I have a Corsair AX850 that has been running reliably for a little over ten years. There haven't been any obvious problems, but I'm wondering whether I should replace it proactively or keep using it until it fails. I was considering a Corsair HX1000i, which costs around $230, but I'm not sure whether that expense is necessary or what risks come with waiting. Would modern hardware or a future GPU upgrade change the recommendation?
3 Answers
The main reason to replace it would be a major hardware upgrade, especially a modern high-end graphics card with significant transient power demands or a native 12VHPWR/12V-2x6 connection. In that case, an ATX 3.0 or 3.1 850W unit from a reputable manufacturer would be a sensible choice; you probably don’t need to spend $230 on a 1000W model unless your system actually requires that capacity.
If the AX850 is working normally and your current hardware doesn’t need more power, there’s no urgent reason to replace it. It was a high-quality unit, and many people keep good power supplies running for well over ten years. A replacement won’t usually pay for itself through efficiency savings alone.
Waiting carries some risk because capacitors and other components age, but a PSU failure usually just causes shutdowns or restarts rather than damaging the entire computer, particularly with a quality unit that has proper protections. If you keep using it, watch for crashes under load, unexplained restarts, electrical noise, or a burning smell. If you replace it, use only the cables supplied with the new PSU—modular cables are not safely interchangeable, even between models from the same brand.
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