Power supplies - warranty versus lifespan?

[VirtualLarry]

I was wondering, how wise is it, to run a PSU "until it dies", rather than replace it at warranty's end?

For example, I have a pair of Antec VP-450 PSUs, that were powering a pair of (mildly) OCed C2Q 45nm CPUs. They are probably 4 years old by now, maybe more. They only had a 2-year warranty. I had to remove the OC on the main C2Q rig, because I was getting a couple of hard-freezes while doing DC. I now theorize that could have been caused by excessive ripple, caused by dried-out / worn-out caps.

I haven't tested that theory yet, by digging out the C2Q rigs and putting in a fresh PSU and re-OCing it.

But is that a real problem, that running a PSU past it's warranty period, may cause it to run out of spec, and cause problems, or even damage hardware, in extreme cases?

Or is it "safe", to run a PSU for as long as it continues to run, regardless of warranty expiration?

 

[HOOfan 1]

The warranty doesn't really tell you anything about the lifespan, just how long the company is willing to support individual products. The warranty is more about marketing than lifespan. There are decent units out there with 1 or 2 year warranties, which will last much longer than that.

Here is an article by HardOCP about how PSU longevity

http://www.hardocp.com/article/2015...1000w_power_supply_7_year_redux/#.Vf_w9_l1w20

 

[VirtualLarry]

The warranty doesn't really tell you anything about the lifespan, just how long the company is willing to support individual products. The warranty is more about marketing than lifespan. There are decent units out there with 1 or 2 year warranties, which will last much longer than that.

Here is an article by HardOCP about how PSU longevity

http://www.hardocp.com/article/2015...1000w_power_supply_7_year_redux/#.Vf_w9_l1w20

Interesting, thanks.

I think that the Antec VP-450 is made by FSP. Would those last more than 2 years reliably? How long would a PSU with average / somewhat "cheap" caps last?

 

[HOOfan 1]

Depends on how heavily it is used and how hot it gets.

Some of the really old Antecs had horrible caps which would notorious for leaking...but the newer ones should last 2+ years easily.

Gabe over at Hardware Secrets does good reviews and he really liked the VP-450

http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/antec-vp450-power-supply-review/11/

 

[MrTeal]

We have several computers kicking around the lab that sit on 24/7 running various things that have OEM Dell PSUs. Most are P4 or Pentium D machines that are 10 years old now, and none have failed in the last 5 years.

Keep in mind that the ratings on capacitors is at the rated voltage and temperature (85C for cheaper ones, 105C/125C for better ones). Their rated life is significantly longer if they're not running at full temperature.

 

[Donanza]

Are you sure the PSUs could not handle the system?
They can achieve lower wattage the more they are consumed since they efficiency gets lower and lower.

 

[C1]

Run the the PSU till it fails. Installing a brand new one is not a guarantee of no failure as electronics reliability conforms to the famous "bathtub curve" (ie, early failure and late failure are more probable than a failure during mid-life).

Because of your concern about possible system damage caused by a failing PSU, this is one reason to buy a quality unit to begin with as these have protection circuitry and with more expensive units having better protection. For this, review the WiKi page on PSU specifications.

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

I've never had a power supply fail while still under warranty. Warranties are created by accountants and risk management. In other words, they have no connection to reality.

 

[Sabrewings]

I still have an Ultra X-Connect 2 550w kicking around for the last 8 years. I've debated replacing it a few times since it does seem to be losing some efficiency, but I haven't pulled the trigger yet and it hasn't let me down.

 

[slag]

I've never had a power supply fail while still under warranty. Warranties are created by accountants and risk management. In other words, they have no connection to reality.

I have just last year and it was replaced under warranty. It was a 750 watt corsair power supply that just died one day. It was replaced under warranty.

 

[redzo]

Run the the PSU till it fails. Installing a brand new one is not a guarantee of no failure as electronics reliability conforms to the famous "bathtub curve" (ie, early failure and late failure are more probable than a failure during mid-life).

Because of your concern about possible system damage caused by a failing PSU, this is one reason to buy a quality unit to begin with as these have protection circuitry and with more expensive units having better protection. For this, review the WiKi page on PSU specifications.

I trust 5 year warranted psu's. If you take a look at reviews, manufacturers fit those with 100% high quality components.
Check as much reviews as possible for a particular unit! A lot of 100$ "reliable" good brand units fail simple ATX standard specs. At this point it is not a mater of how much a psu will last, it is a mater of how fast will a psu like that trash your motherboard.

