Re-use Corsair HX520 for new build?

[anyweather]

Can my current Corsair HX520 power supply handle new build?

i5-4690k
Asus Maximus Hero VII
NZXT X61
16gb of ram
1 SSD and 1 HDD
Radeon 290x (or use the onboard for now till the Radeon 300 series comes out)
Fractal Design R5

I'm planning to do a mild overclock hopefully to 4.3-4.5 ghz. No xfire or SLI.

What do you guys think?

 

[lehtv]

290X alone will use more than half of the available +12V (250-280W of available 480W), and given that you've probably had it for over 5 years (the earliest reviews being from 2006), I would upgrade.

GTX 970 (or a sub 200W 300-series card) would be a safer bet than 290X. But it's still so old that it might be a good idea to upgrade.

 

[rchunter]

I've got (4) Corsair HX620's that are like 9 years old and still running strong. They have been awesome but I have a couple back up power supplies sitting here still in the box. Just in case any start dying, i'll be able to switch them out quickly with new ones.

 

[Corsair Joseph]

290X alone will use more than half of the available +12V (250-280W of available 480W), and given that you've probably had it for over 5 years (the earliest reviews being from 2006), I would upgrade.

^ This

anyweather - In theory yes, your HX520 will be able to handle that spec. But you have to take PSU's years of service into account as well to decide whether you need to upgrade or not. If you are really considering the 290X, the answer is yes.

 

[Geforce man]

If you do it, I'd hit the r9 290x with a -50mv undervolt. quite a bit of wattage saved, in my case on mine over 50w!. Might help a bit.

Otherwise, those old HX PSU's were great. I had a HX 520, then 620, now an hx 850. I love them!

 

[Flapdrol1337]

It'll probably hold up, but if you're spending so much why risk it?

 

[bonehead123]

We know that you know that we know that you want a fresh, shiny, new psu for your new build, as would most people in their right mind so...

just DO it..resistance is FUTILE

 

[DrMrLordX]

My anecdotal evidence may or may not be of use to you, so take it for what it's worth:

Up until last November, I was still running an x2-220 unlocked to 3 cores and OCed to 3.9 ghz. It was paired with an old 8800GTX ACS. I'm pretty sure that between the heavily-overvolted CPU and the old monstrosity that is the 8800GTX (and this an ACS card no less), the power draw on that system was at least equal to what your new rig would use at stock. Possibly higher.

Anyway, I ran all that on an HX520 from I don't know when. Pre-2009, I know that much. It's the same PSU powering my A10-7700k now. It just won't quit! Not that there's anything wrong with that.

 

[TemjinGold]

OP: Something to consider is that your HX520 is horribly inefficient (~70% or so). You normally don't save much from swapping PSUs for modern ones but this may be an exception.

 

[DrMrLordX]

Huh? The HX520 is ~80% efficient at loads of 50% and higher, even in "hot box" testing:

http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story2&reid=18

Maybe an old unit with a lot of wear and tear might have efficiency problems, but brand new, the HX520 was most certainly not a horribly-inefficient unit.

Just out of curiosity, if the OP (or anyone else for that matter) wanted to replace an old standby like the HX520, what would be the go-to PSU (either from Corsair's lineup or someone else's) to replace it? The HX520 retailed for $119 back in 2006. Today you can get some gold-rated PSUs in the 750W range for ~$99, like this Seasonic unit:

http://pcpartpicker.com/part/seasonic-power-supply-s12g750

The obvious problem here is that if you overspec the PSU for your intended use case, you may put the PSU into a bad part of its efficiency curve. If you go to lower-priced units, you start to run the risk of component quality issues, no matter what the name brand. So, for example, "cheaping out" and getting a CX500 or CX600 might not be a great idea, either.

 

[TemjinGold]

His unit has been used for years. Not even close to brand new.

 

[DrMrLordX]

That doesn't mean the HX520 has a 70% efficiency, though. Where did you even get that number? The only meaningful frame of reference is testing conducted on retail units which indicate 77-82% efficiency based on load.

Certainly there is the potential for degradation, but without testing the OP's individual PSU, we'll never know. For all we know, it could be trucking right along at ~80% efficiency, or it might have degraded well below 70%.

 

[TemjinGold]

Sorry I meant, IN the 70s. I just realized I actually typed 70 haha...

