Question XFX XTR 550 Watt is 6 years old, Runs Fine, Replace it anyway ?

[crockman]

My XFX XTR 550 Watt-Gold Rated PSU was what I bought 6 years ago, Newegg $80, when I did a top to bottom PC Build.
The only parts still used in this PC are the Case, MB & the XFX 550w.

The XFX came with a 5 year warranty, that ran out April 2020.

I've never had a problem with this XFX and it still runs fine, but...

I'm doing a Major Upgrade now, from my Present i7-4770k to the New i5-11400

So a New LGA 1200 MB, a 11400 Cpu & DDR4 ram now instead of 3.

Do i dare reuse this 6 year old XFX PSU ?, even with this XFX still running fine I'm guessing I should still replace it, your opinions ?

btw If I do replace it, I'll buy a Gold Rated 650 watt (Brand undecided yet)

 

[legcramp]

It's only 6 years old and isn't that line of XFX psus made by Seasonic? I'd keep it another five years tbh.

 

[crockman]

It's only 6 years old and isn't that line of XFX psus made by Seasonic? I'd keep it another five years tbh.

This is the PSU Bought at Newegg 4/2015

I had never really noticed before, but yes i think your right, it is a Rebranded Seasonic, according to this site anyway:
Non-USA Site, will need Translating

Thanks for the Heads-up legcramp, I'll continue to use this XFX 550watt til I upgrade from my present 1660 ti to a 3070 (which could be awhile for I'll not buy a 3070 til the prices come back down to near Retail)

 

[bigboxes]

No. I would put a new power supply in a new build. That's assuming it's not three years old. I've had two Seasonic power supplies that died right after their 5 year warranty expired. They start to act up before that happens. I'm still using my 11 year old Seasonic silver in my HTPC, but that is light/limited duty. I have a 1000W Seasonic Prime UltraTitanium in my server that is 3 years old. I have a 7 year old Seasonic 860 Platinum that I am going to temporarily use in my new 5950X build while await the delivery of the new one.

 

[aleader]

Just keep using it, why not? I still have two old PSU's running, one is almost 16 years old. This PSU 'destroying your system' is overblown nonsense IMO. I've never had a PSU failure, period. I swear some guys must be taking them in the tub with them or something

 

[BoomerD]

I have a Seasonic-built Corsair (HX-620) that i bought and installed in 2007...still works just fine

 

[crockman]

One thing I have noticed over the last couple months, when I log into a game, where the power usage increases, i start to hear slight rattling fan noise. I know it's not the case fans for I have all those connected to a Manual Fan Controller. I had thought maybe it was the CPU Cooler, but now that the new cpu and cooler are installed the fan rattle noise is still present.
So being the Fan Noise is coming from the PSU, plus the possibility of a more power hungry card, a 3070, in the near future, I decided to buy a New/more powerful PSU

A Super Flower 650 watt, 80+ Gold, semi-modular. I bought it at Newegg a few days ago when it was on sale for $79.99
Super Flower Link at Newegg

 

[aleader]

One thing I have noticed over the last couple months, when I log into a game, where the power usage increases, i start to hear slight rattling fan noise. I know it's not the case fans for I have all those connected to a Manual Fan Controller. I had thought maybe it was the CPU Cooler, but now that the new cpu and cooler are installed the fan rattle noise is still present.
So being the Fan Noise is coming from the PSU, plus the possibility of a more power hungry card, a 3070, in the near future, I decided to buy a New/more powerful PSU

A Super Flower 650 watt, 80+ Gold, semi-modular. I bought it at Newegg a few days ago when it was on sale for $79.99
Super Flower Link at Newegg

Yes, if you plan on getting a 3070 (good luck with that ), a 650w PSU is ideal. You didn't say in your OP what GPU you were planning on. I have a 3070/5600X and the max power draw during my most demanding game is 328w at the wall, so a 650w is perfect to get in that 50% efficiency area. I bought a 750w as the price was the same as the 650w, but it's overkill for a 3070/5600x.

 

[Magic Carpet]

I have a Seasonic-built Corsair (HX-620) that i bought and installed in 2007...still works just fine

I’ve got a Seasonic S12II 330W that has been in service since around June 2008. Quality unit indeed.

 

[Captante]

Just keep using it, why not? I still have two old PSU's running, one is almost 16 years old. This PSU 'destroying your system' is overblown nonsense IMO. I've never had a PSU failure, period. I swear some guys must be taking them in the tub with them or something

Ahhh ... famous last words lol.

I've had several fail over the years, including 2 Seasonic's, a couple older Antecs both of which killed their MB's AND a PC Power & Cooling 600 watt unit that literally exploded like a gunshot killing EVERYTHING connected to it aside from the RAM before CATCHING ON FIRE !!! (yes really)

Having said that, I agree its most likely fine for now BUT if it were me I would replace it and keep it on the shelf in a box just in case.

 

[bigboxes]

Ahhh ... famous last words lol.

I've had several fail over the years, including 2 Seasonic's, a couple older Antecs both of which killed their MB's AND a PC Power & Cooling 600 watt unit that literally exploded like a gunshot killing EVERYTHING connected to it aside from the RAM before CATCHING ON FIRE !!! (yes really)

Having said that, I agree its most likely fine for now BUT if it were me I would replace it and keep it on the shelf in a box just in case.

Yup. We were just talking in the NEF thread about backup parts. My 7 year old 860 Platinum now sits in it's box waiting for when it's needed. You never know when you might need it to troubleshoot an issue.

 

[bononos]

For new builds, I'd suggest getting psus that have the newer designs which aren't group regulated, have DC-DC converters, etc. These newer psus are probably better for more current cpus which can have very spiky power fluctuations.
There are some budget Corsair cxm models which have DC-DC according to this thread.

 

[mindless1]

If you have a lot of high load hours on it, like extended gaming, rendering, or mining, then I would replace it.

If not, I would clean the dust out, relube the fan if it has sleeve bearings, examine the capacitors for bulging, and keep using it, at least until PSU prices settle back down from covid shortages... which wouldn't necessarily need to be wait until it fails, but odds are you have a few good years left in it so the benefit:cost ratio seems low to replace it right now.

 

[BUTCH1]

If you have a lot of high load hours on it, like extended gaming, rendering, or mining, then I would replace it.

If not, I would clean the dust out, relube the fan if it has sleeve bearings, examine the capacitors for bulging, and keep using it, at least until PSU prices settle back down from covid shortages... which wouldn't necessarily need to be wait until it fails, but odds are you have a few good years left in it so the benefit:cost ratio seems low to replace it right now.

PSU's seem to have missed the giant price increases that have affected GPU's, RAM, and CPU's, it seems that miners have little use for any PSU not above 800 watts or so. I just ordered this one from Amazon yesterday, https://www.amazon.com/ARESGAME-Sup...ca8d55&pd_rd_wg=4QqMz&pd_rd_i=B08R1L8TDJ&th=1 I'm currently running an Antec Eathwatts 450W from 2008 but on occasion I will get a re-boot and a 1033 error, hard to pin it down since a failing PSU can cause any piece of hardware to misbehave.

 

[mindless1]

^ Never heard of the Aresgame brand, know of any good reviews (PSU review style not amazon)?

 

[bigboxes]

^ Never heard of the Aresgame brand, know of any good reviews (PSU review style not amazon)?

You don't have to worry about it being out of stock.

Plus, you get it free when you buy a RTX 3090 for $3500!

 

[mindless1]

Yeah, I'm still partial to recapacitorizing my current PSU with top shelf caps and putting dual ball bearing fans in, even if (shudder) group regulated PSU.