Just fixed my 100th broken power supply this year

I was cleaning my bench and counted my repair logs. I hit 100 fixed power supplies since January, which really surprised me. Most were from old gaming PCs and audio gear people brought in. It matters because I used to think these were throwaway parts, but now I see a clear pattern in the common failures. I've gotten fast at spotting bad capacitors and blown fuses. Has anyone else noticed a specific type of device that keeps your repair numbers up?

4 comments

4 Comments

kevinallen1mo ago

What's the most common brand or model of power supply you're seeing fail? I'm curious if it's mostly older units from a specific era, like the early 2000s capacitor plague years, or if newer models are showing up with similar issues.

angelawright1mo ago

Yeah I still see a lot of those old cheapo units from the early 2000s go out, just like @gracej99 said. Honestly my newer ones have been fine, but I don't buy the absolute cheapest option anymore lol.

jones.kim21d ago

Honestly I still see a lot of those old off-brand ones from like 2005-2010. The ones that came with cheap cases or were the freebie with a motherboard. For me, the newer stuff from known brands has been solid, but I also stopped buying the bottom shelf. I had a Corsair unit last over a decade before I replaced it just to be safe. The real lesson was just spending a little more upfront.

gracej991mo ago

Honestly it's less about a single brand and more about that whole era of cheap parts. I see the same thing with small kitchen gadgets now, where they're built to last just past the warranty. It feels like planned obsolescence is the real pattern, not just a bad batch of capacitors.