how long are PSU's supposed to last?

[gamer444]

My PSU recently started making loud whirring sounds when booting up and eventually died. I had it for about 5 months, using the PC regularly till about October after which it was on almost all the time (till it died).
Should the PSU have lasted longer than this?

The psu is a
Q-Tec PSU ATX 550W Gold PFC Dual Fan
and i have the following components attatched to it:
MSI K8T Neo mobo
amd athlon 64 3000
soundcard
ati radeon 9800 pro (uses 1 molex connector)
2 X optical drives
flopping drive
1 SATA HD
1 IDE HD
120mm fan
80mm fan
pci slot exhaust fan

 

[Blind_Arrow]

Q-Tec isnt a very good PSU, they are just taking advantage of QTechnology PSU's (which ar original name)

you shuld have spend money buying a decent PSU rather than this, as PSU's should have MTBF for at least 5 years on same system configuration or that comes under load., even if ran 24/7 for 5 years.

 

[gamer444]

ok so ill spend more on my next PSU. could any one reccomend some good makes?

 

[Blind_Arrow]

see Microdirect (their prices are atlesat good)

or for reference purposes, also visit these sites

www.kustompcs.co.uk
www.quietpc.com

and buy from somewher else, these guys are really peeing the skin off the customers

Microdirect have the best prices so far.

 

[GageMW]

great PSU and cheap too, only $70

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=17-103-908&depa=0

 

[Apokalipse]

anything from Antec, Thernaltake or Enermax

the Antec True Power PSU's are pretty good for the money

 

[Marvel]

I purchased a cheap $58 case with power supply, it did ok for about 2 summers and failed. I believe the cheaper cases with PSU tend to last a couple of years and die, not fact just a feeling. I have the same case and supply for another computer and expect it to die within a year. I replaced one supply with an Antec 350-blue, it emits a blue light and is neat in that I can see if the unit is powered on.

 

[Apokalipse]

I'm thinking of gettign the 480W True Blue myself