Use 5 Year Old Power Supply In New Build?

M

manini

Limp Gawd
Joined
Nov 14, 2007
Messages
183
Hi Everyone!

I'm looking to build an overclocked Ivy Bridge rig within the next month or two, complete with 16 or 32GB of RAM, a single GTX670 or 680, couple hard drives (including SSD), and a few external devices, etc.

My first question is, will a 750W PSU be enough?

If it is, it would be nice to use my existing PC Power & Cooling Silencer 750 Quad that I've been running my current rig with for the past 5 years... however I'm wondering if the aging it has seen will be an issue with a new system... I'm not sure how long these PSUs are supposed to last. Do you guys think I'd be OK with using the old PSU, or perhaps I should give my beloved 750 Quad a rest... I do recall when I purchased this unit that it was known for it's quality and reliability. So far it has run without a hiccup.

If I do need a new PSU, how much power would I need? I had my eyes on the Corsair 1050HX...

I would love to hear your thoughts and opinions.

Thanks guys!
 
Yes a 750w is enough, a 450w could power that.

I can't say. It's outdated, lacks loads of modern features, but I wouldn't not trust it either, especially with how light it'll be pushed with a single 670.

Don't know why you would be eyeballing a 1050w o_0 If you think it's time for something new, and don't plan on SLI, grab a 500w. If you do? 650w.
 
I think you would be fine as long as your voltages are still nice and stable under load.
 
I have the same PSU (except its the red one) in one of my systems, going on 5 years also. I have no worries keeping it running, its a quality unit. Sure, its louder than my x750 and isn't modular but I wouldn't hesitate to stick two 680's and an overclocked CPU on it. Plus it matches my red interior Lian Li k-62r1 case! :cool:
 
The PSU itself might last nearly forever, but fans don't. If your computer isn't on 24/7, you might be okay. But I wouldn't risk it.

I used to get a new PSU for every build, but started to hear people tell me that I'm crazy for purchasing a new PSU when the one I have is just fine. So from my previous build I kept my Corsair HX620. Just shy of the warranty is crapped out on me. But it was hard to narrow down until it ran out of warranty :/

For the sake of mind, just purchase a new PSU for every build. It's not the most expensive component in your rig, but it is one of the most important.
 
jagz said:
Yes a 750w is enough, a 450w could power that.

I can't say. It's outdated, lacks loads of modern features, but I wouldn't not trust it either, especially with how light it'll be pushed with a single 670.

Don't know why you would be eyeballing a 1050w o_0 If you think it's time for something new, and don't plan on SLI, grab a 500w. If you do? 650w.
Click to expand...

When I bought the PSU I had been thinking of possibly going the SLI/CF route in the future, which I never did... just ended up getting a new single card, hence why the 750 and also to keep in mind for the future in case power requirements had really gone up.

Dark12 said:
I think you would be fine as long as your voltages are still nice and stable under load.
Click to expand...

Is there a way I can go about testing this... some software you recommend perhaps? I'm not as familiar with PSU testing as I am with testing of other components of a system.
 
oh and I've been running the system anywhere from 4-12 hours a day since it was built...
 
I wouldn't be worried about it personally. The life span of the capacitors is well over 10 years, probably 20 for significant degradation (maybe longer with good caps). If the fan is failing you will probably know from either noise or seeing it not spin.

As said, your total power usage on an IB+670/680 system is under 400W, closer to 300-330W at max load.

The only reason to upgrade would be for modular and quieter fan (e.g. Seasonic that turns off the fan at low load). I had a 5 year old Corsair 520HX I was considering using in this build, but decided to sell my entire old computer instead of dealing with selling parts. My new PSU is massive overkill but it was on sale for almost 50% off so I couldn't say no.
 
Don't worry about it.

The PC Power & Cooling Silencer 750w was one of the best single rail PSUs you could get and even though it's almost five years old it is by no means 'outdated'. Hell, the whole reason the 'Quad' version was released was for Quad SLI support.

You would normally have to consider a bit of capacitor aging, cheap electrolytics can cause a PSU to become incapable of delivering the power it was rated for when new... but Seasonic used some pretty decent Nippons in the Silencer 650/750.

Someone mentioned the fan possibly being an issue, but I have yet to see one of these with a dead fan. The ADDA they used is pretty damned bulletproof... although FAR from 'silent'.

Use it and be happy. :)
 
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