PC problem. ok i think i know what it is. need advice though.

[Tight]

Ok today i took my PC back to the store.
well, there i had 3h of stable gaming trying to show the problem. ofcours nothing happend. "usually it crashes after a few min"
so this is maybe the problem. i live not to far away from the powerstation that provides power to southern Sardinia so maybe i dont have a stable current at home. maybe spikes that make my pc unstable.
now, is a Surge Protector everything i need to test my theory???

//Sebastian.

[Kedash00]

Surge Proctector wont solve the power cutting in and out, it will protect you from power surges, kinda like a fuse that will blow before it gets to any of your electronics...you need one of those APS boxes that holds a charge for like 30 minutes if your power goes down. It recharges itself, all you have to do is plug it in.

[Tight]

ahh.. ok thank you.. ill check for one tomorrow..

[X2Guy]

Plus the APS boxes condition your line too, they stabilize the voltage from spikes and drop outs.

[Codam]

Plus the APS boxes condition your line too, they stabilize the voltage from spikes and drop outs.


Surge Proctector wont solve the power cutting in and out, it will protect you from power surges, kinda like a fuse that will blow before it gets to any of your electronics...you need one of those APS boxes that holds a charge for like 30 minutes if your power goes down. It recharges itself, all you have to do is plug it in.

Do you guys mean UPS? (uninterruptable power supply) or is an APS something else?

If the OP is considering an UPS, I'd just like to say its well worth it. Just be sure to do your homework before you buy, as many people make the mistake of buying overpriced large capacity models just because their computer's PSU is a bazillion watts rating :wacko: I've always built my own computers, and always had occasional problems, but after moving to where I live now I was having hardware die on me way more than usual. I bought a UPS about 18 months ago, and I have never had a shutdown, system freeze, or any broken hardware since then.

If you have no idea what the difference is between a UPS and a surge protector, have a look here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uninterruptable_power_supply

*edit* My comments about pricing of larger capacity models takes into consideration that I didn't spec my UPS to give me 30 mins to "save any important files etc" as the advertising goes, imho thats only important for servers etc. the only important thing for protecting a gaming machine is a couple of minutes to power down, and that it is capable of pushing enough amps for peak load.

[X2Guy]

Typo, APC is the brand name of UPS.

[Tight]

omg.. i must be living in the jungle or something.. tomorrow i will take some equipment and do some readings on the jacks in the house. seams the UPS is constantlly giving my system power. when i boot, on the UPS main leadlight is on and the another flickers a little. when system is booted only main leadlight is on. then i start wow x4. 1 for every processor. the second light is not flickering. its bright light indicating its giving extra power.
when i tried the system at the computer company it was stable as hell.. i could do anything to it. it did not crash. but with or with out UPS at home it crashes constantly. :(
If anyone have any good ideas i would be greatfull. I guess i have to realize i cant use this deadweight for anything ells then pressing paper at home and surfing the internet.

[Tight]

hmm i found a really nice log tool in the UPS software. it shows i have from 214v to 227v... constantly going up and down.. the lowest dip i found in the log was 211.. so i guess thats it.. dont know how to explain it. tomorrow i will take this thing to work and try it there..

//Sebastian

[Bovidae]

First: how old is your neighborhood? Was it built in the past 20 years, or is it 300 years old, with electricity from the early 1900's? Is your service sufficient for your computers load? (Wattage/Voltage=Amps)

Second: it sounds like your neighborhood has a bad transformer. Check with your neighbors, and/or test their power to see if it is as bad as yours. I'd report it to your power company.

[Tight]

well, its a old summer house neighborhood. maybe built 30 years ago. moste people have started to live here the last 10-8 years. if i open my backdoor i have 20 meters to the sea and 2 km of dream beach. the thing is, when i was living in Sweden before i moved my ass to Sardinia, i had 3 power phases "3 big ass :cursing: fueses" on the electricall network. here there is only one phase. :(