Your most durable power supply.

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Sanitarium

[H]ard|Gawd
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Feb 3, 2004
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Having gotten back into the hobby this year after a 7 year absence, I put together a new system recently. My last build was with an EVGA 680i SLI, 2 BFG 8800 GTS cards, and an Intel Core 2 6400. This was around 2007. Like I always try to do, I saved some parts from a previous build for that. I had just bought an Antec NeoPower 550w for an AMD system that I was retiring so I brought that over.

I used that system up until this year, granted it didn't run 24/7 but still had a good amount of use. Flash to 2014 and I decided it was finally time to build a new system so I could play some PC games again. Again, I wanted to bring parts over if at all possible. All I was able to use is the PSU. It still runs just as the day it was new and it's powering 2 R9 270 cards, a 4670k, 6 case fans and a Corsair h100i. I hope I'm not jinking it here, but 7 years of service out of a PSU with moderate to heavy use with high load parts is outstanding IMO.

I'm very impressed with Antec here and when it finally dies, I'll most likely be buying another one. Hopefully they still build quality, durable products as a lot can change in 7 years.

Who else has a PSU that just will not die?

The Antec: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817103941
 
It may be running fine but, after 7 years of use its likely a ticking time bomb. If i were in your position i'd spend the money an get a newer gold or platinum rated seasonic.
 
Yes, Antec is still good

also see Corsair and Seasonic
 
7 years=time to get a new one before something goes wrong.
My TR2 800 is getting long in the tooth.
I have a backup Rosewill 750w gold though.
..but the 5v rail on it is wonky..2-3 hdds max
 
Yeah it is time for a new one, I realize this. I've had PSUs fail before and they didn't take out the system, not to say that it can't happen or won't happen, but all the voltages on this unit are still consistent, the fan still works as it should and it has a minimal amount of dust build up as I taken care of it by cleaning it every so often. Under full load the system draws 430w at the wall so it's not overloaded by any means.

I'm going to continue to gamble on it as it originally had a 5 year warranty which is only a couple of years out of it.

So no one else has gotten this much life out of a PSU?
 
yeah...though you are at the age I would definitely open it up and check for bulged or outright leaking electrolytic capacitors

Recapped, I personally would not hesitate to run such a supply, with hardware I did not fear losing, for several more years.
 
Zalman ZM1000HP still running at 7.5years, used through 4 motherboard and 6 videoboard changes. On about 7-12 hours a week. It's big and inefficient, but quiet.
 
I have a 10 year old Enermax 470w that is still powering my HTPC. It was originally purchased in 2004 and ran an old single core Athlon 64 gaming system before being retired to HTPC duty in 2006. That power supply has probably been switched completely off less than a dozen times in 8 years, and a couple of those times were to swap the hardware from a single core Athlon to a dual core Athlon, to a quad core Phenom (using a 20 to 24pin adapter). For the most part, that HTPC stays on 24/7/365 and rarely hits 50% of its power capacity. It might come close now that I plugged in a GTX560 with adapter cables. I tore it open a couple years ago to look at it and give it a thorough cleaning. Still has the same Japanese Rubycon electrolytic capacitors. Not a single one is bulging or leaking. Due to its age, I probably will never let it power much more, but the damn thing is reliable.

If it fails, I won't care too much. The HTPC is all old hardware anyways. I have a 2 year old Corsair 450w in a box I keep as a spare for testing that will likely replace it.
 
PC power and cooling 750 before the buyout I'll probably never need another one
 
Not sure I'd go by years compared to miles [hours].

I clocked 40K+ hours on a Corsair HX520 before the fan started dying and I got a brand new 650 in exchange as it was in warranty by about a month. [Thanks Corsair]
Likewise I have a 10+ year old Antec true power 430w with maybe 25K hours on and still rock solid in my long retired daily driver.

Time is not as much a factor as sheer ON time in terms of wear and tear.
 
I have a PC Power & cooling 600w that is many years old and 1000's upon 1000's of hours of use.... Still have it in a cabinet as a backup (Retired it in may for a be quiet! Dark Power Pro 10 850w)
 
Some Enermax 350W. Its over 10 years old and AFAIK was under heavy use for most of those years. I've only had it for 2 years though and barely used it.

Op you do realize that PSU don't necessarily just die right? Occasionally they're death is very violent and takes a lot of stuff out with it which is why you should always replace your PSU every 5 or so years.
 
My Corsair HX-620, purchased on Sept 2007, is still with me; however, I e-recycled all my old Antecs notably a True 550p which I had for an entire decade. The only Antec PSU I run now is my Earthwatts 430w on my tech bench which this PSU has the same vintage as the Corsair.
 
I've been running a coolermaster silent m pro 600w for 7 years as well. Never had an issue with it and it's still very silent.
 
Just want to chime in again

folks, I totally agree that quality old supplies can run a good long time

once the warranty has run out, there is no downside to breaking the seal and inspecting the caps

please do
 
Been using this Enermax 1050w for years now, and it will go in my new rig as well. Never had any reason to upgrade.
 
Sanitarium said:
Who else has a PSU that just will not die?
Click to expand...

