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Replacing my crappy 250watt with 300watt PS... need advice.

C

culex

Senior member
Only reason I'm switching is because theres this problem that's driving me crazy.

During evening times, I think the whole neighborhood uses the frickin electricity like maniacs. In random intervals, the lights slightly dim meaning power is being drained. (Duno the proper term for this)... at the same time, my computer is rebooted instantly. This goes on for about 2 hours... it reboots anywhere within 3 seconds to 10 minutes once this crap starts. It's a miracle nothing got blown out or burnt out yet. I'm even more pissed off since my work has to be done during evening times and 90% of the time it prevents me from working.

I'm hoping switching to a stronger 300 watt PS will do the trick.

I was thinking of Antec PP-303X. Anyone have a better suggestion? Btw, does the PP-303X differ in size compared to my crappy 250 watt "Deer Computer" power supply? 🙂 If the 300 watt is bigger, I probably cant install that thingy...

If this doesnt solve the rebooting problem, Im guessing a UPS will do the trick... if anyone can recommend a cheap UPS unit that works for this situation, I'd be grateful for that also.

Thanks.
 
sparkle PS are great too.

But from what you say I'd say surge protector is in order. This might hurt, but you may need a surge protector that has backup power unit ~ $100-200, depending on the brand.

Then again, it's better than getting your MB/CPU and god knows what else you have in your computer fry due to your neighborhood power prob.

gluck
 
I have a 303X and its a good supply. It has a variable speed thermal fan, which is a nice feature. I agree with Edgy. I think a UPS is what you really need to cope with the brown outs.
 
I'm not sure if switching to a 300watt ps will help in your case, edgy's recommendation might be worth looking into. A 250Deer is not exactly ideal but I run with a mere 200watts and I've tested my duron/kt7 setup with a 135/180/200/235/300 and they all run fine. I used to have power issues when running the 751 based K7M but the abit/epox kt133 boards I have run fine with every ps I've used.
 
Since your core problem is your line voltage, I don't see a bigger P/S helping much. A UPS that acts as a power conditioner would be my choice. I have them on all my systems . . . 600 VA capacity. They were available at Costco a year or so ago for about $125 each . . . I got two of them.

That cured all "brown out" problems, especially in the summer when everyone is using A/C. It also keeps this alive so you can shut down "gracefully" in the event of outtages. We do have a few of those due to lightning strikes in the area. (Also the occasional idiot driver.)

As for power supplies, . . . I like Sparkles . . . have a 300 and a 400 working.

Oh . . . if you get a UPS, connect only your monitor and computer to it . . . the rest of the stuff can limp along or be off.
 
Yup, brown outs can only be countered by a UPS. The only name I'm sure I'd trust is APC; I'd search the forums, but I've heard that Tripp-Lite, IBM, and Patriot are also acceptable. There's another brand that CompUSA advertises all the time with a rebate, but I forget which now. Search the forums. As for your power needs, what size monitor do you have? You'd basically need 200W for your PC + ~100W for a 17", or ~135W for a 19". Nothing else really needs backup, except maybe an inkjet which I think only uses like 20W max (never plug a laser printer into the battery backup sockets of a UPS!). So you're looking at around 500-600VA, which convert to probably aroun 400W. Check APC.com for more info.
 
So buying a UPS is basically inevitable for me eh... 🙂

Must... kill... neighbors...

Anyways, in that case, I'm thinking I should buy the APC BK500MC model...

Will that do good enough if I don't change the PS and use a 19" monitor?
 
You probably don't need a super fancy apc that can keep it on for a long time if the power goes out. Just one that will pick up brown outs.
 
I'd say, go with an APC back-up. You just need it to clean up your power. Go with a small VA unit, like a 280 or something like that. You just need it for mommentary brown outs, not several minutes of back-up time.

On the Sparkle PS question...
If you happen to be looking for a nice ATX "Desktop" case, LMK.
NO, I'm not selling one!
 
sparkle's are great. as for a ups, i picked mine up for 80 bucks at fry's. it's an apc. the model is the "office 350 VA". it's a great ups. i just have it hooked up to the box and not the monitor, but it'll keep my computer running a good 10 minutes before it runs outta juice. my system drains quite a bit of wattage too. here are the specs so you can get an idea of how long it might last for you.

dual celerons at 583 mhz
ibm 9 gig 9ES scsi uw2 hard disk
quantum 18 gig atlas III uw2 hard disk
soyo sy-d6iba2 mainboard (onboard uw2 scsi)
320 megs of ram
asus v6600 deluxe (geforce sdr)
realtek nic
sparkle 350 watt powersupply
2 80 mm fans (no including powersupply fan)
2 120 mm fans
yamaha 2x2x6 cdrw
samsung 8x32 dvd rom

the dual cpus and geforce are the real culprits, but on my amd i get about 13-16 minutes easily. and it's not that expensive too. i would only hook it up to your computer, cuz the monitor is a huge power drain. and it has built in surge sockets, 3 i think. and 3 battery sockets. mine came with software that'll save all of your work and shut down your computer when there's a power outtage, and it's saved me from many brown outs at ucla. it also comes with the serial cable interface to let your computer know that no power is available to it from the ups. believe it or not, but some ups' don't come with one. hope this helps.
 
The UPS will prolly fix your computer, but I think there is something else is going on with your electrical service. Major cities like yours do not have the continuous problem you've described. If the brownouts are only in one room, or one circuit, then you will want to investigate house wiring and circuit loads before it causes a fire. If the entire house or 'hood is going through the brownouts, then your utility company should definitely be notified.
 
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