Question How long does a good reputable power supply last for?

[Sunburn74]

I bought a seasonic x-750 power supply around 2011.
You can find the anandtech review on the PS here. The PS is working perfectly fine and I have zero issues with it.

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I'm looking probably overhauling my 10 year old build before the new year. Do I need a new power supply as well ? How long does a good PS last for?

Moved from computer building.

AT Mod Usandthem

 

[bba-tcg]

I have a ten or more Corsair tx750's that are over 12 years old and still going. That said, if I build a new mid to high end PC, I buy a new power supply too.

 

[mindless1]

There's always variables like how hot it got for multiple reasons, whether it saw power surges, etc, but it is a long lasting design with major brand japanese caps on the high side and solid caps on the output, so combined with a decent fan, it should run another decade unless you're unlucky.

This is assuming the fan was the Sanyo Denki San Ace dual ball bearing fan I've seen mentioned, or an equivalent quality dual ball bearing alternative. If some type of sleeve bearing fan instead, I'd replace the fan before the next tour of duty, and if there's any dust to clean out, do that too.

Another school of thought is, buy a new PSU and have that one as a backup, so you don't suffer any downtime if the new one were to fail.

Hardocp.com did a 10 year rereview of that PSU to see how it faired over a decade of use, and it still looked good. Unfortunately hardocp went under a couple years ago so only the forum and other sites mentioning it remain, I can't directly link the 10 year review:

Seasonic X-750 750W PSU 10 Year Redux @ [H]

Seasonic X-750 750W PSU 10 Year Redux One of our readers' favorite PSU topics has been when we look back at a previously reviewed PSU that has been in service for a long while, and whether or not that PSU will still meet ATX spec and handle its previously rated wattage load. Today we have a...

hardforum.com

Retesting a Seasonic X-750 750W PSU 10 Years Later

Quote One of our readers' favorite PSU topics has been when we look back at a previously reviewed PSU that has been in service for a long while, and whether or not that PSU will still meet ATX spec and handle its previously rated wattage load. Today we have a Seasonic PSU that has been in service...

linustechtips.com

 

[Hail The Brain Slug]

There's always variables like how hot it got for multiple reasons, whether it saw power surges, etc, but it is a long lasting design with major brand japanese caps on the high side and solid caps on the output, so combined with a decent fan, it should run another decade unless you're unlucky.

This is assuming the fan was the Sanyo Denki San Ace dual ball bearing fan I've seen mentioned, or an equivalent quality dual ball bearing alternative. If some type of sleeve bearing fan instead, I'd replace the fan before the next tour of duty, and if there's any dust to clean out, do that too.

Another school of thought is, buy a new PSU and have that one as a backup, so you don't suffer any downtime if the new one were to fail.

Hardocp.com did a 10 year rereview of that PSU to see how it faired over a decade of use, and it still looked good. Unfortunately hardocp went under a couple years ago so only the forum and other sites mentioning it remain, I can't directly link the 10 year review:

Seasonic X-750 750W PSU 10 Year Redux @ [H]

Seasonic X-750 750W PSU 10 Year Redux One of our readers' favorite PSU topics has been when we look back at a previously reviewed PSU that has been in service for a long while, and whether or not that PSU will still meet ATX spec and handle its previously rated wattage load. Today we have a...

hardforum.com

Retesting a Seasonic X-750 750W PSU 10 Years Later

Quote One of our readers' favorite PSU topics has been when we look back at a previously reviewed PSU that has been in service for a long while, and whether or not that PSU will still meet ATX spec and handle its previously rated wattage load. Today we have a Seasonic PSU that has been in service...

linustechtips.com

A subsequent post indicates the voltage regulation worsened to 20%, which IMO is unacceptable. 10 years for a power supply of that era is a good run, and I'd get a new PSU for a new build. The new primes (titanium at least, not sure about the other tiers) have voltage regulation at 0.5% or better new. It'll be interesting to see how the hold up over the 12 year warranty period.

 

[jayjr1105]

A subsequent post indicates the voltage regulation worsened to 20%, which IMO is unacceptable. 10 years for a power supply of that era is a good run, and I'd get a new PSU for a new build. The new primes (titanium at least, not sure about the other tiers) have voltage regulation at 0.5% or better new. It'll be interesting to see how the hold up over the 12 year warranty period.

I second this notion. 10+ years you got your money's worth and then some. Get a new Superflower, Seasonic, or CWT unit with another 10 year warranty.

 

[mindless1]

A subsequent post indicates the voltage regulation worsened to 20%, which IMO is unacceptable.

? Link ?

 

[Hail The Brain Slug]

? Link ?

