I'm suspicious that my house current is below 110 volt and that my amps aren't up to snuff either. I've had a lot of hardware fail recently and think that's the culprit. Does a ups boost incoming power to the computer? or merely maintain existing current when there's a power outage and protect from spikes? At the moment I have no ups.
power supplies
- Thread starter brianluce
- Start date
Gord.T
Still "Senior Member"
Some UPS regulate voltage, usually given in the specs.
The line voltage does fluctuate quite a bit but it's held within certain government guidlines so your power supply should not notice any effect. It regulates the voltages to your computer anyways, otherwise it would fry in an instant, so I wouldn't worry about regulation.
The current drawn by your computer is determined by the voltage on your circuits, which is regulated by your power supply so need to worry about that. The current rating from your line is the amount that it can supply before tripping.
The only time it's an issue is when the line voltage drops below the point where the power supply can no longer regulate, and that would be called a brown out or ,cough, blackout. The UPS systems are good for that, as well as surges such as from lightning strikes and whatever other spurious spikes.
Half decent power bars usually have a spike detector circuit and will shut off when it detects one. Cheaper ones wont.
I suppose if a really cheap power supply had poor regulation, then in extreme cases it might affect a circuit and blow it. Usually 5% is the range of regulation and the chips can handle that.
But, in extreme cases it could happen I suppose.
The line voltage does fluctuate quite a bit but it's held within certain government guidlines so your power supply should not notice any effect. It regulates the voltages to your computer anyways, otherwise it would fry in an instant, so I wouldn't worry about regulation.
The current drawn by your computer is determined by the voltage on your circuits, which is regulated by your power supply so need to worry about that. The current rating from your line is the amount that it can supply before tripping.
The only time it's an issue is when the line voltage drops below the point where the power supply can no longer regulate, and that would be called a brown out or ,cough, blackout. The UPS systems are good for that, as well as surges such as from lightning strikes and whatever other spurious spikes.
Half decent power bars usually have a spike detector circuit and will shut off when it detects one. Cheaper ones wont.
I suppose if a really cheap power supply had poor regulation, then in extreme cases it might affect a circuit and blow it. Usually 5% is the range of regulation and the chips can handle that.
But, in extreme cases it could happen I suppose.
Last edited:
ugafan
Looking for a woman
have you determined if the problem is with the outlet or with your power supply?
Tom Marshall
Actor!!!!!!
You could get something like this -
http://www.furmansound.com/product.php?div=01&&id=M-8Dx
It's mainly used for music gear and is rack mountable, but there's no reason you can't use it for a computer or whatever else. It doesn't regulate voltage, but it will tell you what the current voltage level is at any time.
http://www.furmansound.com/product.php?div=01&&id=M-8Dx
It's mainly used for music gear and is rack mountable, but there's no reason you can't use it for a computer or whatever else. It doesn't regulate voltage, but it will tell you what the current voltage level is at any time.