capacitor aging...

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wol-va-rine

2[H]4U
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Jul 20, 2008
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using a psu calculator I noticed an absolutely huge difference in the wattage results depending on capacitor aging, with 50% aging the wattage for my sig rig was 628w, and with 10% aging it was only 460w, that is a huge difference because my psu is only 650w and 50% aging would require a new psu on my part, no...? the Antec TPT 650w that I am using is pretty old (3 or 4 years old at least) and I have a fairly new 500w OCZ StealthXstream that I keep for a backup psu so the capacitor aging would probably be closer to 10% (if that), should I swap the OCZ in and start looking for a new psu...?

I ask because I've been having some power up issues, when I press the power button my system starts, then shuts off rather quickly, then powers on again and shuts off again, the fourth or sometimes fifth time it powers up it will start up for good and boot...

:confused:
 
That could be a mobo issue. Hook up the OCZ PSU and see if the issue exists.

But I highly doubt the cap aging is really that significant with your Antec PSU.
 
If they're not run near their rated temperature, caps age very slowly. Good PSUs will have 105*C rated capacitors, and shouldn't ever run anywhere close to that temp, so they will have virtually unlimited lifetime. However, cheaper 85*C caps will be running much closer to their maximum under heavy load and will age more quickly (their lifetime decreases by a log10 curve with temperature). Temperature is a major consideration, and a PSU using quality 105*C caps with an internal temp kept below 55*C should last at least 5 years before falling 25% below its rated capacitance.

See for example this tech note if you're really interested: http://www.niccomp.com/Products/General/Alumlyticlifeexpect.pdf
 
thanks for the replies guys, I think I'm gonna have to start testing out some bioses for my motherboard when I get some time, I wasn't very specific earlier with the power up problem, it's more of a resume from S3 problem, cold boots usually don't give me any problem but when I wake up and hit the power button for my computer to "wake up" it power cycles like I described earlier, the resume from S3 problem is pretty well documented on Google so it may not be a hardware related problem at all and I may just have to find the right bios...
 
This is the most overblown non-issue.

I have a vintage Yamaha home stereo amp, 240wpc/8ohms. That sucker runs HOT and pulls more current than any computer PSU. It was made in 1979 and still has 100% original caps. It has never performed anything less than perfectly... and it is 30 years old. How long are you planning to use your PSU?

My last powersupply was a 550watt EPS-12V unit that I got for my Dual Xeon rig back in 2003 and it lasted me 5 years and even saw use as the powersupply for my overclocked quad the first year I had it. I pushed that sucker to the limit and it never let me down either.
 
yeah, it's pretty much a non issue and I was just worrying for nothing, I scaled back my overly ambitious overclock and everything is fine now, I just can't get this Q6600 (B3) to run 1600MHz FSB stable (even though it passes IBT and Prime)......

:confused:
 
GotNoRice said:
This is the most overblown non-issue.

I have a vintage Yamaha home stereo amp, 240wpc/8ohms. That sucker runs HOT and pulls more current than any computer PSU. It was made in 1979 and still has 100% original caps. It has never performed anything less than perfectly... and it is 30 years old. How long are you planning to use your PSU?
Click to expand...
Probably longer than the two years it took my Antec 350W SmartPower to blow a Koshin cap in its +5Vstandby circuit or my ECS mobo to pop an OST cap in its memory voltage regulator.

BTW, in addition to the usual sources for good capacitors, BadCaps.net, Mouser.com, and DigiKey.com, there are BDent.com (mostly Sanyo) and an eBay dealer, PC Motherboards Capacitor Store. Apparently that eBay dealer does not sell counterfeit parts.

But I'm still looking for a source of high quality skinny caps found in many PSUs, like the 10mm diameter 4700uF, 10V ones used in older Antecs.
 
What about with the pico-psu? Such as the PW-200-V...

I plan on using this in a build and am also worried about the capacitor aging...
 
Asulc said:
What about with the pico-psu? Such as the PW-200-V...

I plan on using this in a build and am also worried about the capacitor aging...
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PicoPSUs are DC-DC converters, but they still require a +12V source which comes from a standard power brick that would be prone to the same kind of capacitor issues as any normal PSU.
 
A good capacitor with proper cooling will last quite a while. Crappy caps with poor cooling will probably die in a few years time, assuming the poorly designed circuit is in won't blow it up first (re Deer PSUs ;) ).

Manufacturers of caps give out ratings of how long they expect them to last. You can download a datasheet from a respectable manufacturer like Nippon Chemicon if you're curious.
 
larrymoencurly said:
But I'm still looking for a source of high quality skinny caps found in many PSUs, like the 10mm diameter 4700uF, 10V ones used in older Antecs
Click to expand...
keenan said:
12.5mm ones won't fit?
Click to expand...
Not when I have to replace all the big 10mm ones with them, even with long leads and sideways mounting. :mad:
 
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