Retesting a Seasonic X-750 750W PSU 10 Years Later

Quote One of our readers' favorite PSU topics has been when we look back at a previously reviewed PSU that has been in service for a long while, and whether or not that PSU will still meet ATX spec and handle its previously rated wattage load. Today we have a Seasonic PSU that has been in service...

linustechtips.com

 

[mindless1]

^ But what is that supposed to mean exactly? I usually discard short, vague posts as worse than nothing, because even the other part "actually good considering its age" isn't true. PSU don't tend to drift out of "voltage regulation" (whatever that is supposed to mean? Was it just the wrong term used for +/- 10% ripple?) and that one if 20% off of "voltage" should have shut itself off, powered down.

It's not consistent with remarks by those who quoted the review, for example "they strapped it back onto the test bench to see what, if any changes have occurred to its ability to deliver power. Like Josh and I, it has aged relatively well and is almost as capable as it was back in ought-nine, with just a bit more droop than those days of yore. ".

I don't think that statement would exist if there was 20% "voltage regulation" but someone even stating "voltage regulation" on that linked post, isn't using proper terminology. If it fell outside of ATX spec I don't think the conclusion would be what the 10 year review made:

Seasonic X-750 750W PSU 10 Year Redux @ [H]

Seasonic X-750 750W PSU 10 Year Redux One of our readers' favorite PSU topics has been when we look back at a previously reviewed PSU that has been in service for a long while, and whether or not that PSU will still meet ATX spec and handle its previously rated wattage load. Today we have a...

hardforum.com

First post in this next linked topic quotes the 10 yr review further, "Yes, the Seasonic X-750 did see measurable performance degradation after ~10 years of use. However, unlike those previous examples this unit was still within specifications. Beyond that, if we were to turn back the hands of time to 2009, and saw these same values when reviewing this unit then, these would still be favorable numbers. "

Retesting a Seasonic X-750 750W PSU 10 Years Later

Quote One of our readers' favorite PSU topics has been when we look back at a previously reviewed PSU that has been in service for a long while, and whether or not that PSU will still meet ATX spec and handle its previously rated wattage load. Today we have a Seasonic PSU that has been in service...

linustechtips.com

 

[Hail The Brain Slug]

^ But what is that supposed to mean exactly? I usually discard short, vague posts as worse than nothing, because even the other part "actually good considering its age" isn't true. PSU don't tend to drift out of "voltage regulation" (whatever that is supposed to mean? Was it just the wrong term used for +/- 10% ripple?) and that one if 20% off of "voltage" should have shut itself off, powered down.

It's not consistent with remarks by those who quoted the review, for example "they strapped it back onto the test bench to see what, if any changes have occurred to its ability to deliver power. Like Josh and I, it has aged relatively well and is almost as capable as it was back in ought-nine, with just a bit more droop than those days of yore. ".

I don't think that statement would exist if there was 20% "voltage regulation" but someone even stating "voltage regulation" on that linked post, isn't using proper terminology. If it fell outside of ATX spec I don't think the conclusion would be what the 10 year review made:

Seasonic X-750 750W PSU 10 Year Redux @ [H]

Seasonic X-750 750W PSU 10 Year Redux One of our readers' favorite PSU topics has been when we look back at a previously reviewed PSU that has been in service for a long while, and whether or not that PSU will still meet ATX spec and handle its previously rated wattage load. Today we have a...

hardforum.com

First post in this next linked topic quotes the 10 yr review further, "Yes, the Seasonic X-750 did see measurable performance degradation after ~10 years of use. However, unlike those previous examples this unit was still within specifications. Beyond that, if we were to turn back the hands of time to 2009, and saw these same values when reviewing this unit then, these would still be favorable numbers. "

Retesting a Seasonic X-750 750W PSU 10 Years Later

Quote One of our readers' favorite PSU topics has been when we look back at a previously reviewed PSU that has been in service for a long while, and whether or not that PSU will still meet ATX spec and handle its previously rated wattage load. Today we have a Seasonic PSU that has been in service...

linustechtips.com

A 1990 V8 mustang may today still be damn close to as fast as it was in 1990, and considerably faster than a 1990 Toyota Corolla (and faster than a 2020 Toyota Corolla) but that doesn't mean it's a reliable daily driver today.

 

[mindless1]

^ And yet, the '90 Mustang did last another 21 years instead of being given up on after 10, so the question is, is 10 years all there is in a great quality PSU? I say no it isn't, unless you push the PSU (or the Mustang) hard and rag it out prematurely.

The question of age has a lot to do with what's going to wear out first and under what circumstances, if we ignore wildcard variables that can take out any PSU in fewer years than that.