 

[DrMrLordX]

oh okay. That makes more sense.

So, the question still stands . . . what's the ideal modern replacement for the HX520? The HX520 is an independent-regulated modular PSU with excellent performance across the board and efficiency that, while not fantastic, was pretty darn good for the time. They were and are extremely durable. It retailed for $119, though when I got mine, it was around ~$100 or so (if I recall correctly).

The Seasonic S12G-550 seems like a possible candidate. It's Gold rated and it reviewed pretty well, but some have complained about the group-regulated design. Prices vary between $75-$90, making it cheaper than the old HX520.

Hmm SS12G-550 doesn't look modular though. Maybe this would be better . . .

 

[lehtv]

^ I would say any reliable unit with Japanese caps, at least 80+ Bronze efficiency, same power and 5 year warranty is a suitable replacement. Antec HCG-520(M), TP-550C, Seasonic S12II 520W, M12II 520W (EVO), S12G 550W, SSR-550RM, XFX 550W (XTR), Rosewill Capstone 550(-M) to name a few

 

[DrMrLordX]

The Capstone units have reviewed pretty well. Sadly, availability on the 550M seems to have dropped off as of this past February. Odd. Oh well. That certainly gives the OP many possible choices (along with all the rest of us holdouts still clinging to an HX520).

 

[riversend]

The XFX 550W XTR is $60AR on Newegg right now. I just replaced an HX520 (7yrs, still running well) with the XFX 650W XTR - nice unit, very guiet.

 

[~CS~]

Keep using it, I would. Those units could be overloaded by quite a bit as well, so I wouldn't worry about degradation. Degradation in itself, is an overblown myth, that no one has ever truly measured.

 

[Bearmann]

I'm using this model too. It's about 5-6 years old and I plan a new build late this year, but with no video card or a modest one and probably no overclock. I've been pondering the same thing.

 

[ButtMagician]

500W is more than enough for a system with a single graphics card, even a powerful one. So many people buy these high-wattage PSUs when there's absolutely no need for them unless you're running SLI/Crossfire or those monster dual GPU cards. Try a kilowatt meter, you will be surprised how little your system uses even under load.

 

[Bearmann]

500W is more than enough for a system with a single graphics card, even a powerful one. So many people buy these high-wattage PSUs when there's absolutely no need for them unless you're running SLI/Crossfire or those monster dual GPU cards. Try a kilowatt meter, you will be surprised how little your system uses even under load.

I agree, but the question is not just the PSU wattage, but the age of the PSU and how much life it has left in it, and how much it degrades over the years.

 

[bigbadbrad]

Grave digging from 2021, still running an HX520 here, working great! Have a backup just in case this one dies...

My opinion is anyweather would have been just fine running it, and likely still would be fine now. Really well built PSU.

 

[DrMrLordX]

An HX520 may not have the connectors you would want for a modern system. I just gave mine away last week to a guy who lost his 600W Raidmax PSU to . . . whatever it was that killed it (probably poor build quality). His system is from 2011 so the HX520 works just fine connector-wise for him. He says his system has never run better. Which is, granted, possibly hyperbole. But it still works, even after all these years.

 

[mindless1]

Lifespan is a function of temperature in most cases (given same PSU/model) and that can be a big variable, depending on case airflow, dust buildup, load which is not just the parts but use for extended gaming sessions or video encoding, etc where it's a heavy load for extended periods of time.

An old timer's rule of thumb is that for each 10C decrease in temperature you double the lifespan. I'm not confident that was ever accurate, nor as applicable today, but temperature can still make a large difference in lifespan, especially if the PSU doesn't have top shelf japanese capacitors and a quality fan, not just some 2nd tier sleeve bearing fan even if they give the sleeve bearing a fancy name.

 

[Kromis]

Grave digging from 2021, still running an HX520 here, working great! Have a backup just in case this one dies...

My opinion is anyweather would have been just fine running it, and likely still would be fine now. Really well built PSU.

Thank you for bumping this thread. I have an HX520 from 2007 that's been dormant for a few years now (only used maybe a total of 5 years max) that I've been thinking about reusing to replace my sister's CX430M from 2015 (her rig is running a Ryzen 1600 + GTX 1660, no OC). It's good to see someone still using one today!