PSU, should I bother upgrading?

[Raphael Argus]

Hello all

Running the system in my sig, AMD x2 3800, 1gb corsair ram, Lite-on DVD burner, Audigy 2ZS, and a eVGA 7900GT. System runs great, and has been running well for 8 months. I'm using a Rosewill Rv500s PSU, I think it was about $50 when I bought it. I've been reading about people losing hardware because of a PSU that died, but I've never had that happen. So I have 2 questions.

1. Should I bother replacing this PSU? I only planned to do so if I added new hardware or built a new PC.

2. How do you know if a PSU is dying? Are there programs to test it? All I have on my PC is Sandra and under the mainboard information is shows some voltages and all are higher then what it needs.

Any help is appreciated, PSU's are one area I just don't understand. I did read the stickie on PSU's and was considering getting that $40 Fortran since it seems nice, but if everything is working well, should I bother?

Again, I planned to get a nice beefy one on my next build so if people think I'm good, I'll hold off for now

 

[TriEclipse]

You're fine with the PSU you have. I tried looking up the PSU on Newegg but couldn't find the RV500. I did, however, find the RD, RP, and RE500 PSUs, and they looked to be fine. Your system isn't a very power-hungry one, so you should be fine.

Software isn't reliable in testing whether a PSU is dieing. You could get a multimeter and test the rails, but I don't think you even need to do that. As long as your PSU isn't near the limit of it's power consumption, you shouldn't have any problems with it for quite a few years.

Just wait until your next build and then get a new one.

 

[HomicidalWookie]

Fortunately PSUs usually tell you when they feel like dying, turning off randomly and the like, so I say until you see it acting up don't worry about it.

 

[Raphael Argus]

Thanks, all. Appreciate the feedback In future builds I'll be sure to not cut corners on my PSU.