What are some signs that a psu is about to die soon?

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Gilbert_pwns

Gawd
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Nov 13, 2010
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I've had this PSU for about 3 years now and I just want to preemptively know if and when it is going to die so I won't be out of luck when it happens. It's a corsair hx 620. I'm betting some of you have experience in dead psu's. Fortunately for me I haven't, yet.
 
There may not be a sign, some types of failure cant be seen before they occur.
Most common failure is capacitors wearing out.
Look for large dips in voltage when under load.
 
I have no scientific basis for this and it's just a personal preference but 3 years is about the time I look to replace my PSU. Those are the only component in your rig that can kill everything so I like to keep a nice new fresh one in there as often as possible. My TX750 is a little over 3 years old now so I'm already eyeballing the sales on some Seasonic Platinum models.

As for signs of one circling the drain, generally they either work or they don't so if your rig starts just shutting off like the plug was pulled, that would be a big sign of impending doom
 
Corsairs are pretty long lasting, its rare I see a catastrophic failure from any PSU (except cheap ones).
I wouldnt put a 3 year limit on a corsair unless its caps have worn out so it can no longer provide enough power.
PSUs wear out a little from age and more from a lot of heavy use and high temps inside the PSU fyi.

You can buy a PSU with a 7 year warranty.
You get a higher quality PSU for overall less cost than replacing it every 3 years,
 
Good power supplies can last 10 years or more.
Probably the most common experience is the fan failing (most common with sleeve bearing fans losing lubrication or under lubricated from new).

Heat is the enemy of power supplies. Which is why the fan, and internal air flow is important.
Capacitor choice is the next element.
Not certain but I would expect a Corsair HX 620 to use all Japanese cap rated to 105 degree C. And manage to flow air over the Capacitors crowded on the circuit board.

Bad caps may or may not show signs of bulging. Anyway the quality and reliability decreases going from Japanese>Taiwanese>Chinese. Mixed up by counterfeit components on the market.

A Corsair has enough protective circuits and build quality, any failures should affect no other components.

However, if peace of mind for you is three years, no reason not to change if you can afford it. My personal experience (admittedly on low end builds) is part changes disturbing long installed parts as likely to cause failures.

If we are talking your signature rig, I doubt your max power usage is 350 watts. Certainly no strain on a 620 watt psu. I would figure it good for at least another 3-4 years before a "preventive" change.

fwiw, the Seasonic "G" series is very good build quality for the price. I think I read of some Delta built power supplies being out, forget from whom.
 
wtourist said:
Good power supplies can last 10 years or more.
Probably the most common experience is the fan failing (most common with sleeve bearing fans losing lubrication or under lubricated from new).
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Sometimes its hard to tell with newer PSU if the fan is failing lol. I have an Seasonic X760 and it always runs in its "quiet fanless mode" I have never had the fan running since I got it lol. I dont even know if the fan works or not.
 
In my case there was only one sign and that was when the GPUs started to act funny.

After that a loud bang and a bright blue flash of light was how I knew it failed.
 
Since we are on the topic, can anyone recommend Quality psu's for a 100 bucks or less that can power the system in my sig?
 
Gilbert_pwns said:
Since we are on the topic, can anyone recommend Quality psu's for a 100 bucks or less that can power the system in my sig?
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There were seasonic X750 or 650 earlier that was 85 dollars. I think at that price point the seasonics are the best. They run completely fanless until a certain % load. Also great build quality and voltage regulation.
 
A system using an old Enermax Noisetaker refused to boot until it had "warmed up". Other signs are random reboots and failure under heavy load.
 
I doubt the HX 620 will die anytime soon. I have a HX520 that's been running for 4 years+. Rock solid so far. Just consider the fact some psus have 7 year warranties. The expectation is that they should last at least that long if they're built with high enough quality components. Either way unless you're going to start measuring with a voltmeter or have other psu testing devices, the only signs of problems are likely going to be stability related.
 
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