[SOLVED] Should I replace my PSU after 6 years?

[icy_fox]

Hey there, recently I have been having micro stutters on my PC that I can't seem to fix. I have eliminated all the components except for the motherboard and PSU, but I think it's the PSU that's causing it. The unit is a 6-year-old CoolerMaster B500 v2, whose warranty expired about 4 years ago, and I'm thinking it could be the culprit. With that being said, do you think a PSU failure could cause this problems and is 6 years too long for a power supply anyway?
Thanks!

 

[Colif]

well, 6 years is probably too long on a PSU whose warranty ran out 4 years ago.
I normally start to think about a new PSU 5 years into PC life, unless its a good PSU. I replaced my last PC before I had to replace its PSU.

I think it depends on length of warranty as to how long I would trust it. You probably need a new one and try to get one with a 5 or 10 year warranty as then you know they at least trust their stuff to last.

 

[DSzymborski]

Hey there, recently I have been having micro stutters on my PC that I can't seem to fix. I have eliminated all the components except for the motherboard and PSU, but I think it's the PSU that's causing it. The unit is a 6-year-old CoolerMaster B500 v2, whose warranty expired about 4 years ago, and I'm thinking it could be the culprit. With that being said, do you think a PSU failure could cause this problems and is 6 years too long for a power supply anyway?
Thanks!

I don't think that the PSU is likely the direct cause of this. But six years on a low-quality PSU is way too long; six minutes is too long on a low-quality PSU. This is not a good one.

As for your larger problem, assuming that you've eliminated a software source of the issue, I don't think it's the PSU that's the problem here. It's likely just a different problem.

 

[icy_fox]

well, 6 years is probably too long on a PSU whose warranty ran out 4 years ago.
I normally start to think about a new PSU 5 years into PC life, unless its a good PSU. I replaced my last PC before I had to replace its PSU.

I think it depends on length of warranty as to how long I would trust it. You probably need a new one and try to get one with a 5 or 10 year warranty as then you know they at least trust their stuff to last.

Do you think a faulty PSU could be causing the problems I described, or is it more likely that it's the motherboard?

 

[icy_fox]

I don't think that the PSU is likely the direct cause of this. But six years on a low-quality PSU is way too long; six minutes is too long on a low-quality PSU. This is not a good one.

As for your larger problem, assuming that you've eliminated a software source of the issue, I don't think it's the PSU that's the problem here. It's likely just a different problem.

Assuming I have already tested the RAM, GPU and reinstalled Windows with multiple graphics card driver reinstallations (using DDU), what would you say the problem could be if not the PSU?

 

[DSzymborski]

Assuming I have already tested the RAM, GPU and reinstalled Windows with multiple graphics card driver reinstallations (using DDU), what would you say the problem could be if not the PSU?

It's hard to say without knowing your full specs and a detailed history of the problem and what you've tried. It could be, but the PSU usually doesn't cause these types of problems.

 

[icy_fox]

It's hard to say without knowing your full specs and a detailed history of the problem and what you've tried. It could be, but the PSU usually doesn't cause these types of problems.

History of the problem: started around 2 weeks ago with BSODs and stuttering (especially noticable when scrolling, moving windows around, switching programs using ALT +TAB), programs crashing. BSODs were resolved with disabling the Asus Optimal profile in the BIOS (which disabled the overclock), but the stuttering persists.
Specs:

CPU: Ryzen 5 2600​

MOBO: Asus Prime B450M-A​

RAM: 2x8 GB TEAMGROUP T-Force Vulcan Z DDR4 3000 MHz, currently running at 2400 MHz​

CPU cooler: SCYTHE Mugen 5 Rev. B​

VGA: KFA2 GTX 1660 6GB​

PSU: Cooler Master B500 v2 500W​

SSD: Crucial MX500 500GB (OS drive)​

HDD: WD 1TB Caviar Blue​

OS: Windows 10​

Steps I have already taken to resolve this myself:

