how long usually a 600 watt psu lasts

[nitink]

do any one tell me about the tagan stone rock 600 watt and how long such smps can last.

 

[BlahBlahYouToo]

what????

 

[tcsenter]

1168 days. And 1/2, plus 30%.

 

[ChaiBabbaChai]

until 2012 of course...

 

[stag3]

no gym for home?

 

[Zepper]

A well made one can last for 7 to 10 years when the electrolytic capacitors start drying up. May need to replace a fan or two in that time.

.bh.

 

[mindless1]

It's a generic question, there is no easy answer as there are too many variables. Temperature, duty cycle, peak loading, average loading, capacitors, ambient temp, system cooling, fan, lubing/dust maintenance interval, power surges, manufacturer component changes, and probably a dozen other things I can't think of at the moment.

 

[Yuriman]

I have a 250w Fortron that's been in nearly continuous use since 1996... so I expect it'll last a while.

 

[Zepper]

Yuriman - nope, running on fumes. Recently some mobo makers have gone to all solid caps for longer life and better performance, but some of the caps in PSUs are just too big for that. All electrolytics will become "solid" (after a fashion) in time, and die...

.bh.

 

[jvroig]

Recently some mobo makers have gone to all solid caps for longer life and better performance, but some of the caps in PSUs are just too big for that. All electrolytics will become "solid" (after a fashion) in time, and die...

Sorry, I didn't understand this part very much. Are you saying that while motherboard makers have gone the route of all solid capacitors, PSU makers haven't (even though this would have improved the lifespan of PSUs considerably... right?) because their capacitors are too big to go the all-solid-caps route? Big capacitors can't be all solid?

 

[HOOfan 1]

Some PSU makers are putting polymer capacitors on the secondary. Polymer caps are not necessary in a PSU because they are not as prone to failure as those on say the CPU VRM on a motherboard...however using the right polymer caps and using them wisely does seem to help increace performance.

 

[MrK6]

If you're past your warranty expiration and can safely handle electronics (remember, a PSU can kill you), pop it open and look for wear.

 

[bruceb]

Zepper, pretty much covered it. Main issues are the capacitors would go bad, but you might see some erratic behavior before they fail. And of course, fan failure is fairly common. If the supply has a good ball bearing fan, it lasts longer. And power input from the electric company and wether your are gets a lot of lighting or voltage spikes, will have some affect on how long it lasts.

 

[ChaiBabbaChai]

Sorry, I didn't understand this part very much. Are you saying that while motherboard makers have gone the route of all solid capacitors, PSU makers haven't (even though this would have improved the lifespan of PSUs considerably... right?) because their capacitors are too big to go the all-solid-caps route? Big capacitors can't be all solid?

Yes you have it right. Capacitors are made out of several different materials to meet the size requirements and attributes desired for the application.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Types_of_capacitor

 

[RebateMonger]

I have a 250w Fortron that's been in nearly continuous use since 1996... so I expect it'll last a while.

We used a 200 Watt AT power supply from 1987 until maybe 2001. It suffered one or two fan failures but was working fine when it was retired. The last motherboard to which it was attached had dual (AT and ATX) power connectors and a Celeron 466 onboard.

Amazingly, this herculean power supply was made by Leadman (later, Powmax), who later made lots of junk ATX power supplies.

I was shocked by the short lives of most ATX power supplies after being used to AT supplies. I don't think I EVER had an AT supply fail. Even those that came with $17 Frys AT mini-tower cases. I must have built a dozen PCs for friends with those cases, with nary a failure.

 

[Red Squirrel]

Depends if it's a 120v model or the 240v model. For 120 the calculation is wattage/([rated voltage]+[actual input voltage avg]/2)+(3-([lenght of power cord to xformer]/66.54))

-Rated voltage being what it's rated at
-Actual voltage input is whatever the socket gives out (should be near 120)
-lenght of power cord to xformer being how much cabling is involved from the pc to the power company transformer.

The 240v models have a totally different formula.

And if you still believe all this by now, I got you.

There is not actual time a PSU will last based on the wattage lol.

 

[mindless1]

Ultimately, the lifetime of a PSU is about the earliest failure point. What part fails first depends on the AC line it is subjected to, how fit it is for it's rated load, how competent the designers where, how much trust was prudent to give the discrete component suppliers.

Put another way, you can pay $60 for a PSU and it might only last a year, or might last a decade. With careful attention to all details you can have quite long life. For example, a Delta 250W PSU in my fileserver has ran 24/7 for over 12 years and shows no signs of problems.

Ultimately, one of four things kills a PSU first:

1) AC power surges. If you have enough to be concerned about, a good, not just consumer $10 surge protector or even better, a line conditioner, is a good idea.

2) Poor quality capacitors that have either unstable electrolyte that gasses as it decomposes, or have too high an ESR so their self-heating causes premature failure.

3) Bad design that assumes people who buy a psu won't ever subject it to it's max rating for more than a moment. Keep it running like that for gaming or whatever and it stresses it too much.

4) Crap fans. I shake my head in disbelief when some try to imply low noise, a small difference is so paramount that fan lifespan isn't more important when the difference can be 2 years versus 12 years. If your PSU fan isn't a fan manufacturer (versus a PC manufacturer brand that doesn't actually make fans) brand, and/or if it isn't dual ball bearing, this choice alone will usually cut in half the lifespan of a PSU before maintenance (fan relubing) or replacement is needed.

It depends on the person, some are ok with monitoring and reacting on a moment's notice, especially if the fan has motherboard/software feedback about failures unlike most PSU. Others want to set it up the best way they can and not have to monitor it, even if that means the noise level is a little higher.

I am in the latter camp for PSU, but in the former for case rear fans. YMMV. I meant for desktop systems where a certain constraint on noise level is prudent, anything where noise isn't critical is a case where I would consider it insane not to use high quality dual ball bearing fans.
Having written that, I inspect and swap out questionable caps and fans before use! It seems excessive to some and it started to seem so to me too, but over time I realized how important it was as evidenced by such a great reduction in failure rate over stock parts until you spend an arm and a leg to have someone else do it for you when you buy a premium (cost) brand and model PSU.

 

[ChaiBabbaChai]

uh what was that? (in your conclusion) ?? Are you saying either go through a medium-high quality PSU with a fine toothed comb yourself OR buy premium PSU?

 

[sahocig]

I accept with of four things kills a PSU first:

1) AC power surges. If you have enough to be concerned about, a good, not just consumer $10 surge protector or even better, a line conditioner, is a good idea.

2) Poor quality capacitors that have either unstable electrolyte that gasses as it decomposes, or have too high an ESR so their self-heating causes premature failure.