[SOLVED] How long can a power supply unit last?

[MasterYoda327]

I plan to build a new gaming PC this year when stocks for both GPUs and CPUs become available. I ordered most of the other parts this past Black Friday and Cyber Monday. With my previous two gaming PC builds, both of which I used for around four years before replacing, I replaced the power supply units when I did a new build. In both setups I used 80 Plus Bronze certified Seasonic power supply units which were both around 850 watts. This time I purchased an EVGA SuperNOVA 1000 G+, 80 Plus Gold 1000 Watt power supply unit . I will provide a link to its specs at the end of this message. In the past, when I did my previous two builds, I was under the impression that when I do a new PC build, I should buy a new power supply unit. Again I used each of my previous builds for around four years. While watching a tech review expert's channel on YouTube, he claimed to use the same power supply unit for seven or eight years without issues. Now, my understanding is that 80 Plus Gold certified power supplies are not only more power efficient, but also better built than 80 Plus Bronze units. You can correct me if I am mistaken on that understanding. My questions are as followed:

1. How long can a PC power supply unit last?
2. If a power supply unit is still in good condition, is it recommended to re-use it in a new PC build or get a new power supply unit?
3. Are 80 Plus Gold certified power supply units better built than 80 Plus Bronze power supply units?
4. I do not plan to overclock my gaming PC. Would my power supply unit last longer if the connected components such as the video card, CPU, and motherboard draw less power when compared to either an overclocked PC or components that are more power hungry?
5. If the power unit is failing, goes bad, or suddenly quits, is there a risk that my connected components could get damaged?

Here is the link for my power supply unit:
EVGA SuperNOVA 1000 G+, 80 Plus Gold 1000W, Fully Modular, FDB Fan, 10 Year Warranty, Includes Power ON Self Tester, Power Supply 120-GP-1000-X1 - Newegg.com

Thanks.

 

[Nemesia]

1. Anywhere from a day to 10 years. No way to tell how long it will last. Buying a good quality PSU makes it more reliable and comes with a longer warranty. Some 2-3 years. Some 5. Some 7-10 years.

2. Depend on what is the new system and how old the PSU is. I would not use a 8 years old PSU in a new system.

3. Certification doesn't mean anything if it's not a good model. I saw gold certified PSU that are pure garbage.

4. Probably but calculating this is impossible.

5. When a PSU dies it can just die and die peacefully. It can die and bring parts with it. The better quality PSU the less risk it does that.

I have no idea why you bought a 1000 watts 200 dollars PSU if you don't have let's say a RTX 3090 and Threadripper CPU. A 750/850 watts would probably have been fine for your needs but since I have no idea what is your CPU and GPU I can't really tell.

 

[g-unit1111]

1. Anywhere from a day to 10 years. No way to tell how long it will last. Buying a good quality PSU makes it more reliable and comes with a longer warranty. Some 2-3 years. Some 5. Some 7-10 years.

Even the best PSUs on the market have a shelf life. If you get one that lasts longer than 4 years, consider yourself lucky.

3. Certification doesn't mean anything if it's not a good model. I saw gold certified PSU that are pure garbage.

This is definitely true.

I have no idea why you bought a 1000 watts 200 dollars PSU if you don't have let's say a RTX 3090 and Threadripper CPU. A 750/850 watts would probably have been fine for your needs but since I have no idea what is your CPU and GPU I can't really tell.

Actually most TR4s and sTR4 CPUs are pretty energy efficient. The 3090, however, is not. It is a beast of a card that requires a beast power supply in order to properly function. Most Ryzens of any range don't top more than 125W and they are some of the most energy efficient CPUs on the market. Then there are exceptions like the 10900K, 9800X, and FX-8350 which are very power hungry and volatile in the energy that they consume.

 

[Nemesia]

"Even the best PSUs on the market have a shelf life. If you get one that lasts longer than 4 years, consider yourself lucky."

The best PSU on the market have a shelf life a lot longer than 4 years. Were you talking about the cheap 30 dollars PSU? If yes then yes I agree.

"Actually most TR4s and sTR4 CPUs are pretty energy efficient"

They totally are yes but if you buy a 64 cores and you load all those cores and each core takes 7 watts it's still 400 watts.

I'm sorry btw. The OP never said he or she had a 3090 and a threadripper. I was just saying that 1000 watts was overkill if you do not have something like that. 1000 watts for a Ryzen 3600 and a 1660 Super for example.

 

[g-unit1111]

"Even the best PSUs on the market have a shelf life. If you get one that lasts longer than 4 years, consider yourself lucky."

The best PSU on the market have a shelf life a lot longer than 4 years. Were you talking about the cheap 30 dollars PSU? If yes then yes I agree.

Yeah but even Seasonics and Super Flower based units will need to be replaced after 4+ years of medium to heavy use. Capacitors wear out over time. My Seasonic lasted 6 years before completely failing to power on and I'm definitely lucky that I got one that lasted that long.

I'm sorry btw. The OP never said he or she had a 3090 and a threadripper. I was just saying that 1000 watts was overkill if you do not have something like that. 1000 watts for a Ryzen 3600 and a 1660 Super for example.

Yeah I agree that 1KW would be overkill for most uses. I can't imagine most people would need anything beyond a 3600 or 3800X, or 10700K.

 

[Grobe]

Also to mention - the number of power cycles also affect the life time, because temperature variations causes degradation of soldering.

 

[AntonyLovric]

There are a ton of factors in the life of a PSU.

Cycles (number of off and on)
Duty Cycle (on 24x7x365 or 2 hours a week?)
Case Design & Air flow
% Load / Watts when running
Smoker / non-smoker
Cleaning (getting rid of dust bunnies every year or two, put mesh filters in or on the case and clean them occasionally)

Maintenance - if the fan is making a noise, clean & lube or replace it.

Also, a good surge protector or UPS can protect your PSU (and other things) from spikes / lightning which can shorten it's life.

 

[rmiller1959]

I recently upgraded some components in my computer and was checking sites to see if the modular power cables that came with my power supply were sold separately. It was during my research that I discovered my Thermaltake power supply was 12 years old! It's still working just fine, at least on the surface, but I'm now wondering if I should replace it because it's on borrowed time now.

 

[--SID--]

It's still working just fine, at least on the surface, but I'm now wondering if I should replace it because it's on borrowed time now.

Definiteley replace a 12 yo Thermaltake PSU.

 

[punkncat]

I tend to take a different tack than others were it comes to working equipment. Before discussing that aspect, I think most every poster above gave solid advice and is absolutely worth your consideration.


I have done a side thing for years helping people with older computers, building super budget builds, and often in cases like that find that re-using the parts that are operational and compatible with the other/newer parts can be a great way to save money.
I have a bit of a 'formula' that I consider in regard to that use.

Consider the cost of the components that are being used, particularly mobo, CPU, RAM, and GPU if it's being used. Consider that cost along with a new power supply if you had to replace everything. Weigh that against the quality of the unit.
Another aspect to consider is the output of said unit and draw of the builds components. As PSU age their output and efficiency wane, so you have to take that into account. Obviously want to take into consideration the build quality of that unit, from the start.

So, for instance OP, your linked PSU has a factory warranty of 10 years. They are saying they are willing to gamble that they built it well enough that 9 years, 11 months, and 29 days from now, they will still offer (some manner of) warranty.
IMO a unit like that should be a solid user for 15 years or so, based against the above.

Any time you are building with high end power hungry overclockable equipment you should totally budget a new or recent power supply with it's demands in mind.
If you are repurposing that i7 2600 build that you have had for the past 11 years....well the rules change a bit to make fiscal sense.

See what I mean?