How do I know when I should consider swapping out my PSU?

[tomoki]

Hey Everyone,

 

I've been reading some of the PSU related posts on the forum and was wondering...how do you guys know when a PSU is starting to go bad? Are there any indicators or does it just completely shut off? I wouldn't want to swap out a PSU if it's perfectly good but...seeing that I've been using this Corsair HX650 for nearly 5 years now (turning 5 in a week or so), should I be considering to swap it out? It just feels like a waste if I do. 

 

My current setup is:

I5-3570k @4.6GHz (1.3v)

Corsair LPX 16GB DDR3 @1800Mhz (2x8GB)

MSI GTX 1070TI - just using boost clock setting because my cpu can't handle all the frames being pushed by this gpu

Mobo: Asus P8Z77-V LK

 

 

I'm swapping out my cpu for an i7-8700k, therefore changing mobo and ram to Asus Prime Z370-A and G.Skill Ripjaws V DDR4 3200MHz. 

 

Thanks!

[Streetguru]

5 minutes ago, tomoki said:

 

Did you already buy the new CPU and stuff? As what do you need the PC for? If gaming what refresh rate?

When your PSU starts to fail that's when it's time to replace it pretty much, like if you get random shut offs or just general strangeness, and swapping in a different PSU fixes the problems.

[thelordofwarr]

Tbh i just let them run, never had one fail due too time, only once I spilled Liquid metal into it...I have a very old pentium pc with the original PSU that still runs...I think its from 199sth

[Streetguru]

Just now, thelordofwarr said:

Tbh i just let them run, never had one fail due too time, only once I spilled Liquid metal into it...I have a very old pentium pc with the original PSU that still runs...I think its from 199sth

They don't make them like they used to, over 1800 years old man, damn.

[thelordofwarr]

Just now, Streetguru said:

They don't make them like they used to, over 1800 years old man, damn.

Damn...that old stuff...maybe i can get a Volvo PC so it never fails or breaks down

[Herman Mcpootis]

it might start shutting down out of nowhere or under load, or you might notice random BSODs.

[thelordofwarr]

(tbh I meant that it's from the 1990s, but don't know the exact year)

[Crunchy Dragon]

8 minutes ago, herman mcpootis said:

it might start shutting down out of nowhere or under load, or you might notice random BSODs.

This,

 

Occasionally some noises can occur leading up to failure as well.

[EnergyEclipse]

10 minutes ago, thelordofwarr said:

Tbh i just let them run, never had one fail due too time, only once I spilled Liquid metal into it...I have a very old pentium pc with the original PSU that still runs...I think its from 199sth

Wait, wait. So you're telling me, you knowingly but unintentionally spilled liquid metal into a Power Supply Unit, a thing that handles 230v, and let it slide? D: I won't say more but you probably should have thrown it out as soon as you did that, even if its an older system

[thelordofwarr]

Just now, EnergyEclipse said:

Wait, wait. So you're telling me, you knowingly but unintentionally spilled liquid metal into a Power Supply Unit, a thing that handles 230v, and let it slide? D: I won't say more but you probably should have thrown it out as soon as you did that, even if its an older system

WELLL...yeah, I somehow did...but it just was around 7grams...or 10...sad life...now i barely use it anymore

[EnergyEclipse]

3 minutes ago, thelordofwarr said:

WELLL...yeah, I somehow did...but it just was around 7grams...or 10...sad life...now i barely use it anymore

7 - 10 minutes before your breakers flip after the thing has been switched on and blows*

[thelordofwarr]

1 minute ago, EnergyEclipse said:

7 - 10 minutes before your breakers flip after the thing has been switched on and blows*

till now it didnt fail on me 

[EnergyEclipse]

1 minute ago, thelordofwarr said:

till now it didnt fail on me 

 

Spoiler

 

 

[thelordofwarr]

yeah i think it's close, but it's only 550 watts

[thelordofwarr]

DONT JUDGE ME PLS

[ProjectBox153]

I just use them until they die. I recently temporarily replaced one with an identical Dell unit just because of a fan that was getting loud. I need to open it up and replace it. As for PSUs themselves, I have one from early 1990 that still works perfectly. 

