I've been using my FSP Aurum Gold 400W power supply for my unRAID setup, which includes an i3-2100 Sandy Bridge processor. Overall, I think this build is around 14 years old. The power needs aren't very high—about 29W when idle and up to 70W at maximum. I'm wondering, is it better to replace the PSU proactively before it fails, or should I let it run until it dies? What do you all think?
5 Answers
Does your NAS have critical data that you wouldn’t want to lose?
If you don’t have a cold backup, you really don’t have a backup!
You should definitely think about replacing it. Even if it’s still functioning and your system doesn’t use much power, the PSU is 14 years old, and components like capacitors degrade over time. This could lead to instability or, worse, a failure that damages other parts or corrupts your data. Given it’s an unRAID setup with significant data, it’s wiser to swap it out on your terms rather than risk an unexpected crash.
Do you have an idea of how long a PSU typically lasts?
I've always swapped out my power supply whenever I upgraded my PC, and sold the old ones to friends for a good price. So far, every PSU I've had continues to work just fine. Just a tip, I always go for the 80+ Gold certified units!
How often do you generally upgrade your setup?
My Zalman 750W lasted 17 years without any damage! But my Corsair CX600 gave out after 10 years and ended up frying a SATA cable along with a 14TB drive. I’d suggest swapping your PSU soon, just to avoid risking your drives.
I’ve heard that the CX600 had some quality issues; seems a lot of them went bad after a couple of years.
I had my HX750 running for a solid decade. Then, in 2024, I figured it was best to replace it with my new build, just in case! Now it's a reliable backup if anything goes wrong.
As long as a power surge doesn't take out multiple HDDs at once, I think most data should be recoverable. Plus, I do have backups off-site!