1. Clean wiping GPU drivers with DDU and reinstalling them
2. Updating BIOS to latest stable version
3. Reseating the GPU and checking the cabling
4. Monitored GPU and CPU temperatures during gaming and usage which came out as normal
5. Stress tested the CPU, GPU and RAM with multiple tests, both individually and simultaneously, but apart from the simultaneous test locking up the system until it was done, it all seemed normal
6. Running a 3 hour MEMTEST to check for RAM failures, no errors in 4 passes
7. Running the Windows memory diagnostics test (no errors)
8. Running chkdisk and sfc for possible corruption
9. Reinstalling Windows (had BSOD immidiately after getting back into Windows)
10. Reset BIOS to defaults (disabling both the Asus Optimal profile which overclocked the CPU as well as disabling XMP for RAM)
    1. this seemed to solve (at least for now) the BSOD problem, but the other issues still remain
11. Tried reseating the RAM, running the system with only one RAM stick, trying different RAM slots to no help
12. Inspected the motherboard for any physical damage, but none could be seen

Would really appreciate if you could help me out!

 

[AntonyLovric]

The ONLY reason I could think of for 'stutters' related to PSU would be if the PSU was situated in the case to draw air through it and the fan was failing.

I would start with the next time you get a BSOD, look at windows event viewer, see what is actually failing. My suspicion is with GPU driver ( have you tried an older / previous build?). As for the stutters, when they occur, is there anything in event viewer? Can you reliablly reproduce them?

PS: read this thread:
Windows 10 computer experiences intermittent stuttering/slowdown - Microsoft Community

Do you know enough about how to see what processes are running on your PC? Sysinternals experience?

 

[icy_fox]

The ONLY reason I could think of for 'stutters' related to PSU would be if the PSU was situated in the case to draw air through it and the fan was failing.

I would start with the next time you get a BSOD, look at windows event viewer, see what is actually failing. My suspicion is with GPU driver ( have you tried an older / previous build?). As for the stutters, when they occur, is there anything in event viewer? Can you reliablly reproduce them?

PS: read this thread:
Windows 10 computer experiences intermittent stuttering/slowdown - Microsoft Community

Do you know enough about how to see what processes are running on your PC? Sysinternals experience?

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_kp4KB5vD9M&feature=emb_title

Here is a video of what the stuttering looks like. I can't really reliably reproduce them, as they only happen sometimes (start happening right after the PC boots up or don't happen at all). Sometimes a PC restart fixes them, other times it doesn't, but if they start right at the beginning, they don't go away.

As for the event viewer, I went through its logs and found a few errors that might be worth mentioning. On the System level, there is this error that keeps popping up quite often. It is a DistributedCOM error with the code 1084, but relates to different services (not always the same), for example WSearch or TokenBroker. Another error I have found two that could be connected to the driver: Faulting application name: NVDisplay.Container.exe and Faulting application name: nvcplui.exe + Faulting module name: nvcplui.exe, version: 8.1.940.0, time stamp: 0x5ffa261c (in the same error). The latter happened multiple times.

As for the last question, I think I have a good understanding of what is going on with the processes, however, I would appreciate if you could give me some pointers as to what I should do.
Thanks for the help!

 

[refillable]

This isn't a PSU issue as far as I am concerned, but either way you need to replace it ASAP as you probably don't want to know what kind of electricity the PSU is feeding your components.

 

[icy_fox]

This isn't a PSU issue as far as I am concerned, but either way you need to replace it ASAP as you probably don't want to know what kind of electricity the PSU is feeding your components.

Just ordered a new one! Figured it was about time haha

 

[AntonyLovric]

If the PSU fan was the cause you would see case temps rising.

(BTW, it's easy / simple to lube a PSU fan. I would recommend looking at a youtube video - essentially you:

peel back the sticker on the PSU fan,
pop out the rubber plug
add a drop or two of lightweight oil
spin the fan by hand (back and forth, let the oil seep in)
put the plug back in
put the sticker back (or another sticker altogether

There should be something like Perfomance Monitor / Metrics that you can run in the background. (I'm still wondering if SuperFetch is blocking...)