What's that thingy called that makes sure the system consistently gets enough power?

A

andrewanimation

New Member
Hi,

My computer has been restarting by itself since almost half a year ago, and after sending it to the warranty shop 3 times without their being able to duplicate the problem, we've come to the conclusion that it must not be getting enough power when it's at my house. What are those devices called that make sure there's always enough power going into the system, and is there anything special I need to look for, for my particular system, aside from, I'm guessing, to make sure it's the same amount of Watts as the PSU in the computer?

Dual Xeon 3.06 GHz 4 GB RAM 400 GB storage Win XP Pro 500 Watts PSU

I was looking for it at www.tigerdirect.com but couldn't figure out if it's called a power protector or power backup or what, and I'd rather be safe than sorry. And just to make sure, will setting up the device be as simple as plugging the power cord of the computer into the machine and plugging the machine into the wall?

Thanks
 
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Ups

I think that what you are referring to is a Surge Protector which will prevent you from getting damage to your electrical equipment incase of voltage spikes, but you may also be talking about a UPS (uninterrupted power supply) which can continue powering your system for a short period of time after the power goes out.
 
Sounds like you're after a UPS. To be perfectly honest, I'd replace the power supply first (with a decent quality unit). I've had these problems before, and that's by far the most common cause.
 
Just wanted to share my experience. I got the same problem that my computer suddenly restarted by itself. A friend telling that it could be the battery. And it was right, when I changed the battery on the mainboard, it stopped restarting by itself :) Then, another friend of mine experinced this too and I suggested her to check the battery and yes, her computer works well til today after she changed the battery. maybe this could help you ;)
 
Change the battery :confused: I don't see how that affects it in anyway. The battery only keeps the settings and clock going when mains power is not plugged it. What the mains IS plugged in, the battery is not used. I dont see how that can fix the problem?!?!? I can still use motherboard without the battery, it just means that the BIOS setting are not saved after I pull out the mains power.
 
The warranty shop changed the PSU at one point, and the problem continued. I never touched the inside of the computer, as I don't have any knowledge of that stuff, but I'm assuming the shop gave me a quality one when they switched the PSU out.

So then I'm looking for a 500 Watt UPS, is that right? And is it what I imagine: a device that I plug into the wall, and plug my computer power cable into the device? I'd just like to make sure it doesn't deal with anything I can't install myself.
 
Is that what it is, a 500 Watt UPS? Is it a device where I plug my computer into it, and plug the device into a wall? Sorry to ask again, I just want to be sure I get what I need so I don't have to spend more money returning it and getting what I actually needed.
Thanks
 
It's not quite that simple when you consider that:
  1. A 500W PSU shouldn't be outputting anywhere near it's total capacity of 500W,
  2. 500W is the amount of DC Output the PSU can provide, rather than the AC input. A modern, quality PSU is ~80% efficient, but unless you know what PSU you have you'd be safer to count on 75% or perhaps even slightly lower.
  3. UPSs are usually rated for VA, rather than wattage. Unless you have a wattage figure for your UPS, and know that your PSU has Active PFC, I would ensure that your actual wattage requirements aren't more than about 60% of the UPSs rated VA.

If you know how much power your PC will draw, you can perform these calculations. If that sounds to hard, APC have this online calculator to give you an idea: http://www.apcc.com/template/size/apc/index.cfm?CFID=16519732&CFTOKEN=57430884.

It doesn't have a huge variety of hardware choices to calculate your requirements, but I'm assuming you don't have any highend video cards, etc... that would throw off the calculations.

I will say again that it's very unusual for it to be a problem with your household electricity supply if you're not having problems with any other equipment.
 
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But my computer only reboots automatically in my household, not when it's with the shop that I have the 2-year warranty with, and they've had it for two 30-day periods (60 days total), during which time they had it up and running with no problems the entire time. They couldn't duplicate the issue.

So we believe it's not getting enough power to it when it's in my household, as opposed to the PSU inside the system being the problem.
 
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