The power Supply Unit (PSU) is the heart of a computer because all components depend on electrical power, and the PSU does this job. A PC without a PSU can compare to a dead body in which no life exists.
While PSU fails disastrously, it can ruin your whole setup. A faulty PSU can cause hundreds of problems on your PC. To prevent any unexpected mishap, you need to ensure it’s safety so that it lasts long.
Encountering unusual behavior from the PC may need to change the power supply. But if you are confused about whether you need a new power supply or not, this guide is rounded for you.
Keep reading and follow the instructions precisely to know about your PSU proficiency.
Let’s get started without further ado.
How to Know if You Need a New Power Supply
Every computer component is crucial for delivering the highest possible performance, and PSU is one of them. Without using the PSU, you can’t run your system.
A faulty PSU can create unusual behavior on your PC, such as random crashes, bluescreen crashes, failure of pc components, noise on the PC case, and more. If you are facing these issues, it has a chance your power supply unit dying soon.
There are a few signs or symptoms that help you understand your PSU efficiency, and it’s performance capability. Also, these effective signs allow you to determine whether you should replace your PSU.
So, keep reading and precisely follow the symptoms to know whether you need a new power supply or not and what the condition of your PSU is.
Here are some signs or symptoms to know if you need a new power supply:
1. PSU Age
A Power Supply Unit (PSU) age is the most crucial factor in determining the PSU efficiency. The age of your power supply readily helps you to decide whether you have to replace your current power supply or not.
Usually, a good quality power supply lasts around five years. Sometimes, it lasts more than five years, like 6-7 years, but it depends on the usage of the PSU.
Interestingly, some famous PSU manufacturer brands provide 10 years or more warranty for their high-quality PSU. These power supply units are more durable than others.
However, if your PSU is older than five years, it’s high time to replace it with a new one. While a PSU continuously runs for five years or more, the efficiency decreases daily because all eclectic components have a limited life span to hold the effectiveness.
Follow our guide to Which PSU Cables Do I Need.
2. Program Crush Issue
Suddenly you may face programs that crash while you are using them, but your system is capable enough to handle the softwares easily. For this instance, it can happen due to faulty PSU power consumption.
Program crashing randomly, not only for software issues. Due to the lack of system power supply efficiency, software can’t get enough power to run the program and process smoothly.
While any program crushes for software issues, the system throws error codes on the screen. But, if you can’t receive any error code during the crashing, it’s for PSU. So, you need to change the power supply unit to resolve the issue.
3. Blue Screen Crashes
The Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) is one of the annoying and frustrating issues on a Windows PC. The issue occurs due to a fatal system failure that prevents users from operating the system properly.
If you are experiencing blue screen crashes, you first need to verify the source of the issue. Verify whether the crashes come from operating system activities or hardware failure.
It can be possible that the BSOD occurs due to your operating system or any hardware failure. But, if the blue screen crashes and doesn’t provide any error cord, it’s for your power supply unit.
Also, check out our separate post on PSU Tier List.
4. System Power Cut Off
System power cut-off during startup often signifies replacing your current power supply.
While your power supply unit is inefficient in passing the required power to the system, the system failed to startup correctly. Without supplying sufficient power, there is no way to run the system.
The system power cut-off does not only occurs for PSU. It can occur due to the PSU power cord being loose or damaged. So, make sure your power cord is connected correctly.
But, if you don’t find any issue with the power supply cord, then it has chance your PSU is gone, and you need to change it.
5. Noise from PC Case
Sometimes, you may hear unusual hissing or crackling noises from your PC case. PC case fans, power cords, and other peripherals can create noise in your case.
Identify the source if you hear hissing or crackling noise from your case. To determine the noise source, you open your case and check all the components. But make sure not to open PSU to avoid any mishap.
If your PSU is damaged, you may hear hissing or crackling noises from your power supply unit. Due to the internal damage of PSU components, the noise comes. For instance, you need to change your power supply unit.
Follow our guide to know will PSU fit in my case.
6. GPU-Intensive Programs Running Issue
GPU-related programs and games not properly running are other symptoms of your power supply unit having issues. If your GPU struggles to run the games or programs consistently, it indicates your PSU is not as powerful as needed.
Also, your system performance can decrease, and you encounter performance issues such as shuttering, lagging, or flickering when your PSU cannot supply power consistently. So, you must change your power supply unit to a good one to resolve this issue.
How to Calculate Right PSU Power for your System
Not only for computers, but every electronic device also needs the right power delivery system to run the system correctly.
Using an inadequate PSU that cannot provide accurate power consistently and efficiently may create various issues in your system. Insufficient PSU can damage your whole system anytime. So, you need to use the right power supply unit, which is ideal for your system.
Use the power consumption calculator to estimate the right power for your system. You can find various power consumption calculators on the internet.
To estimate the correct PSU power for your system, select every component based on your system under every field. You must select your CPU model, type of your motherboard, the total amount of RAM, GPU model, type of your monitor, the total amount and types of storage, etc.
Select every component, like numbers of fans, optical drives, total USB ports, etc., as much as possible to estimate the exact PSU power. After that, click on the calculate button to evaluate the appropriate PSU watts for your system.
You should also check out what power supply do you have on your PC.
Final Thoughts
A power supply is one of the most important components of any computer. Depending on your system, power supply issues can be costly and inconvenient.
If your system shows strange behavior, check the signs or symptoms mentioned in this post to ensure the issue occurs for your PSU. Change your power supply unit to resolve the issues if you needed.
That’s all, folks. I hope you enjoyed this post. You can share it with your friends who encounter the same problem.
See you in the next one. Have a good day.
