mate! 

Good to know*