[Crunchy Dragon]

1 minute ago, Jamiec1130 said:

I just use them until they die. I recently temporarily replaced one with an identical Dell unit just because of a fan that was getting loud. I need to open it up and replace it. As for PSUs themselves, I have one from early 1990 that still works perfectly. 

All these people with 10+ year old power supplies, and I'm still concerned about the oldest unit I have(powering an Athlon MP system)....

[ProjectBox153]

4 minutes ago, Crunchy Dragon said:

All these people with 10+ year old power supplies, and I'm still concerned about the oldest unit I have(powering an Athlon MP system)....

Shockingly I've not had much issue with power supplies in all the time I've worked with computers. I have some really sketchy looking ones that work fine. 

[Guest]

If you can shine a flashlight into the fan grill and see that the tops of the caps aren't bulging, that's a good start.

 

If the fan in a PSU dies, don't bother replacing the fan.  Odds are the "miles" (actual hours of use and not just the age of the PSU) is high and other failures aren't far behind.

 

[Streetguru]

9 minutes ago, jonnyGURU said:

If you can shine a flashlight into the fan grill and see that the tops of the caps aren't bulging, that's a good start.

 

If the fan in a PSU dies, don't bother replacing the fan.  Odds are the "miles" (actual hours of use and not just the age of the PSU) is high and other failures aren't far behind.

 

A god has blessed this thread.

Say Jonny, I'm noticing high end PSUs are getting sold out(seasonic especially), are miners killing that market as well? Need a 1000W something for my threadripper system in the future, very sad to see the seasonic units all sold out. Even if they might have had a PCI-e Wire gauge issue. Like all the 1000W PSUs are like $200+ now, at least gold rated and above

https://pcpartpicker.com/products/power-supply/#W=950,2000&e=6,5,4&sort=price&page=1

Also lower end masterwatt reviews when?! I know you don't really do the reviews anymore though.

[tomoki]

2 hours ago, Streetguru said:

Did you already buy the new CPU and stuff? As what do you need the PC for? If gaming what refresh rate?

When your PSU starts to fail that's when it's time to replace it pretty much, like if you get random shut offs or just general strangeness, and swapping in a different PSU fixes the problems.

Yup! They're on the way. If anything, I can return it. Is there an issue you're foreseeing? 

I'm using a Dell S2716DG (recently upgraded to this from a BenQ GL2250 - very basic monitor). It's 1440p, G-Sync at 144Hz. 

I'm using the PC as a media server, video editing and gaming on the side. Mostly gaming. 

 

I haven't experienced any shutdowns but I just wanted to know in case it happens and I would be able to look for these indicators!

 

2 hours ago, thelordofwarr said:

Tbh i just let them run, never had one fail due too time, only once I spilled Liquid metal into it...I have a very old pentium pc with the original PSU that still runs...I think its from 199sth

I've read from some forum (forget which) and someone commented a power supply degrades by 10% every year. i.e. if a 650W power supply degrades by 10%, it would be able to handle 585W the next. I truly believe this is false cause I think degradation comes with wear and tear...aka heat. I was hoping someone could refute that on this forum as well just to feel more comfortable about knowing what's right and what's wrong. 

 

1 hour ago, jonnyGURU said:

If you can shine a flashlight into the fan grill and see that the tops of the caps aren't bulging, that's a good start.

 

If the fan in a PSU dies, don't bother replacing the fan.  Odds are the "miles" (actual hours of use and not just the age of the PSU) is high and other failures aren't far behind.

 

Now this is definitely I did not know. Thanks for the tip! When I install my new parts, I'll remove my PSU and take a look! 

 

Right. I'm very sure the fan hasn't failed yet. It's just that... in the first 2 or 3 years when I built this comp in my university dorm, I was running this comp 24/7. So far I haven't encountered any issues yet. It's faced downwards towards the ground at the moment and I'm using a Fractal Define R5. The ground is a hardwood floor so... yea I'm pretty sure the fan is spinning when I put my hand close to it. The dust filter only has a little bit of dust. 

[tomoki]

1 hour ago, Streetguru said:

A god has blessed this thread.

