Too true. I actually recommend replacing PSUs every 5 years that you own a system, and HDDs every 3 years, as preventative maintenance to keep your PC running. Replace mobo/CPU/RAM every 10 years, and make sure to DUST OUT your PC every year, at a minimum. Possibly MORE OFTEN, if you smoke or have pets or live in a high-dust environment. Case fans too, can be hit or miss, might need to replace them every 3, 5, 7, 10 years or so, it really depends on how well that they are made, and what sort of bearings that they have. Whenever possible, opt for PSU and case fans with BALL-BEARINGS, rather than SLEEVE. Though, sleeve-bearing technology has been advancing over the years, so this last piece of advice may not be relevant anymore.
Lastly, get a PSU with a GOOD warranty. And also, get a UPS / Battery back-up, also with a GOOD warranty, and ENOUGH power (in WATTS) to run your system for at least 5-10 minutes, to accommodate a "safe" shutdown.
Everything you said is good advice. I recommend disc imaging/backup software to make a image of your boot drive. I use a free to use for personal use software called
Macrium Reflect 7 Free Edition to make an backup image. The image is also mountable so you can browse through it if need be. It takes ~15 minutes to restore 50GBs depending on how fast your hard drives transfer data. Just to add to that some brands I've had great experience with when it comes to longevity/quality. Western Digital Black hard drives; Samsung SSDs; Noctua Fans(SSO bearing), and Noctua says this bearing has a lifespan of up to 150,000 hours.) When picking out a power supply's go with brand names and read reviews! Seasonic is one of the more widely dependable names, but like you said most PSU's with good warranties tend to be good. Take a look and see if you can find it on this list.
https://plugloadsolutions.com/80PlusPowerSupplies.aspx It can help give you a ballpark of what to expect. New bronze or better quality power supplies from brand name manufacturers have become very good. Fluid Dynamic or Hydrostatic bearings tend to be the longest lasting . In a power supply the fan is usually the first thing to fail, and the power supply burns up from there.
ATX specification demands (OCP, SCP, OVP), but there are more that a PSU can have.
OVP/UVP (Over Voltage/Under Voltage Protection)
OPP (Over Power Protection)
OTP (Over Temperature Protection)
SCP (Short Circuit Protection)
Sleeve bearing fan can last up to
30,000 hours (and even more in some cases) at temperatures reaching
50 degrees C.
Sleeve bearing fans aren't designed for horizontal mounting since oil inside the bearing moves to one of the shaft's sides, so it doesn't provide uniform friction protection.
Double ball bearings to reduce friction. This type of fan
can be mounted in any orientation without affecting its longevity. The typical lifespan of a good ball bearing fan can reach, and in some cases even exceed,
50,000 hours at very high ambient temperatures.
Fluid dynamic bearing (FDB) and hydro dynamic bearing (HDB) fans are in essence highly modified versions of the sleeve bearing fans, where the design of the bearing is different and also the lubricant fluid is kept intact with the use of seals (some good-quality sleeve bearing fans also feature seals to keep the oil intact). This means friction is kept at very low levels even after prolonged usage, which
can easily exceed 50,000 hours and in some cases reach up to 300,000 hours. The lubricant in FDB fans is pumped up to the whole surface of the bearing through a spiral groove, and this feature makes these fans a
better choice for horizontal mounting, since the lubricant covers the whole surface of the shaft in all cases.
New ATX case designs have different mounting positions than the past. Make sure your power supply mounting position is acceptable for the type of fan bearing it has.
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