Way back in 2003 I was building a computer using Dual overclocked Xeons (equivalent of Dual Pentium 4s). Back then the PSU standard was still 20+4 and even things like dual (or a single large) 12v rails were really not standard yet, with most PSUs still having the bulk of their power on the 5v rail.

The Dual Xeon rig I was building used the EPS12v power-supply spec however. In retrospect, it's amazing how forward thinking the EPS12v spec was. It required dual 12v rails and 24+8 pin main connectors, etc. The eventual ATX12v PSU spec borrowed heavily from the EPS12v spec and the two are cross compatible. It's the same 24+8 connectors, etc. About the only thing an EPS12v PSU lacks are PCIE GPU power cables and SATA power cables, but plenty of molex connectors to run adapters off of! ;)

That FSP 550W EPS12v PSU that I got is 11 years old now and still powering a system that is on every day. I actually have PSUs that are even older that never stopped working, but they are so old, with most of their power on the 5v rail, etc, that they simply stopped being useful. I just got lucky I guess that the EPS12v spec has remained relevant for so long.

As a runner-up, the 1000w Antec Truepower Quattro in my main rig has been running great since 2008. Whereas I had a rig that actually needed 1000w at the time (overclocked C2Q + 2x4870x2), my rig could probably get by with ~700w these days, so the PSU is mostly coasting along.
 
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Corsair HX750 (the old CWT build). It is at the 5 year+ mark. That has been the basis for more than a few builds. Forgot, I have a TX550 in my HTPC that is also at 5+ years. No Hiccups.

Pulled apart a client's old machine (dead-no boot) last month. Bad PSU, It was an old Deer unit. Customer swears it had been running 10 hours a day since 1998, and the only time it was down was for a hard drive replacement. PSU had a 1997 build date. Can't believe a Deer lasted anywhere near that long, can't believe it didn't take out the whole motherboard with it. I think the dust/hair/crud formed a symbiotic relationship along the way.
 
i have a PC P&C silencer 610 thats still running, its currently on my fileserver, i think i got this shit in 2008
 
I always replaced my power supply before it'd grow too old. Not because of age, but because I always needed more power. Only one psu died on me more than 10 years ago. But that one within a few months after puchase. With firecracker noise, and a room full of smoke.
 
Funny......the only PSU I've ever had that went up in flames was an Antec!!!!:eek:

I have two old school Pc Power and Cooling 510W SLi PSUs and a server 850W PC P&C that simply wont break....I think they are at least 10 years old and still are used a lot. I think I'd still use them for everyday if it weren't for the 80mm cooling fans they use.....just too loud for office use.

My main everyday use PSUs now a days are either Corsair or Seasonic.

Last new PSU I bought was a Seasonic X 1050 W......very nice.:D
 
I have a (at least...)10 year old 350 watt Sparkle unit that's been on HTPC duty it's entire life.
 
I just recapped an old Antec 450w PS yesterday (before Sata plugs and 20+4 motherboard power came on power supplies).

It was still running in the old S939 system, and there was some other setup using that same PS before that. It has been quite a while as I originally had it back when I was in college, then gave it to a friend, and it finally made it's way back to me.

After recapping, I put it in my retro rig and the voltages are near perfect, especially compared to the super crap Hercules branded 400w PS that was in it. The Hercules PS had no blown caps in it.

I've recapped quite a few Antec power supplies over the years and other than caps I have never had an issue with them.

My main rig is running a BFG 1200w. When I got it used, after BFG went out of business, it didn't have any blown caps, but thinking of replacing it with a newer, better power supply when I get a chance.
 
I have done some horrible things to my SilverStone ST45SF in order to make it fit in my modified case. I mean clipped and unsoldered wires, cut chassis. So far it is humming along, but it is weak, so it might be time for an update.
 
Antec NeoHE 500W. Lasted about 5 years, 24/7, and two rigs. Too bad I sold it for nothing.
 
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Seasonic S12-600HT - purchased April 7th, 2006

Originally went into an P4 800mhz FSB build I believe, before it was replaced by a C2D build. Still in use in my current build (Ivy Bridge 3770 based), and has been rock soild since day one.

Looking at upgrading now since I will need 8+6 for a G1 970, and it doesn't have the connectors.
 
Random cheap 500W I bought like 6-8 years ago.

XClio GoodPower 500W

Still going strong, quiet, does the job.
 
I still have a few 350w and 400w seasonic super tornado and super silencers in use. I think they are at least 10 years old.
 
Most durable was a PSU from a pentium 4 dell. Used that machine until 2012 and it never had any problems. Least reliable surprisingly is the Antec HCP-1300P. My 3rd replacement just went bad yesterday after 6 months of use. YMMV though because my brother uses the same PSU and his has been going fine for a year with no problems.
 
My Corsair 850 finally died this week. I bought it in '09 to go with my i7-920 build. It tolerated a lot of abuse over the years, but finally couldn't maintain the 12v and would power off the whole system.

When your +12V looks like this it might be time for a replacement...

KZTf8tz.jpg
 
i still have a 750watt and a 500watt PCP&C PSU's from 2005 era that are tanks and will nvr die.. To bad OCZ bought them out and fucked them all up to cheap china crap....
 
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