how long does a power supply last , more than a year of constant use ?
how long does a power supply last , more than a year of constant use ?
Can last a few years or a few months, weeks.. Depends on the quality of it, how loaded the rails are...and luck of course, that capacitors dont blow.
I've had a few generic Ebuyer PSU's that have lasted a couple of months in overclocked PCs, a 400W Ebuyer PSU thats lasted 6 months so far 24/7 and a 300w Fortron (I think) thats so far gone since August 2001 24/7 with no problems.
Generic PSUs are going to usually be less likely to last as long as ones with a good name like Antec or Enermax.
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also depends on how clean the area where the pc is. We have a pc at work and the room gets very dusty, the pc's seem to blow their PSU often.
My PC Power and Cooling lasted 18 months - 5 year warranty, got sent a replacement very quickly. I don't mind buying an expensive PSU for good aftersales.
Nox
Very few problems with PSUs. Several different brands, enermax, antec, hiper, thermaltake. Sometimes the fan gets noisey 3 years later but otherwise no problems. Even the old systems I've sold 2nd hand are still OK and most of those just had whatever PSU that came with the case. I wouldn't recommend the cheapest PSUs but the mid range branded offerings seem to do OK. I think alot os PSUs are overkill but then again I only ever use 1 graphics card and 2 hard drives. Call me boring but I just can't be bothered with all my old HDDs when I can get a new one with 10x the capacity.
Both the PSUs I'm currently using have had at least 2 1/2 years of 24/7 use so far with no obvious problems. One's a 250W one that came with a Scan case, and the other's a '500W' that I paid a bit over the odds for from a local shop 'cos I needed it in a hurry (although it's solidly made with long cables and plenty of molexes so not a complete cheapy).
I've been lucky, never had a PSU fail. Some have been used for 3+ years. I'd like to think I made my own luck by buying decent ones. Enermax have served me well.
Edit> That PC Power & Cooling 5-year warranty is pretty amazing!
Last edited by rajagra; 16-06-2005 at 11:26 AM.
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Just to give you an idea of how long they can last. I have an enermax 550w PSU from 1999 and its still going strong, the rails are solid, they don't jump up and down like some I have seen. Yes the fans in it are starting to go, but thats a 4 quid expense of two fans and pulling the PSU case off
thanks for the info , i wanted to know because i have a beantech 500w for the past 13 months with no problems , but i have not long since spent £400 on upgrades and i am not sure weather or not to change the psu
I've had cheap POS PSUs that lasted 6 years plus and brand name expensive PSUs that were practically DOA. It's just luck, but on average if a PSU is not being stressed beyond it's capability it will last 3 to 5 years.
How long does a power supply last? Should be forever if you look after it properly.
ive had a generic 350w psu in my virgo case and its been on practicularly 24/7 for 3 years! not a problem as of yet not even a noisy fan! *touch wood*
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