PSU, Surge Protectors, and Power Outages

[MushroomedHill]

Hello again. I'm trying to do some research on a lot related to power, and I seem to be getting a lot of different ideas on the matter.

• Power outages due to wind and rain: Can this kill a PC connected to the wall? I have a surge protector, but I'm now learning they apparently only have 1 or 2 uses for protecting against a surge before they're done. I only have a light on the switch when It's on, I don't know if that's the same as the seperate surge protecting indicator lights on others.

• PSU: Should these be making noise? Perhaps I'm just anxious due to this being a new PC and I'm listening for things I wasn't before. But I'm certain I didn't hear this noise when I first got it.. Power went out and came back on twice since getting it while plugged in to an old surge protector mentioned above. The noise isn't TOO obstructive that I can hear it over the other PC noises, but I know I started getting a heavier noise like that when my last PC's PSU was on it's way to frying out. It's kind of like.. a crinkley frequency noise? I don't know how to test it's health unless I just have to wait and see if it fails on me. Everything is running just fine otherwise.

Some people say a PSU should be able to regulate that kind of thing on it's own, other's say otherwise. I'm already investing in another surge protector that other's on this forum suggested, but I don't know if it's too late for the PSU. Even when my last power supply started to sound like a lawnmower, my other PC parts seemed to be fine.. but is anything other than potentially the storage at risk from the PSU failing?

Any and all info or being pointed in a direction where I can learn all about it would be appreciated! Also if anyone can ease my worries over if I already set my PSU on the course of failure ... I'd hope I have a warranty for any issues too soon, but on the other hand I suppose JUST the PSU isn't the worst part to replace.

 

[COLGeek]

A surge suppressor will not protect your system from a power outage. An UPS will.

A properly operating PSU should be fairly quiet. What is the make/model of your PSU?

 

[MushroomedHill]

A surge suppressor will not protect your system from a power outage. An UPS will.

A properly operating PSU should be fairly quiet. What is the make/model of your PSU?

750 Watt - CORSAIR RM750 White - 80 PLUSGold, Fully Modular

I don't know if it's what is called coil whine or not, and it isn't too loud, but I can't remember If I heard the noise prior to the power outages.

And is that really true about the UPS vs Surge protectors? I mean It's in the name and mentions the joules is what helps protect against power spikes. Also, I don't know how to figure out the Volts/Amps I need for my computer's watts and 2 monitors/stereo plugged into it. One person told me 12A isn't enough, some say it also depends on how many slots it has, even if they go unused. I'm hearing so many conflicting things on these, I'd like if it were more simple. I just don't want my PC to burn out when the power goes out!

 

[mjs warlord]

Surge protectors cant stop your pc from being damaged if the power goes off , this is because the pc wont go through the correct shutdown procedure before it finally turns off. Its a bit like your holding the power button to shut your pc off because everything has locked up . Sudden power loss can cause your registry to become corrupted and in extreme cases if certain parts of the registry gets corrupted you wont be able to run the recovery console.

As COLGeek says i think you need a UPS .... although i have never used one as i understand it you get the chance to turn things off properly if you get a power outage.

I have been using a surge protestor for about 20 years and during 1 bad winter it saved 2 pc set ups from getting fried. The power went off and when it came back on ..... only for a few seconds ... it was obvious something was wrong because all my house lights were over bright , my cooker blew and the cooling unit on my freezer blew .... but the surge protector save all my pc gear.

Coil whine on any psu can be fatal and thats why you should always buy the most expensive one you can afford

 

[MushroomedHill]

Surge protectors cant stop your pc from being damaged if the power goes off , this is because the pc wont go through the correct shutdown procedure before it finally turns off. Its a bit like your holding the power button to shut your pc off because everything has locked up . Sudden power loss can cause your registry to become corrupted and in extreme cases if certain parts of the registry gets corrupted you wont be able to run the recovery console.

As COLGeek says i think you need a UPS .... although i have never used one as i understand it you get the chance to turn things off properly if you get a power outage.

I have been using a surge protestor for about 20 years and during 1 bad winter it saved 2 pc set ups from getting fried. The power went off and when it came back on ..... only for a few seconds ... it was obvious something was wrong because all my house lights were over bright , my cooker blew and the cooling unit on my freezer blew .... but the surge protector save all my pc gear.

Coil whine on any psu can be fatal and thats why you should always buy the most expensive one you can afford

Ah that makes sense then. Would exporting the registry in the registry editor help back that up? Or if that gets a problem I probably won't even be able to reach it huh. Likely a silly question.

Hmm.. Concerning though if that is what I'm hearing and if it wasn't there before.
EDIT: I checked a few examples on youtube and this doesn't really sound like any of those? But perhaps those were all really only crazy examples. If anyone has an example of sounds to worry about, I'd appreciate it! This sound is still quite soft like a steady static(?)

Ah if only i knew more on surge protectors earlier. It should be more well known that they only last a few years.

Now to figure out how many volts/amps i need for one and how long my warranty on the PSU goes for

 

[Brian Boru]

Would exporting the registry in the registry editor help

Best and simplest solution is a regular system disc image—see link in my sig. I do a monthly just before Microsoft's monthly update on the 2nd Tuesday. Store the image elsewhere, eg on an external drive.

As others said, surge protector is to protect against 'dirty' electricity, ie a supply which oscillates a lot—it smoothens the surges so they don't reach your equipment.

I used UPSs for a couple of decades, they provide 15-30 minutes of battery backup power so you can save and exit computer work and shut your equipment down in an orderly way. I used APCs first and CyberPowers more recently, both excellent brands.

Last one I bought was in 2016, to protect a 650W PC PSU and a couple of TVs, so this may give you an idea:

https://www.newegg.com/cyberpower-cp1350avrlcd-nema-5-15r/p/N82E16842102070

I haven't looked into them recently as I now have rock-solid electricity supply.