Good news! The power supply is one of the PC components with an excellent lifespan; however, it can still be difficult for a tech enthusiast to know whether or not it's time to replace it. The good news is, you can also reuse your power power supply for your PC !
Unlike a processor, graphics card or RAM, the power supply unit is never obsolete, but it can lose power when new components are installed, which can be a problem if you want to keep your PC in top condition.
To help you determine if the power supply unit is still perfectly suited to your current PC configuration, it is essential to know a few basic concepts!
Discover 5 reasons why you might want to change your PC's power supply.
The power is insufficient…
One of the reasons why it's always advisable to have more than you need! A typical scenario: You built a PC with components suited to your current needs. But time passed, and you upgraded your PC, keeping your old power supply . Logically, the new components you installed consume significantly more power than your initial setup!
So you have a power supply unit that isn't providing enough power to all your components…
You can still turn on your PC and play your favorite game, but what's the problem? Well, your graphics processing unit (GPU) won't operate at 100% performance because it doesn't have enough power to maximize its capabilities!
You young geek and novice, if you want to improve your PC's capabilities, start by taking a look at the GPU and change your power supply if necessary. To see how much power it needs, simply check the GPU's power consumption at full load.
Your power supply is consuming far too much power!
A low-end power supply unit may offer enough power to run any configuration, but in terms of energy, the electricity bill is likely to be hefty… If your power supply unit has a non-existent or poor certification, in the long term, it can be counterproductive.
Starting with an 80 PLUS Gold certification, we achieve a significant change in terms of consumption.
If you have the budget, choose a Titanium or Platinum certification, you can save a few kWh and a few euros!
Are you having some problems with your power supply cables?
Here's a recurring problem with fixed-wiring power supply , as modular or semi-modular units offer different configurations. With a fixed-wiring power supply , we'll need to find adapters to connect certain components, such as graphics cards. It's a real challenge!
In the end, we all get tired and the less daring end up buying a new power supply !
A modular or semi-modular power supply will give us many more options for connecting components, and has the advantage of reducing heat! Heat, however, can be an obstacle to airflow. This makes sense, as fewer cables mean more space inside the PC case.
We recommend changing your power supply as soon as you start installing graphics cards with 2 connectors , for example when you add multiple hard drives with SATA connections.
Instability, FPS drops…
This event is rare, but you may have noticed some instability with your PC. If, after thorough investigation, you conclude that neither the CPU nor any other component is to blame, it's possible that under a certain workload, the power supply is unable to provide sufficient power.
This can cause some problems, bugs, FPS drops, etc
This is usually a power supply error. We want to emphasize that this is not normal, but it can happen. Unfortunately, if the problem turns out to be with your power supply , we're sorry to say, but it's best to just buy a new power supply !
It doesn't work at all anymore!
There comes a fateful moment when the electrical power supply unit can fail and therefore become inoperative!
In my experience, it's crucial to connect the PC case pins correctly to the motherboard. If your power supply isn't protected against short circuits or overloads, you could be in serious trouble. In particular, an incorrect pin connection can destroy your power power supply .
A broken power supply unit is not necessarily your fault! It is very common for a power supply unit to break due to a voltage drop or because the wires come loose.
