Dirty Power?

[RufusKing]

Hello,

As usual in times of need I like to turn to hexus's vast pool of knowledge and it hasn't let me down since! But here is an interesting one for!

I'm running a computer (A8N-Sli Deluxe, 3400+ Processor, 2gb memory, geForce 6800 Ultra, WD harddrives (raptors and caviars) 3 in total, Antec NeoPower PSU). The system I use for gaming in my spare time on its own boot up and then on a seperate boot up for all my audio recording work. I've just moved my setup from home where it ran with no relevant problems to another house to work on really important project, and all of a sudden its the most unstable system in the world for running playback and it never has been.

The house is pretty big and has three computers for each of the people that live here, and none of them are stable despite the computer knowledge of the residents. Most of the issues popped up since they moved in... My theory is that the house being the old town house style that it is has some really bad wiring or power issues, and I'm guessing as soon as I get my system back home it will be running fine again.

I've heard people talking about dirty power in the past but I've never encountered it. Does anyone have any other ideas on what this is? Or how to solve it? I've looked at some Belkin UPS systems and they sound like they could do the job but I could easily be way off the mark on this one and could do with some expert advice.

Cheers,

Leonard

[TeePee]

Is your house on a hill? Or do you keep your computer in an upstairs room?

Because you can get a lower electrical pressure at higher altitudes.

[dave87]

I don't think thats gunna make a massive difference unless you're on the side of a mountain. The UPS idea is pretty good as it will stabilise the voltage, aswell as topping it up to the required 230v. Are all the PCs on the same ring main? that could mean a dodgy powersupply in one of them is causing the problems. Worth trying the pcs one at a time, and then after a while add in another, and another, untill you get the problem reoccur. If it happens normally, it could be electrics as you said, if it happens after the addition of a specific computer then its that PCs PSU. If it happens after adding a certain number of PCs to the ring, it could be a dodgy feed - try spreading them across different rings (depending how the house is wired up this could be easy or rather impossible).

Depending on how often your likely to be there/you have powercuts at home with any regularity you could buy the UPS, APC would probably do something to suit your needs. - We run APC units on the servers at work, helps rule out any problems with power feeds, and stops them dying the minute we have a power cut - though the switches in every other part of the building will die anyway

Hope this helps

Dave

[peterb]

Is your house on a hill? Or do you keep your computer in an upstairs room?

Because you can get a lower electrical pressure at higher altitudes.

Troll!

Seriously, a UPS is a good idea anyway, especially if you are doing critical work - apart from conditioning the power, it will give you a couple of minutes to perform a clean shutdown if power does go off.

[Oakleyb]

heres an entertaining article about 'dirty power'

http://www.dansdata.com/danletters075.htm

answer...get a UPS?

[ilikeoatmeal]

i have a UPS and it's never failed me, and to answer your question if it is an old house with old wiring, that can absolutely affect things plugged into the house.

my buddy is a guitar player and he blew out his $1000 tube amp because of improper voltage when he connected it to a house that had a old poor wiring. that stuff happens =/

[RufusKing]

Thanks for your help guys...!

No matter what I try the computer is running unstable, even if its pretty much the only thing switched on in the house! I'm glad to hear my thoery though wasn't stupid or far fetched. The next question is what UPS do I need?

I was looking at a Belkin Regulator Pro Gold Series as they are under £100 and pretty affordable if its really needed. They do several versions as well, 425va, 525va, 625va etc. but I dont know what it means! I'm assuming its the voltage they can kick out and with a hungry computer and other hardware plugged in does that means I'll need as much as I can afford?

What other UPS on the market worht looking at? The link to "dirty power" article said that some UPS marketed equipmented won't always have the features to filter power when power is flowing where as some will filter regardless to give a solid source of power. Last thing I want to do is fork out money for something that doesn't do the job.

Thanks again.

Leonard

[TeePee]

Troll!

Guilty!

I don't think thats gunna make a massive difference unless you're on the side of a mountain.

Gotya!

With the amount of capacitors in a PSU, if it affects a computer it will affect everything electrical, from flickering lights to impossible TV reception...

[peterb]

I like Leibert.... http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Produ...ilterKeywords=

[jamena]

if it's an old house with dodgy wiring I'd be checking my insurance policy carefully...

[OmarSantiago]

You may be getting undervoltage. Since EU harmonisation at 230 volts your supplier is required to deliver power with tolerances between +10% -6% and to maintain the frequency at 50Hz ± 1%. If you suspect your mains is undervolted contact your Electricty Board and ask them monitor it for 24hrs. They won't charge you for this but they'll also be reluctant to do it as it'll cost them quite a bit to rectify undervoltage to your home. One more thing to try before you shell out for a UPS