PSU Fan stopped working. Should I keep the PSU?

[RMS Carpathia]

Long story short, I bought a EVGA PSU two years ago or so.
The psu fan always started spinning as soon as I turned on the pc ( I noticed it before) so it's not one of those psu fans that only start spinning when it reaches certain temps.

I already replaced the fan and it's working fine now (apparently).

But my question is: do you guys think it may have damaged a component inside the psu?

I have no clue how long I have been using my computer with the psu fan not working at all (a couple of weeks is my best guess).

I'm a bit worried. Should I buy a new PSU?

[🦜Cloud Boy🦜]

Temperature won't damage the PSU.
If it's working fine now, it should be okay.

[r.linder]

Some PSUs have a silent switch too, don't forget

[RMS Carpathia]

Originally posted by Escorve:

Some PSUs have a silent switch too, don't forget

I don't think mine does. Just a power on/off switch.

Originally posted by 🌈Cloud Boy🌈:

Temperature won't damage the PSU.
If it's working fine now, it should be okay.

Yeah. I forgot to mention, it never gave me a bsod or random restarts. However, when I noticed the fan had stopped spinning, the PSU case was really warm. I don't have equipment to check temps, but I could tell it was too hot to the touch on the inside.

All the capacitors seemed OK as far as I could tell. I guess I'll keep using it and if my computer acts strange, I know the first thing to replace.

Thanks for the replies.

[Illusion of Progress]

Which EVGA PSU model is it? As was said, some have a switch ("Eco mode") that will have the fan not run all of the time. Mine is set to on and either my PSU (SuperNova G2 750W) fan NEVER turns on, or it's darned inaudible if/when it does.

Heat is one thing that strains/"ages" components, yes, so it probably accelerated the process so to speak, but that's not necessarily meant to be interpreted as "damage was done and it needs replaced/fixed". Many parts inside a (decent) PSU are rated for really high temperatures. Running at less is better for them, but running at more won't necessarily damage them. Depending on the wattage of the unit and the load you put on it, it most likely did little against it in that short of a time, practically speaking. If it was a lower wattage unit and under some high power draw (relative to its output), it may have done more.

Its hard to sit here and make a claim one way or the other but it's PROBABLY fine. If it does fail due to inability to output enough for the load you draw, it'll likely just give up the ghost, so I don't think there's a pressing need to prematurely replace it.

[🦜Cloud Boy🦜]

Originally posted by Miss Ann Thrope:

Originally posted by 🌈Cloud Boy🌈:

Temperature won't damage the PSU.
If it's working fine now, it should be okay.

It can, which is why PSUs have fans in the first place.

Good logic. But...
CPU and GPU also have fans, ever heard of any CPU or GPU have damaged because of temperatures these days?

[🦜Cloud Boy🦜]

Originally posted by Miss Ann Thrope:

Originally posted by 🌈Cloud Boy🌈:

Good logic. But...
CPU and GPU also have fans, ever heard of any CPU or GPU have damaged because of temperatures these days?

A CPU and GPU will throttle performance before damage from heat can occur. A PSU won't.

PSU will do the same.

PSU will shut itself down when crossed a certain temperature limit.

[_I_]

what psu brand/model/age?

many will stop the fan when cold at low load to be nearly silent

[Autumn_]

Originally posted by 🌈Cloud Boy🌈:

Temperature won't damage the PSU.
If it's working fine now, it should be okay.

It will, just like it damages any other PC component.

Though it's unlikely that it got hot enough to damage it, since it would require ~125+c.

Originally posted by 🌈Cloud Boy🌈:

Originally posted by Miss Ann Thrope:

It can, which is why PSUs have fans in the first place.

Good logic. But...
CPU and GPU also have fans, ever heard of any CPU or GPU have damaged because of temperatures these days?

Yeah, but not all PSUs have OTP (Over Temperature Protection), so they can overheat. Usually under normal operating conditions, with a fan, this won't happen, but if a fan dies, the chances increase significantly.

Modern GPUs and CPUs have lots of thermal protections and power limits built into them, a PSU only really had OTP, there's nothing to 'throttle' them down, there's nothing to stop them pulling more power, because that would mean the component attached to it is starved for power, and will shut down.
And as heat increases, efficiency goes down, which means more heat, meaning (potentially) more damage.

PSUs can overheat, they can be damaged, and even die because of it.

[Zireth]

Really the only time a PSU will overheat if you either pull a verge and suffocate the PSU's intake, or very bad airflow.

OP should be fine.

[[N]ebsun]

If it's too hot to touch don't use it.
If the fan stopped working it could be a sign of damage to other parts of the psu

[Mad Scientist]

In the future never open a psu, use the warranty service. Most companies if not all will void your warranty once you destroy the seals.

Their warranties for psus are really good.

[Bad 💀 Motha]

Regardless of the PSU model and how it controls the fan inside, it should be fine with no fan unless you put high stress loads on the PSU, at which it will need that active cooling, just like a gpu, gpus basically don't need any fans to apply direct airflow on it unless it's above 60*C