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

[Streetguru]

21 minutes ago, tomoki said:

 

Ya the i5 is going to hold you back from gaming a bit, more of a 60hz CPU.

[tomoki]

1 minute ago, Streetguru said:

Ya the i5 is going to hold you back from gaming a bit, more of a 60hz CPU.

Haha yea... I used to game on a 60Hz monitor 1080p. It started tearing a lot even with V-Sync on and my graphics was going to crap so.. I decided to switch them both out. 

 

I got my graphics card before the price hike...for around 420 USD before taxes. 1070TI. My monitor I got with a 10% discount and 3 year warranty (came with it off the Dell website) for something like 614 CAD after taxes. That's 477 USD or so. 

[Stefan Payne]

2 hours 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.

Well, that just tells us that the Caps aren't bulging, if they are OK or not, we don't really know.

They can be totally garbage already and cause Problems without showing any signs - until you measure them with an ESR meter that is of course.

 

 

 

3 hours ago, tomoki said:

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?

You don't that is the Problem.

This PSU was "working fine" a week ago:

 

The Only indicators are, worst case:
Your HDDs are dying in random but short intervals

Your PC has some random reboots/freezes and shit like that...

 

 

Quote

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?

What HX650W are you talking about?

This one:
http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/corsair-hx650-gold-power-supply-review/

 

Or that one:

https://www.hardwareheaven.com/2009/11/corsair-hx650w-power-supply/

 

 

If it is the first one, then you can think about replacing the PSU but there is no immediate need for it.

If it is the latter, replace it. That one is old and not a good idea with modern components.

 

 

Quote

It just feels like a waste if I do. 

...and might cause problems with a rather high probability if we are talking about the Bronze HX650...

And also cause damage to your components.

A new PSU you might need anyway because then you have two working PCs.

Without it only one...

 

Quote

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. 

In that case it might be a good idea to replace the PSU as well.

 

 

Something like Bitfenix Formula, 450 or 550W is more than enough. 

[tomoki]

14 minutes ago, Stefan Payne said:

Well, that just tells us that the Caps aren't bulging, if they are OK or not, we don't really know.

They can be totally garbage already and cause Problems without showing any signs - until you measure them with an ESR meter that is of course.

 

 

 

You don't that is the Problem.

This PSU was "working fine" a week ago:

 

The Only indicators are, worst case:
Your HDDs are dying in random but short intervals

Your PC has some random reboots/freezes and shit like that...

 

 

What HX650W are you talking about?

This one:
http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/corsair-hx650-gold-power-supply-review/

 

Or that one:

https://www.hardwareheaven.com/2009/11/corsair-hx650w-power-supply/

 

 

If it is the first one, then you can think about replacing the PSU but there is no immediate need for it.

If it is the latter, replace it. That one is old and not a good idea with modern components.

 

 

...and might cause problems with a rather high probability if we are talking about the Bronze HX650...

And also cause damage to your components.

A new PSU you might need anyway because then you have two working PCs.

Without it only one...

 

In that case it might be a good idea to replace the PSU as well.

 

 

Something like Bitfenix Formula, 450 or 550W is more than enough. 

that's good info! Thanks! 

I bought my HX650 back in 2012 or 2013.. I'll have to search up to be sure. I think it was the first link. Is there a way to check to be sure? I don't have the PSU box anymore. There's no sticker on the PSU itself either that states whether it is gold or bronze. 

 

Also, correct me if I'm wrong but I remember reading on the PSU pinned post that the colors bronze, gold, platinum refer to the efficiency levels in converting AC to DC. Would it be correct to think a less efficient power supply would have a shorter lifespan cause whatever isn't converted (aka not as efficient) would basically be turned into heat output? I'm guessing that's why you're mentioning bronze and gold. 

 

I'll check out the PSU tier list pinned post and pick out one from the Tier 1 or 2's. 

 

 

[Stefan Payne]

59 minutes ago, tomoki said:

I bought my HX650 back in 2012 or 2013.. I'll have to search up to be sure. I think it was the first link. Is there a way to check to be sure? I don't have the PSU box anymore. There's no sticker on the PSU itself either that states whether it is gold or bronze. 

That's easy.

Just look at the modular connector board, the fan grille/fan.

If you have a 140mm fan and 6+8pin connectors on the modular Board, you are fine.

If you have a 120mm fan and 5 and 6 pin connectors not so much.

