PSUs degrading over time

[kyippee]

I was thinking of using my current PSU, a Corsair TX650 for my new build and replacing it with a lower wattage PSU for my current rig, as this will make my new build a fair bit cheaper. My current rig is an i5 760 with Radeon HD6850. I was wondering if this would be a good idea as I've had the TX650 for roughly 3 years and have heard that PSUs can degrade over time. Is it best to just get a new PSU for my new build or would using the TX650 be fine?

[igor0203]

If it's working fine, you can use it. Capacitors inside PSU can degrade over time (blown capacitors etc.) but that's the only thing that degrade over time. It's also worth cleaning it from inside and that's it.
Last year I replaced capacitors in my Enermax Liberty 500W (which is now 6 or 7 years old) and it's still working like brand new.

[Saracen]

If it's working fine, you can use it. Capacitors inside PSU can degrade over time (blown capacitors etc.) but that's the only thing that degrade over time. It's also worth cleaning it from inside and that's it.
Last year I replaced capacitors in my Enermax Liberty 500W (which is now 6 or 7 years old) and it's still working like brand new.

It's not the only thing that can degrade, but it's by far the most likely, and even then, for a decent brand with decent components, not likely to be a problem in 3 years. Another thing I've seen degrade is the insulation in-between transformer layers, and if that happens, total failure will result when the degradation reaches the point of not insulating. But I'd also say if that happened over timescales of a few years, it's a faulty PSU.

Any capacitor degradation is likely to be a result of heavy leading, and/or poor cooling.

Personally, I like to give PSU's a bit of a cleaning from time to time. First, try to vacuum any dust build-up fromthe fan. The most likely cause of PSU overheating is probably heat stress if fans aren't working properly, and they won't if too much dust builds up.

Also, as a factor of build quality, the qualuty of dans caries hugely. A cheap-as-chips sleeve bearing on a fan is likely to wear, resulting in much lower fan rotation speeds, and hence lower airflow and internal temperature buildup, than a decent ball-bearing fan. I've had two PSUs in the past that would cut out after a few minutes for thus reason. But, investing a couple of quid in replacement fans and those PSU's went on working for years. The failure was the fan, not the PSU itself, or caps, etc.

And, again personally, I periodically take PSU case covers off and ensure they're dust-free, but I DO NOT recommend that for anyone not comfortable that they know what they're doing. You don't want to damage components, and the main caps can hold quite a charge even when disconnected from the mains.

All told, kyippee. I wouldn't be terribly worried about a 3-year old TX650. I've got PC's here of Pentium 900Mhz and Athlon 1400 vintage, and their PSU's are fine. In fact on machine is a twin P2-550. And that dates it. And I've other gear that dates back to valve amplifiers in radio transmitters, and the PSU's are fine.

Yes, it's possible your PSU has degraded, but IMHO, you'd be very unlucky if it was a real issue after three years, unless you've been loading it to the max, running it pretty much 24/7, and have your PC in a place where air flow is poor.