 

[lehtv]

I trust 5 year warranted psu's. If you take a look at reviews, manufacturers fit those with 100% high quality components.

In general, not always. Plenty of 5 year warranty units out there with sub par caps like CapXon and Teapo. And component quality can't replace workmanship; I'd much rather buy a unit made by Seasonic than by Sirfa for instance, assuming both used japanese caps and had 5 year warranty.

 

[Essence_of_War]

In general, not always. Plenty of 5 year warranty units out there with sub par caps like CapXon and Teapo. And component quality can't replace workmanship; I'd much rather buy a unit made by Seasonic than by Sirfa for instance, assuming both used japanese caps and had 5 year warranty.

15ish years ago, I would have agreed with you, but those "sub-par" caps are used by OEMs for major resellers and distributors like Dell, HP, and others. They are fine, and even 10 years ago, people like Win-Tact were using exclusively Teapo caps to produce high-end power supplies. They are not "sub-par", and they really haven't been for a while.

I would personally rather buy a SeaSonic OEM'd unit than a CWT, but look at the quality coming out of recent CWT units that are in the same performance range as SeaSonic units. Heck, look at the quality of recent Enhance units being OEM'd for Rosewill's Quark units. They use teapo caps. Their build quality is top-notch.

 

[mikeymikec]

I've never had a power supply fail while still under warranty. Warranties are created by accountants and risk management. In other words, they have no connection to reality.

I've replaced several Corsair CX430s used in machines (all newer than 2010) with mid/low end CPUs and integrated graphics. Two outright failures (ie. machine doesn't boot any more), the rest (4 IIRC) went back for screeching fans.

I would personally rather buy a SeaSonic OEM'd unit than a CWT, but look at the quality coming out of recent CWT units that are in the same performance range as SeaSonic units. Heck, look at the quality of recent Enhance units being OEM'd for Rosewill's Quark units. They use teapo caps. Their build quality is top-notch.

I would agree with this. I've built probably about 30-40 machines with Corsair VX450 PSUs (made by Seasonic), not one has failed yet to my knowledge.

As a general rule I personally run PSUs until I know they're faulty.

 

[PhIlLy ChEeSe]

I was wondering, how wise is it, to run a PSU "until it dies", rather than replace it at warranty's end?

For example, I have a pair of Antec VP-450 PSUs, that were powering a pair of (mildly) OCed C2Q 45nm CPUs. They are probably 4 years old by now, maybe more. They only had a 2-year warranty. I had to remove the OC on the main C2Q rig, because I was getting a couple of hard-freezes while doing DC. I now theorize that could have been caused by excessive ripple, caused by dried-out / worn-out caps.

I haven't tested that theory yet, by digging out the C2Q rigs and putting in a fresh PSU and re-OCing it.

But is that a real problem, that running a PSU past it's warranty period, may cause it to run out of spec, and cause problems, or even damage hardware, in extreme cases?

Or is it "safe", to run a PSU for as long as it continues to run, regardless of warranty expiration?

Used to be true of older hardware, but now days when the PSU takes a crap it will not take stuff with it such as the CPU,memory, HDD'S,ETC.
The more hours on a PSU the more likely the caps lose there ratting and start to run out of spec's.

 

[JEDIYoda]

I was wondering, how wise is it, to run a PSU "until it dies", rather than replace it at warranty's end?

For example, I have a pair of Antec VP-450 PSUs, that were powering a pair of (mildly) OCed C2Q 45nm CPUs. They are probably 4 years old by now, maybe more. They only had a 2-year warranty. I had to remove the OC on the main C2Q rig, because I was getting a couple of hard-freezes while doing DC. I now theorize that could have been caused by excessive ripple, caused by dried-out / worn-out caps.

I haven't tested that theory yet, by digging out the C2Q rigs and putting in a fresh PSU and re-OCing it.

But is that a real problem, that running a PSU past it's warranty period, may cause it to run out of spec, and cause problems, or even damage hardware, in extreme cases?

Or is it "safe", to run a PSU for as long as it continues to run, regardless of warranty expiration?

I have a PC Power & Cooling 500watt I think it is that is still running strong and I bought it the same year I joined these forums...2005 I think....