 

 

59 minutes ago, tomoki said:

Also, correct me if I'm wrong but I remember reading on the PSU pinned post that the colors bronze, gold, platinum refer to the efficiency levels in converting AC to DC. Would it be correct to think a less efficient power supply would have a shorter lifespan cause whatever isn't converted (aka not as efficient) would basically be turned into heat output? I'm guessing that's why you're mentioning bronze and gold. 

No

the 80plus certificates are only about the efficiency, why I mentioned the efficiency has another reason.

The 80plus Bronze one is old, very very old and based on a design from 2006 or something like that. 

The 80plus Gold one is a more modern LLC-Resonant mode converter with DC-DC wich should have less problems with modern component and the high frequency transients.

That might be a bit too much for the older one and cause problems, maybe even damage long term...

 

59 minutes ago, tomoki said:

I'll check out the PSU tier list pinned post and pick out one from the Tier 1 or 2's. 

Yeah and if you do that, pls post here what you think might be a good idea.

And also mention how important noise of the PSU is and how much you'd like to spend.

[tomoki]

30 minutes ago, Stefan Payne said:

That's easy.

Just look at the modular connector board, the fan grille/fan.

If you have a 140mm fan and 6+8pin connectors on the modular Board, you are fine.

If you have a 120mm fan and 5 and 6 pin connectors not so much.

 

 

No

the 80plus certificates are only about the efficiency, why I mentioned the efficiency has another reason.

The 80plus Bronze one is old, very very old and based on a design from 2006 or something like that. 

The 80plus Gold one is a more modern LLC-Resonant mode converter with DC-DC wich should have less problems with modern component and the high frequency transients.

That might be a bit too much for the older one and cause problems, maybe even damage long term...

 

Yeah and if you do that, pls post here what you think might be a good idea.

And also mention how important noise of the PSU is and how much you'd like to spend.

Hey, thanks for all your help! So at the front of my case I've got a 140mm fan (came with fractal r5 case)  and 120mm fan (noctua nf-f12) . I also have an extra noctua nf-f12 fan lying around. 

 

Thing is I don't know how to measure a psu fan so I took a ruler to measure the fan diameter on the psu. Unfortunately it's 12cm so... It's a bronze. When I took my psu to match it beside the 140mm case fan, it definitely doesn't look as big as that.

 

I recently picked out a Corsair RMi psu on the tier list for a friend cause he was using a pre-built psu for all his newer hardware and the psu is like 10 years old. I didn't want him frying his components through psu failure. I helped him transport his hardware to a new case and it did look like his Psu was larger than my existing one. I mentioned that to him when building and was like... Huh why is the psu so large? 

 

I didn't quite get what you meant by the connectors part but I'm going to take a wild guess and suppose it's molex and 6+2 pin connectors for a graphics card. I've plugged my graphics card with a 6 and 8 pin so... I'm guessing it fits but the psu is definitely 120mm on the fan. 

 

I took the liberty to check the tops of the little nodes (whatever it's called sorry lost the term) and the caps seem fine except 1 was slightly bent like the leaning tower of Pisa. The psu was warm to the touch when I powered down my pc. I think that might be normal? 

 

I also tried looking up the model number on the sticker but it doesn't tell me what year the Psu is. 

 

I'm going to power up my pc again and start looking for a replacement. I'll make a new thread I guess?? 

 

Thanks again for bringing this to my attention! I have no idea how you know all this. 

[Guest]

11 hours ago, Stefan Payne said:

Well, that just tells us that the Caps aren't bulging, if they are OK or not, we don't really know.

They can be totally garbage already and cause Problems without showing any signs - until you measure them with an ESR meter that is of course.

 

Right.  But I'm in no way going to tell your average Linus Tech Tips user to open up their PSU.  If it goes that far, you just throw it away and buy another one.  Sorry, but the majority of people on these forums are what we in tech support call "LCD's" (lowest common denominator).

.

It's like the knuckleheads that want the pinout for a modular cable interface and don't know how to use a DMM.  No...  Just no.  You're in over your head.  

[Stefan Payne]

3 hours ago, jonnyGURU said:

Right.  But I'm in no way going to tell your average Linus Tech Tips user to open up their PSU.  If it goes that far, you just throw it away and buy another one.  Sorry, but the majority of people on these forums are what we in tech support call "LCD's" (lowest common denominator).

.

Yes, I totally agree and do the same...

Just wanted to mention that a cap that isn't bulged/blown is not necessarily OK...

 

And with the old HX650 Bronze I think it is a good idea to replace it...