How often should you replace psu?

A

alexjb

Member
Hi there,

My computer is about 5 years old now and my friend told me that I should buy a new power supply, is he right? there has never been any problems with it so far?

The power supply is OCZ ModXStream Pro 600w Silent SLI Ready ATX2 Modular Power Supply

Also would I need to update my power supply if I bought a new graphics card? my current one is GTX 670 and I am thinking of upgrading to 1060

thanks so much, also sorry one more question, I upgraded the motherboard, and ram to 16GB DDR4 and I5 6600 so basically its all new apart from power supply and graphics card, will this run games better graphics than my Xbox one with a 670?

I am not sure whether to buy the new formula one game on Xbox one or PC

Thanks so much for all of your help :)
 
Looks like it only had a 3 year warranty. Usually every 5 years or so you should replace it, just to be on safe side. The 1060 only requires about a 450 watt psu. The 1060 isn't much better then the 670 to be honest, would get the 1070.
 
johnb35 said:
Looks like it only had a 3 year warranty. Usually every 5 years or so you should replace it, just to be on safe side. The 1060 only requires about a 450 watt psu. The 1060 isn't much better then the 670 to be honest, would get the 1070.
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Thanks John for your help! :)

would it cause any damage to my computer if the power supply failed? or could I just simply buy one after it breaks? thanks :)
 
When a power supply goes out its very possible that it could take out any hardware in your system.
 
alexjb said:
Thanks John for your help! :)

would it cause any damage to my computer if the power supply failed? or could I just simply buy one after it breaks? thanks :)
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Don't wait until it breaks..cause doing so could result in catastrophic failure of multiple other PC components.
 
Oh wow, thanks both, I suppose I better get a new one soon, I built my computer in September 2012 (it does get alot of use, however I did have a year or so where it wasn't used) do you think I can get another year out of it?

Thanks so much for the help :)
 
Also another question that I really need to answer :) should I get the new F1 game on Xbox one or PC, would a GTX 670 run it better graphics than Xbox one? I have a new processor and 16gb DDR4 Ram to help but graphics card is kinda old now so unsure, thanks so much :)
 
alexjb said:
Also another question that I really need to answer :) should I get the new F1 game on Xbox one or PC, would a GTX 670 run it better graphics than Xbox one? I have a new processor and 16gb DDR4 Ram to help but graphics card is kinda old now so unsure, thanks so much :)
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Look up the games minimum/recommended specs and go off that.. I'd lean towards PC, but the 670 is ancient now...so depends on the games requirements and whether you plan to upgrade or not.
 
MINIMUM:
Processor: Intel Core i3 530 or AMD FX 4100
Memory: 8 GB RAM
Graphics: Nvidia GTX 460 or AMD HD 5870

Thank you :) I am hoping to get at least medium settings on this game with 60fps+

I think it should be enough looking at this :) Just not sure whether the Xbox one will have better graphics or not compared to GTX670 I think it's very close, my best guess is that with the brand new motherboard, processor and DDR4 Ram it will edge it a fair bit (really hope so as not planning on buying a card for at least another 6 months) :)

Thanks so much for your help, I have to get some sleep now but thanks so much really appreciate it :) I just want to double check with the experts before pre-ordering the game on computer and finding that it runs badly on my computer, thanks :)
 
johnb35 said:
Usually every 5 years or so you should replace it, just to be on safe side.
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Do you actually do that? I've got 2 PSUs that have to be pushing 10 years, they're fine. My parents have my old machine and it's got a PSU from easily 15 years ago. I've never had problems with either.
alexjb said:
MINIMUM:
Processor: Intel Core i3 530 or AMD FX 4100
Memory: 8 GB RAM
Graphics: Nvidia GTX 460 or AMD HD 5870

Thank you :) I am hoping to get at least medium settings on this game with 60fps+
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Depends on the game I guess, but both those video cards are about as old as my PSU. Running any really new aaa game might be pushing it to expect 60fps. To be fair, I'm still running a Radeon HD 7850 without much issue, but I don't play the same type of games I used to.
 
Cromewell said:
Do you actually do that?
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My current psu is probably over 5 years old. Its the corsair tx650 and has a 5 year warranty. It will get replaced when I build new either this year or early next. I've lived here for almost 9 years now and I know I upgraded my system not too long after I moved here maybe a couple years afterward. I won't get rid of it, I'll keep it just in case something happens. I just don't like the idea of it going out and taking hundreds of dollars of other parts with it. At this point, I could care less if it goes, but not really looking forward to the cost of a new build right now.
 
johnb35 said:
My current psu is probably over 5 years old. Its the corsair tx650 and has a 5 year warranty. It will get replaced when I build new either this year or early next. I've lived here for almost 9 years now and I know I upgraded my system not too long after I moved here maybe a couple years afterward. I won't get rid of it, I'll keep it just in case something happens. I just don't like the idea of it going out and taking hundreds of dollars of other parts with it. At this point, I could care less if it goes, but not really looking forward to the cost of a new build right now.
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I know I pushed my PC Power & Cooling (OCZ) unit hard for 9 years and finally replaced it out of fear..but it was going strong - but it was certainly well past its warranty and likely its anticipated lifespan.

I didn't throw it out..its still in a box in my basement...lol.. I couldn't throw it out..
 
Thanks everyone so much for the info! I think I'll keep both my graphics card and PSU for another year before upgrading them, as long as this game is well optimised I think I will get great graphics on it after looking online :) also that's really cool that power supply can last for sooo long, I really don't see much need to change it for a while but I will keep an eye on it,

Thanks again for all your help :)

Also just checked online and my power supply says
MTBF
>100,000 Hours

that's 11.4 years of continuous use so I might get 20 years out of this power supply ;)

But I don't think I'll keep it that long haha.... :)
 
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All my computers have lived out there lives. Getting old but never replaced a power supply or never broke down. Just replaced computer because it was time. Does make sense as JohnB said though. One thing i do is blow out twice a year and make sure it is clean. To me that is the most important.
 
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