The review falling within specs tells me that the capacitors are aging gracefully so the remaining main factor (one of the top 3 most common PSU failures besides caps failing or transistors from heat, or a power surge that can happen to any new PSU too), is the state of the fan.

As I already mentioned I'd replace a sleeve bearing fan (or actually, I've had great luck relubing them), but if it's the San Ace dual ball bearing fan, I have extensive experience using those, bought a case of them in 2003.

I've not only swapped them into new PSU with lesser fans to avoid a failure in the first place, but also used them in numerous other non-PSU, even non-PC applications and have never had a single one fail. Granted, a slightly different model # fan, that changes over time.





These will also run nice and quiet powered by an old 5V USB phone charger. I've got a couple running like that right now drying out seed scraps from my summer/fall garden harvest.

 

[Sunburn74]

Thanks. I think i'll probably just replace it. I've used it for 12 years and will be adding 2K+ USD worth of new parts. It'll make the labor more cumbersome but probably worth the investment because I'm not upgrading as frequently as a I used to in the past (for a while was upgraded every 2 years but my last major upgrade I think was 10 years ago).

 

[mindless1]

... will be adding 2K+ USD worth of new parts.

Then I change my stance, high value parts tend to use more power and at $2K+, cost a lot more than the new PSU does, so would get a new PSU. I'd also consider a new surge protector if you don't already have one.

 

[bigboxes]

While a CPU is the brain of your computer, think of the power supply as the heart. If you want a reliable computer, get yourself a new power supply. Preferably one that is as reliable as the one it's replacing. Don't wait until it starts giving you issues to do so.

 

[BoomerD]

I'm still running a Corsair HX620 that I installed in 2007. Never a problem.

 

[ch33zw1z]

Depends on input power mostly (IMO). Dirty power or exposed to power events will shorten the life

And good UPS with line voltage regulator can help. Unplugging when storming even better

 

[mikeymikec]

If I have never had a reason to suspect the PSU, I'm happy with its noise levels and educated guesswork says it's still up to the job, I would continue to use it. Seasonic have a good rep.

 

[Mantrid-Drone]

Recommending replacing something that is still doing its job, by the sound of it, perfectly is highly questionable advice. A PSU either works or it doesn't - if its not overheating or doing anything else to make you suspicious of its reliability why replace it?

Just replacing something because it is old is ecologically wasteful too.

The idea that a new one will be any more reliable is pure speculation. Is an old one that has had moderate use over its lifetime really any more in danger of failing than a new one that is having heavy use?

If it fails, it fails - I've had PSUs for other devices, not PCs, fail out of the blue which were half the age of other similar ones that had equal use. Most of those are still having very regular use many years later without any problems.

My thought from the evidence of my own experience is that it is down to the original manufacturing and the quality of the components fitted. That is a much more significant factor in the PSU or any other electrical device's longevity.

As I've just been remind ^ the quality of the mains supply too should also be considered and whether you've used a surge protector, voltage stabiliser or forked out for an uninterruptible power supply.

In short my belief is that if you buy a good quality PSU it'll likely last the lifetime or longer of the device's other components.

 

[ch33zw1z]

It's also important to remember that ATX power specs is revised every so often. So keep an eye on whatever Mobo you're looking at, really read it's power spec requirements, look at the pictures of the board and make sure your PSU has the correct connections

 

[Hail The Brain Slug]

Recommending replacing something that is still doing its job, by the sound of it, perfectly is highly questionable advice. A PSU either works or it doesn't - if its not overheating or doing anything else to make you suspicious of its reliability why replace it?

Just replacing something because it is old is ecologically wasteful too.

The idea that a new one will be any more reliable is pure speculation. Is an old one that has had moderate use over its lifetime really any more in danger of failing than a new one that is having heavy use?

If it fails, it fails - I've had PSUs for other devices, not PCs, fail out of the blue which were half the age of other similar ones that had equal use. Most of those are still having very regular use many years later without any problems.

My thought from the evidence of my own experience is that it is down to the original manufacturing and the quality of the components fitted. That is a much more significant factor in the PSU or any other electrical device's longevity.

As I've just been remind ^ the quality of the mains supply too should also be considered and whether you've used a surge protector, voltage stabiliser or forked out for an uninterruptible power supply.

In short my belief is that if you buy a good quality PSU it'll likely last the lifetime or longer of the device's other components.

The ability of all power supplies to maintain tight or even in spec voltage regulation degrades as they age, largely due to capacitors aging. Your points assume that no aging occurs and the power supply will always perform like new until a hard failure occurs, rendering the unit useless. This is not how most ATX power supplies (that are not junk) fail. They gradually lose power capability and voltage regulation under load and transients until the user begins to see unexplained restarts, shutdowns, or other issues.

