Worried about my 5 year old Corsair cx500 psu!

[needtips2.0]

I'm thinking of buying a gtx 1060 so I won't have enough money after that to put on anything else on my pc.

 

I currently have my 5 year old Corsair cx500, and I'm bit worried if it won't be able to handle a 1060 at this age..!! ?.

 

My big concern is,  if something goes wrong with the psu. Will it take the 1060 with it..? ?

 

[3 Lions]

While 500W is enough for a 1060, if you are that worried I would swap it out for a new one and use the old one in a secondary machine or something. Seems logical to me since you are still getting good use out of it. 

Edited May 30, 2018 by LinusTechTipsFanFromDarlo

[samcool55]

They are quite crappy. In theory it can handle a 1060, but i recommend upgrading anyway because they are just not very good in general.

 

If it does blow up, there is a chance it takes out the 1060. But it can also take out everything (mobo, cpu, ram, everything), OR it can take out nothing apart from itself.

Depends how it dies.

[3 Lions]

2 minutes ago, samcool55 said:

They are quite crappy

5 years though...that's quite something for a 'crap' PSU, most 'crap' PSU's only last about 3 years before they go up in smoke. 

[samcool55]

Just now, LinusTechTipsFanFromDarlo said:

5 years though...that's quite something for a 'crap' PSU, most 'crap' PSU's only last about 3 years before they go up in smoke. 

I have a CX500 that's 6+ years old, still fine so some of them are good. Ran with a 560ti so it had to work a bit sometimes.

But i also had one blowing up after 6 months in an APU-based system, no graphics card.

 

I don't trust them and wouldn't push my luck, it's safer to upgrade now than to risk it dying soon and taking out a bunch of stuff.

[Herman Mcpootis]

the CX600 isn't some hand grenade that makes the note 7 look safe, and the 1060 doesn't eat anywhere near enough power to push it to it's limits. it'll be good enough until you get the cash for a newer CX or masterwatt.

[Princess Luna]

You'll most likely be fine then again it wouldn't hurt consider a newer PSU, there's plenty of great priced 550w high quality ones in the market right now.

[EsaT]

What kind usage it has seen?

Active "enthusiast" use with lots of daily power on hours with gaming etc, or light hour or two per day and only light occasional gaming?

 

In first case would be certainly looking into replacing it as it exactly isn't some quality PSU with high quality components.

[needtips2.0]

The thing is that gtx 1060 costs too much now, I won't be able to handle them both.. ? So I guess no gaming for me in the near future I guess.. O well..☹️

Thanks anyways guys.. ?  

 

15 hours ago, Princess Cadence said:

You'll most likely be fine then again it wouldn't hurt consider a newer PSU, there's plenty of great priced 550w high quality ones in the market right now.

Could you make some suggestions for me to check if its available. And it has to be the one that last like 10 years with good capacitors I guess..!!?

[STRMfrmXMN]

It's an old group-regulated unit. If you absolutely can't afford a new PSU then sure, go ahead and use it. However, it's out of warranty so... eh. 

[Biggerboot]

I would get a new PSU out of principle, but a battle-tested CX500 is nice to have kicking around as a spare.

[Guest]

13 hours ago, samcool55 said:

I have a CX500 that's 6+ years old, still fine so some of them are good. Ran with a 560ti so it had to work a bit sometimes.

But i also had one blowing up after 6 months in an APU-based system, no graphics card.

 

I don't trust them and wouldn't push my luck, it's safer to upgrade now than to risk it dying soon and taking out a bunch of stuff.

So you had a bad experience with one unit and now they're all trash.  Got it. 

 

At any rate.... Corsair gives that PSU a 5 year warranty because they expect it to last 5 years.  Not sure if other PSU companies do the same, but that's  how Corsair decides what to warranty a product as.  If the PSU is 5 years old, I'd sent it to the recycling center.  Furthermore, as others have already pointed out, the old CX is an antiquated design and doesn't like every load condition a newer platform may throw at it.  So just replace the PSU and call it a day.