Many users suffer from computer overheating issues and suspect their Power Supply.
After doing a ton of research about Power Supply overheating issues, I have written this article to give you an appropriate answer. So, here we will look at whether the Power Supply is generating heat or something else is causing the overheating issue.
Table of Contents
Can PSU Cause Overheating?
Yes! The bad PSU fan, dust particles, overloading, underpowered PSU, bad airflow and ancient PSU generates too much heat. If the Power Supply generates a lot of heat, it also increases the heat of other system components like- the hard disk, motherboard, SSDs etc.
Below, it is explained how much PSU overheating is normal and how much heat is excessive. So, keep reading the article till the end.
Is It Normal That The PSU Get Hot?
If your Power Supply is getting hot, you must check whether it is regular heating or happening due to some severe causes.
Suppose you are playing games inside your system or doing some other PC-intensive task, then it’s quite normal that your hardware components would heat up a little. In this scenario, it is pretty normal for your PSU to heat up a little.
But, if there is tremendous heat generating or your Power Supply is heating up frequently even when you are not doing such PC-intensive tasks, then it is not considered regular heating, and it becomes necessary to check the reason behind the heating.
If you don’t diagnose why your PSU is heating up, it will cause other components to overheat and eventually damage your hardware components.
Below, it is explained in depth why your Power Supply heats up in some scenarios. So, let’s explore all the reasons behind PSU overheating.
Why is My PSU Heating Up?
A Power Supply can heat up due to several causes such as overloading, PSU fan issues, insufficient airflow, and dust particles, and here we will dive deeper into all of these causes. So, let’s explore the reasons behind the PSU overheating-
Overloading
Overloading is one of the most significant causes behind the PSU overloading issues. Many gamers and video editors installed too many components inside their PC.
Filling the expansion slots with multiple drives like multiple SSDs, hard drives, and floppy drives often increases the load inside the PSU.
Due to these overloading issues, your Power Supply has to work more, and as a result, your Power Supply heated up. Moreover, it also brings heat to the other PC components.
PSU Fan Failure
A Power Supply fan is an integral part of our system’s components, and if it fails, then your Power Supply will heat up naturally.
Remember, that the PSU fan doesn’t spin always; know when the PSU fan spins? But, if the fan fails, then the only way to fix it is by replacing the fan.
Before replacing the fan, you have to make sure whether the fan fails or not because the PSU fan doesn’t always spin; it only spins when there is a sufficient load.
Underpowered PSU
An underpowered Power Supply can cause different PC problems, and it heated up your Power Supply and other PC components.
Let’s understand this in-depth- If your PSU is insufficient to run your system, then the PSU will overwork to exceed its limitations to provide power to your system, which would again cause improper voltage distributions to the rails on your PSU.
Due to this, some of your components have too much power while others don’t get sufficient power; therefore, some of the components overheat up.
Air Flow Issues Inside & Outside System
Your computer must need sufficient airflow; if your PC doesn’t have the proper airflow, then your Power Supply will heat up a lot.
So, when you suffer from the PC and Power Supply overheating issues in such a situation, you have to configure whether there is sufficient airflow inside and outside the computer system.
Dust Particles
Dust is the biggest enemy of our computer system, and it can severely damage our system’s components.
Usually, the air intake of the Power Supply is such a big concern, and if dust gets into your computer, then it will generally end up stuck on the air intake grill of the Power Supply.
This is how if the air intake of the Power Supply is restricted, then the Power Supply could heat up a lot and damage other integral parts of your systems like the motherboard. Know How dust kills a Power Supply?
PSU is Getting Old
Every electronic component loses efficiency over time, and a similar thing is also applicable to the Power Supply.
If your Power Supply is more than five years old, then there is a chance that your Power Supply will generate heat. You can’t do anything in this scenario. Know What You can do with an Old PSU?
How Hot Can A PSU Get?
If your Power Supply is getting hot, it is such a worrying sign, but how do you know which temperature is safe and which is a danger for you? So, let’s find out this-
Under normal operating conditions with an ambient air temperature range, your PSU temp would be between 10°C to 40°C. However, it will be considered a middle range if the temperature rises between 40°C to 60°C.
But, if your Power Supply temperature goes up from 60°C to 65°C, then it is a worrying sign, and at 65°C temperature, your Power Supply will shut down automatically.
How To Know If Your PSU is Overheating?
There are various ways in which you can check whether your Power Supply is overheating or not. Some of these methods are- By using a temperature monitor application, By checking the exhaust air temperature manually, or you can also check it by using an external probe. You can learn more about these methods by reading This Article here.
Among all the mentioned methods, the easiest way to check whether the PSU is overheating or not is by touching the PSU with your hands. If it becomes unbearable for you to touch the Power Supply for a long time, it clearly indicates that the Power Supply temperature is increasing.
What Happens When A PSU Overheats?
When a Power Supply generates heat, it can cause severe damage to our computer system, and here we will look at what could happen when A Power Supply is heated up.
Generally, when a Power Supply heats up more than 65°C, it automatically shuts down without any warnings.
However, if your Power Supply is heated up between (50°C to 60°C ), then it won’t be able to supply the necessary power to the components. Therefore the components you are using inside the PC won’t get sufficient power.
In concise, if your Power Supply is heating up, it could cause several damages to the PC system, such as system failure and components damage.
How To Reduce PSU Heating?
As we know, that Power Supply overheating issues can cause severe damage to our system and even cause a system failure. Here we will explore some of the ways in which you can control your Power Supply overheating issue. So, let’s check it-
- Clean the dust from your Power Supply.
- Check whether your Power Supply is insufficient to provide the required power or not.
- Check whether the airflow configuration is perfect or not.
- Check whether all the PSU connections and cables are working correctly.
- Check whether the PSU fan is working or not.
- Make sure your room temperature is not too high
These are some crucial factors you should check if you want to reduce heat from your Power Supply.
PSU Getting Hot While Gaming: What To Do?
Gaming is a heavy PC-intensive task, and while playing games, the load increases inside our PC system; as a result, the temperature also increases inside our system.
Now, if your Power Supply is generating a little heat during gaming time or when the game is over, then it is pretty normal.
But, if your PSU is heating too much, as much as you can’t touch the PSU, then it’s a worrying sign, and you must immediately stop playing the game.
After that, do all the settings I have mentioned above to reduce PSU overheating problem.
Final Verdict
At the end of this article, I want to summarize that a Power Supply can cause an overheating issue and impact the other system components. But there are methods & ways in which you can reduce the heat from the Power Supply.
I hope this article gives you an idea of whether the Power Supply generates heat or not and how much heat they generate, and how you can protect your PSU from overheating. Keep following this blog regularly to know more about the Power Supply, Motherboards, CPU and other PC components.