12 years for a power supply made in the 2010 era is a long, fruitful life. Newer components, especially GPUs, are worse than they've ever been for steady state load power draw and transient spikes.

I recommend to the OP how they should proceed if they choose to reuse the old power supply is to watch for signs of these issues. However as multiple others have said, spending multiple thousand dollars on new components and reusing what most of us are considering to be an end of life unit is rolling the dice in multiple ways.

 

[bigboxes]

Recommending replacing something that is still doing its job, by the sound of it, perfectly is highly questionable advice. A PSU either works or it doesn't - if its not overheating or doing anything else to make you suspicious of its reliability why replace it?

Just replacing something because it is old is ecologically wasteful too.

The idea that a new one will be any more reliable is pure speculation. Is an old one that has had moderate use over its lifetime really any more in danger of failing than a new one that is having heavy use?

If it fails, it fails - I've had PSUs for other devices, not PCs, fail out of the blue which were half the age of other similar ones that had equal use. Most of those are still having very regular use many years later without any problems.

My thought from the evidence of my own experience is that it is down to the original manufacturing and the quality of the components fitted. That is a much more significant factor in the PSU or any other electrical device's longevity.

As I've just been remind ^ the quality of the mains supply too should also be considered and whether you've used a surge protector, voltage stabiliser or forked out for an uninterruptible power supply.

In short my belief is that if you buy a good quality PSU it'll likely last the lifetime or longer of the device's other components.

That's not true at all. Power supplies do degrade over time, just like everything else. You may not even realize why your computer is having the occasional issues when all along it's your power supply. Seasonic included. It's hardly a work/doesn't work scenario. I've had more than one Seasonic power supply that needed replacing just after the warranty expired.

If you're doing a new build, replace the power supply. Save the old one as a backup. 10 years is a long time, even for Seasonic. I currently have 4 working Seasonic units.

 

[bigboxes]

The ability of all power supplies to maintain tight or even in spec voltage regulation degrades as they age, largely due to capacitors aging. Your points assume that no aging occurs and the power supply will always perform like new until a hard failure occurs, rendering the unit useless. This is not how most ATX power supplies (that are not junk) fail. They gradually lose power capability and voltage regulation under load and transients until the user begins to see unexplained restarts, shutdowns, or other issues.

12 years for a power supply made in the 2010 era is a long, fruitful life. Newer components, especially GPUs, are worse than they've ever been for steady state load power draw and transient spikes.

I recommend to the OP how they should proceed if they choose to reuse the old power supply is to watch for signs of these issues. However as multiple others have said, spending multiple thousand dollars on new components and reusing what most of us are considering to be an end of life unit is rolling the dice in multiple ways.

Not to mention the power supply is such a critical part for stability. Many think they should just purchase the cheapest PSU because they're all the same. They're not. If you value stability and reliability you replace the power supply with the new build.

 

[bigboxes]

Depends on input power mostly (IMO). Dirty power or exposed to power events will shorten the life

And good UPS with line voltage regulator can help. Unplugging when storming even better

I run all of my computers through a UPS. If you value stability, you'll do it.

 

[mikeymikec]

I don't think the "if you value X you'll do Y" rhetoric is particularly helpful.

 

[Mantrid-Drone]

I was not suggesting that PSUs don't age and with it their performance degrades from their original specs.

What I was suggesting is that if you've bought a good quality PSU to begin with that performance degradation will likely still be within spec for the use intended. PSUs aren't (or shouldn't) be designed or chosen to just meet the typical power requirements of the device they're being used for. They're designed with a certain degree of tolerance built in.

As far as their efficiency goes that may change but if you've bought a 80+ Gold rated PSU its efficiency could drop by 50% and it would still be more efficient than a brand new 80+ Bronze one.

Of course there are other considerations if we're talking about professional use and situations. An efficiency loss has a financial element that can't be ignored and neither can the increased possibility of component failure, which I was not arguing about, due to the PSU's age.

But for those of us consumer level users a slight drop off in performance which you won't even notice in practice and that unquantifiable increased possibility of failure is of less concern. Therefore it was my contention that in such cases simply replacing a PSU because it has reached a certain age is wasteful in every respect.

Original manufacturing quality, spec and the type of use it has had are, probably, more important in terms of its future life expectancy than its specific age.

 

[Asterox]

Hm, reputable power supply+three year warranty. Here is my example with old Seasonic S12II series or 430W model.

It is thirteen years old, but in reality it has around 7 years actively feeding HTPC PC.

- throughout its life the power supply is open and cleaned two times

- in real use, it never pulled more than 200W on 12V

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