Corsair Professional Series™ HX1000 from (2008) Cable Compatibility (15yr Old PSU)

[Vinci]

Hi, I already asked this question to their support, and I just want to ask what the community thinks about it as well.

I have a PSU from 2008, model CMPSU-1000HX, it's already 15yrs old and still going strong. Used it for 8-12 hrs per day, sometimes 24/7 at max load of about 20-30%. Never had an issue or whatsoever throughout those years, and I think it still runs in pristine condition. I'm really proud of it and as much as possible, I don't want to replace it with something new.

Of course as time goes by, new tech is developed, and corsair releases new psu's.

My question is, if their modular cables would still be compatible with my 15yr old PSU?

In Corsair's PSU Cable Compatibilty Chart, is my PSU under "Original HX"?

If it's compatible with my PSU, will cable mods 12VHPWR PCI-e Cable for Corsair be compatible with my PSU as well?

Is it possible that Corsair's new modular cables have a mismatch with their old PSU's? Like reversed polarity etc...
Source: Gamers Nexus (see attached photo)

Answer from Corsair's tech support:
It is compatible according to Manny of Technical Support Tier 3

[LeDoyen]

the "going strong" bit is a bit scary 😛

After 15 years, the capacitors are good for the thrash. The ripple must be all over the place and i'd honestly consider very seriously offering that HX a single way ticket to the electronics recycle bin. Powering anything involving a 12VHPWR cable is a pretty big gamble on the card VRM tolerating the ripple on the supply. It can end up in smoke after a few months.

Even high end platinum or titanium PSUs degrade the same way and should be replaced after ~10 years if you can.

Apart from that, if those blue label PSUs use type 3 cables, they will be compatible with type 4 PCIE and 12VHPWR, same pinout. Bu it's not easy finding info on those ^^'

[Vinci]

1 hour ago, LeDoyen said:

the "going strong" bit is a bit scary 😛

After 15 years, the capacitors are good for the thrash. The ripple must be all over the place and i'd honestly consider very seriously offering that HX a single way ticket to the electronics recycle bin. Powering anything involving a 12VHPWR cable is a pretty big gamble on the card VRM tolerating the ripple on the supply. It can end up in smoke after a few months.

Even high end platinum or titanium PSUs degrade the same way and should be replaced after ~10 years if you can.

Apart from that, if those blue label PSUs use type 3 cables, they will be compatible with type 4 PCIE and 12VHPWR, same pinout. Bu it's not easy finding info on those ^^'

Well, I'm the kind of guy that so long as it's working it'll do, and I wouldn't replace it till it's dead. 🤣

Its modular cables even has ferrite chokes at the end of each plug. (Ah... the good old days)

I have a GTX 1080 plugged in it for 2yrs now, and given that it hasn't ended up in smoke, I think I'm gonna squeeze a little more service life from it for like another 5-8yrs (if it's still alive). 😁

I take it would die quietly in his sleep, like an old man.

I also trust with all its premium features that it wouldn't take my Ryzen 5950x and brand new RTX 40 with it when it dies. 😅

 

[LeDoyen]

well, it might smoke them indeed 😛

PSUs don't always fail in spectacular manner, like a fuse blowing, or sparks. The secondary side will degrade with time. there'll be more and more ripple on the outputs, and the motherboard and GPU VRM will have to work harder to maintain stable voltages on their output with unstable voltage at their input.

It may not be noticeable with a 1080, but increasing the current draw on an old PSU with new components may start to cause random instabilities, and ultimately smoke VRM chips in the worst cases.

It's always a gamble using old PSUs because they look to be fine unless you check them with an oscilloscope. It's a preventive swap deal more than run to fail. Of course, you do what you want with your rig ^^ it's just an advice. I personally would not want to damage a 1000+$ card to save on a 200$ new PSU. But well, cash doesn't grow in trees either.

[Corsair Notepad]

We no longer manufacture or have stock of the cables for that series of PSUs. It would also be advisable that you replace that PSU as it no longer is covered under the original warranty, meaning if it fails in such a way where it results in damage to other hardware we would not be able to assist you in any sort of way.