I'm in the process of building a new PC and I'm considering using my 10-year-old Corsair HX850 power supply. It still seems to be functioning well, but I'm not sure if it's a good idea to keep it for this new setup, especially since I'm planning to get a powerful 7900xtx Hellhound GPU. Are there any common issues I should be aware of with older PSUs? Is it worth saving around £150 by not replacing it?
3 Answers
I’d recommend getting a new one. Your new GPU could draw a lot of power, and older units might not perform as well with high loads. It’s great that your PSU has good protection features, but it's still risky to rely on something that old.
Honestly, unless there are signs of degradation, it could work fine. A big rule in PC building is to not cheap out on a quality PSU, but if your HX850 has been solid all these years, you might just want to keep using it for now.
Generally, I wouldn’t use a PSU that’s past its warranty. Even if your Corsair has a solid reputation, components can wear down over time and a failure could happen without warning.
For sure! I’ve seen systems wrecked just by having a cheap or old PSU.