Hi, my Corsair HX750 recently developed an annoying buzzing sound so I've decided to RMA it, but I need a PSU for the time until the replacement arrives.
The only one I've got lying around is a maybe 7 years old Seasonic SS-430HB unit:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151044
Is it safe to use or should I try to buy/borrow some other unit?
It might work but capacitor again might have affected the PSU only letting it use so much wattage. I am not entirely sure how much capacitor aging affect the PSU though.
Seven years old... That's sketchy, but due to it being a little old it should output around 360W. An i5 has a TDP of around 95w (U think) and the 970 has around a 180W TDP so that's around 275W of power consumption between the two. I'd say do it, but only for a couple of weeks at most with stock clocks. And undervolt would be reccomended.
+1
Undervolt and underclock. It should be an okay place-holder.
It's way more than enough. You can expect this system to consume around 250W under load so you can even overclock. No need for a new PSU.
You guys are being way more careful than is actually necessary.
If you are going to use that unit it depends on how long that unit was in use for how long and when you pulled it out. it may be safe to use but if you are a bit too cautious look at the EVGA PSUS they are cheap and handy in a pinch if you got the money.
Yes. Because it's a 7 year old PSU...
IF he follows your advice and sticks with his already 7 year old psu, and IF he keeps that system for the next couple years, who's to blame when it goes completely wrong? That'll be 8 to 9 years of use on that poor PSU....
I'm a gambling man, but even that makes me nervous...
I'm thankful for all the replies, but I have a feeling there's a misunderstanding growing.
I need to use the 430W unit only for about two weeks, until Corsair RMA's my HX750. I don't plan to use it for an extended period of time, just as an emergency backup.
It hasn't been used in two years.
And you should be fine. Still I recommend underclocking and undervolting to avoid stressing that PSU too much.
+1. Better safe than sorry.
A lot can happen in two weeks... Especially with a seven year old PSU.
Quality capacitors retain their capacitance for way longer than that. And it's seasonic.
Gambling is running an R9 290X on a $45 500W PSU. Which can easily be successfully done.
This, on the other hand is 100% safe. The overhead is enormous with or without capacitor aging. If you think that a quality 430W PSU won't be able to provide 250W after 7 years of use, you are a little bit paranoid, as capacitor aging accounts for around 10% loss at most.
For example, two years ago on this forum I was told that my system would stop working in half a year because my PSU is too weak... Still up and running, and and with a new GPU that consumes more.
Sorry for the rant, but this just grinds my gears.
Better safe and not waste money than ultra-super-what-are-you-doing-safe.
Using a 750W PSU to power a system that consumes less than 300? You can triple or even quad SLI 970s on that thing.
Stop being a know it all.
I'm well aware of how people missunderstand actual load consumptions. Hell, I've measured my system with an overclocked i5 and crossfire 7970/7950 in gaming load. It was 551w from my power strip. That power consumption includes 3 monitors in eyefinity and multiple speakers/subs.
That being said. I still wouldn't gamble with that. AND it's not YOUR hardware. He could get away with that PSU as a place-holder until his PSU gets back. But using it as a permanent piece of hardware in an expensive PC? I wouldn't recommend it.
Your experience with what you've used is irrelevant, since others might see varying results.
As I said, it's not a gamble, it's completely perfectly safe. There are still protections all over this thing to prevent it from hurting whatever is connected to it, even not taking into account the fact that it's impossible for his PC to consume more power than this PSU can provide.
It saddens me to see that noone's actually looking at how the rails are distributed.
- +3.3V@30A, +5V@30A, +12V1@14A, +12V2@15A, [email protected], +5VSB@2A
This is a older design with more amperage for 3.3v and 5v. I'd be a little bit wary of using something like this.