Say Jonny, I'm noticing high end PSUs are getting sold out(seasonic especially), are miners killing that market as well? Need a 1000W something for my threadripper system in the future, very sad to see the seasonic units all sold out. Even if they might have had a PCI-e Wire gauge issue. Like all the 1000W PSUs are like $200+ now, at least gold rated and above

https://pcpartpicker.com/products/power-supply/#W=950,2000&e=6,5,4&sort=price&page=1

Also lower end masterwatt reviews when?! I know you don't really do the reviews anymore though.

I was starting to think the name JonnyGuru looked familiar!  

[Streetguru]

Just now, tomoki said:

I can return it. Is there an issue you're foreseeing?

It's just that an R5 1600 + ASrock Pro 4 is likely a better value, though it won't be the absolutely best for gaming like the 8700K, about 100fps for Ryzen, 120+ fps for Coffee Lake.
 

PCPartPicker part list: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/NVwy7h
Price breakdown by merchant: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/NVwy7h/by_merchant/

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 5 1600 3.2GHz 6-Core Processor  ($188.90 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: ASRock - AB350M Pro4 Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard  ($74.39 @ OutletPC)
Total: $263.29
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2018-03-04 00:11 EST-0500

[Guest]

1 hour ago, Streetguru said:

A god has blessed this thread.

Say Jonny, I'm noticing high end PSUs are getting sold out(seasonic especially), are miners killing that market as well? Need a 1000W something for my threadripper system in the future, very sad to see the seasonic units all sold out. Even if they might have had a PCI-e Wire gauge issue. Like all the 1000W PSUs are like $200+ now, at least gold rated and above

https://pcpartpicker.com/products/power-supply/#W=950,2000&e=6,5,4&sort=price&page=1

Also lower end masterwatt reviews when?! I know you don't really do the reviews anymore though.

Aris wrote this great piece here:  http://www.tomshardware.com/news/why-high-capacity-psu-prices-are-rising,36593.html

 

From my end, capacitor prices are THROUGH THE ROOF and lead times are hella long.

[tomoki]

4 minutes ago, Streetguru said:

It's just that an R5 1600 + ASrock Pro 4 is likely a better value, though it won't be the absolutely best for gaming like the 8700K, about 100fps for Ryzen, 120+ fps for Coffee Lake.
 

PCPartPicker part list: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/NVwy7h
Price breakdown by merchant: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/NVwy7h/by_merchant/

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 5 1600 3.2GHz 6-Core Processor  ($188.90 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: ASRock - AB350M Pro4 Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard  ($74.39 @ OutletPC)
Total: $263.29
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2018-03-04 00:11 EST-0500

Whoa that's much cheaper than what I had paid for. I originally calculated 804 USD for the parts I wanted altogether (Ram, Mobo, CPU). I ended up paying a total of 730 USD. 

 

Both these prices are after the 12% tax added (due to where I live). 

 

Yes, surely I could've went for Ryzen. I was debating on getting Ryzen gen 2 stuff ...waiting for April but after some rumors came up with a 200MHz increase per core, I decided the clock speeds weren't going to be enough for what I wanted to do.

 

The few reasons why I'm swapping out my perfectly good i5-3570k is that whenever I'm gaming, I can't increase my graphic settings. I know I can play on high or even ultra but my CPU can barely handle the games that are a little bit more CPU demanding like Rainbow Six: Siege or Ghost Recon Wildlands. In addition to this, having a Plex media program run on my comp allows for family members to enjoy movies on our 4k TV; we recently swapped this out on black friday cause our old TV was over 25 years old. I also wanted to pick up Adobe Premiere Pro and render videos more often. I normally use Sony Vegas Pro. Rendering a 2 hour video took over 48 hours on my i5 and I don't have the patience for that lol. 

3 minutes ago, jonnyGURU said:

Aris wrote this great piece here:  http://www.tomshardware.com/news/why-high-capacity-psu-prices-are-rising,36593.html

 

From my end, capacitor prices are THROUGH THE ROOF and lead times are hella long.

Oh my gosh... please no. PSU prices going up as well!??! Ugh.