Question MisterE replaces his ancient SeaSonic S12II 520 power supply

[MisterE]

Greetings, all! I've had a SeaSonic S12II 520 Bronze 520W power supply running 24/7 in whatever happens to be my main computer, since I bought it in December of 2011. It's served me well but it's had a coil chirping in it for years and the fan is wearing out and the noise is becoming a little annoying. I gave my computer a good cleaning today, replaced the old rear 120mm exhaust fan with a new 140mm, and replaced the power supply with a Thermaltake Toughpower GF A3 650W 80+ Gold Full Modular. HOLY EFFING MOLY is this thing quiet compared to the PSU that I replaced! It has a 10-year warranty and will hopefully last that long.

 

[igor_kavinski]

Yeah apparently PSUs have improved a lot.

 

[bigboxes]

Greetings, all! I've had a SeaSonic S12II 520 Bronze 520W power supply running 24/7 in whatever happens to be my main computer, since I bought it in December of 2011. It's served me well but it's had a coil chirping in it for years and the fan is wearing out and the noise is becoming a little annoying. I gave my computer a good cleaning today, replaced the old rear 120mm exhaust fan with a new 140mm, and replaced the power supply with a Thermaltake Toughpower GF A3 650W 80+ Gold Full Modular. HOLY EFFING MOLY is this thing quiet compared to the PSU that I replaced! It has a 10-year warranty and will hopefully last that long.

There have been better PSUs for years. This is nothing new. I went through two of those S12II PSUs. Both failed right as they're warranty (5-years) expired. You got lucky. All of my computers have top end Seasonic power supplies in them. 10/12 year warranties. Quiet AF. As far as your old S12II, I'm surprised your haven't replaced a long time ago due to obsolescence.

 

[mindless1]

^ I'm still running an S12II in a spare system and have no desire to change it out till it fails. Granted that system probably peaks at only 1/4th its wattage rating, and I've only ever bought the one, but it's been running fine for several years now, long enough that I can't remember when I bought it.

Obsolescence isn't really a thing, as long as the system you need to use it in, doesn't have cross-loading problems from group regulation, at least I assume it has GR.

Does it waste single-digit watts from lower efficiency? Yes, not a big deal. Is it louder than many? Probably, but that extra airflow could help its longevity, and I can't hear it with the system it's in, under a desk.

I wouldn't want to run a ~10 year old PSU in my main rig, and I do have spares, but if the day comes that it does fail, I'll probably repair it (including a recap and maybe redo the thermal paste if it has some instead of pads) and keep as another spare.