Urgent! Lightning struck my house! Buying advice needed

[Ardan]

Well, amazingly, the closest PC was 10 ft away and is OK, though it hangs up after 5 minutes. The real question is my computer. It was farther away, but it didn't even TURN ON afterwards. So we bought an Antec SmartBlue 350W PSU (its the only good kind at CompUSA) and turned it on again and it still had that high-pitched whine. Might I also mention that it smells like there was an electrical arc in there? I am sure SOME of you have smelled that smell...thats what it smelled like in the room the lightning struck. How much of my computer do you think is fried? Our insurance required a 2nd party to do a damage estimate on it and they're doing it now (on both actually). If its just the CPU, Motherboard, and Video card...what do you guys recommend getting? I heard from my dad that they might hand us a check for everything and we have to find out how much we would get first of all. However, what is a good starting point--Radeon 9500 Pro or 9600 Pro? I don't know, and want to know what you guys think. I used to have a GeForce4 Ti4200 128Mb card.

Also, is a P4 replacement good enough to consider? We have an Athlon XP 1800+ and a 1600+ in these PCs (mine was the 1800+), but I think the P4s are much nicer right now. I thought my 1800+ was sufficient, so i'm not going to demand a 3Ghz P4 (and don't recommend it, they probably won't get that). I know what I would get for a Sound Card, memory, and hard drive...just not a CPU/Motherboard. I am not asking for which one to go with; i'm asking for what parts to buy if I was to go either way. What P4 and P4 Motherboard should I get and what Heatsink/Fan combo should I go with? If I was to get an Athlon XP, which one should I go for (2500+ Barton maybe?), what motherboard and will my previous ThermalTake Volcano 9 be sufficient? I DO dabble in overclocking, so take that into consideration as well as the fact that I will NOT trade instability or pathetic features for the best performance. I game a lot, program in C++, encode mp3s/Ogg, watch movies and will encode DVDs to my hard drive in the future.

Thank you for any help you can offer, guys! I will really really appreciate your opinions and suggestions here .

 

[GaryShandling]

Originally posted by: Ardan
Well, amazingly, the closest PC was 10 ft away and is OK, though it hangs up after 5 minutes. The real question is my computer. It was farther away, but it didn't even TURN ON afterwards. So we bought an Antec SmartBlue 350W PSU (its the only good kind at CompUSA) and turned it on again and it still had that high-pitched whine. Might I also mention that it smells like there was an electrical arc in there? I am sure SOME of you have smelled that smell...thats what it smelled like in the room the lightning struck. How much of my computer do you think is fried? Our insurance required a 2nd party to do a damage estimate on it and they're doing it now (on both actually). If its just the CPU, Motherboard, and Video card...what do you guys recommend getting? I heard from my dad that they might hand us a check for everything and we have to find out how much we would get first of all. However, what is a good starting point--Radeon 9500 Pro or 9600 Pro? I don't know, and want to know what you guys think. I used to have a GeForce4 Ti4200 128Mb card.

Also, is a P4 replacement good enough to consider? We have an Athlon XP 1800+ and a 1600+ in these PCs (mine was the 1800+), but I think the P4s are much nicer right now. I thought my 1800+ was sufficient, so i'm not going to demand a 3Ghz P4 (and don't recommend it, they probably won't get that). I know what I would get for a Sound Card, memory, and hard drive...just not a CPU/Motherboard. I am not asking for which one to go with; i'm asking for what parts to buy if I was to go either way. What P4 and P4 Motherboard should I get and what Heatsink/Fan combo should I go with? If I was to get an Athlon XP, which one should I go for (2500+ Barton maybe?), what motherboard and will my previous ThermalTake Volcano 9 be sufficient? I DO dabble in overclocking, so take that into consideration as well as the fact that I will NOT trade instability or pathetic features for the best performance. I game a lot, program in C++, encode mp3s/Ogg, watch movies and will encode DVDs to my hard drive in the future.

Thank you for any help you can offer, guys! I will really really appreciate your opinions and suggestions here .

I bet you wished you bought this.

 

[Ardan]

That is the powerstrip that I had. We had it on both of the PCs. This strike destroyed my router/dsl router/switch, oven, cordless phones, 2 TVs, stereo equipment, rear speakers of the surround system in the basement. This was a direct lightning strike--not much survives that.

Edit: I forgot that the house needs to be fixed where it hit and it pushed some shingles up as well. It blew safety plugs out of the sockets and tripped every single breaker we have.

I also found out that this one might have been defective...nice work, Belkin >:<. The other one was 10 ft away and protected a majority of the surge from the lightning strike.

 

[T9D]

..

 

[Ardan]

Indeed. So, anyone have suggestions on what I asked?

 

[GaryShandling]

What about the protectors that give you a $100,000 protection for your equipment if its detroyed while in use? here is an example of a £50,000 connected equipment warranty. maybe its only valid in england? you can also get £unlimited in the more advanced surge protector range.

 

[Ardan]

Why would I want to look into that? My insurance company said they will pay for any new PC components or a new computer. Its covered already, so I already ruled out looking into that. Good question, however. I guess I just really hope that my hard drive is alright.

 

[cjsketchy]

What I would pick:
Intel - 2.4C and Asus P4P800/Abit IS7 with stock intel cooler, bump it to 3ghz
AMD - 2500+ Barton and Asus A7N8X 2.0/Abit NF7-S 2.0 with either your old cooler (mild oc) or an SLK-800 (for a more adventurous oc)
Video card - 9500 pro, 9600 pro and 9700 non pro are all pretty nice and won't break the bank... if you can find a good price on the 9700 though, I'd go for that.

if you're going to be doing lots of encoding, the P4 setup will be faster. For other tasks, not too sure. I'd go with the Intel though. I run my 2.4c at 3ghz and it absolutely flies. But if amd is what floats your boat, that setup will be plenty fast as well, and a bit cheaper.

 

[GaryShandling]

Originally posted by: Ardan
Why would I want to look into that? My insurance company said they will pay for any new PC components or a new computer. Its covered already, so I already ruled out looking into that. Good question, however. I guess I just really hope that my hard drive is alright.

Because you dont have to insure your products, anything connected to the surge protector that gets fvcked will be replaced to a limit of whatever warranty you purchased.

 

[NokiaDude]

If you're getting a check for everything . . . get everything you've ever wanted. P4 3.06Ghz, 300GB HDD. ATI Radeon 9800Pro DROOL . . .

 

[Ardan]

Originally posted by: NokiaDude
If you're getting a check for everything . . . get everything you've ever wanted. P4 3.06Ghz, 300GB HDD. ATI Radeon 9800Pro DROOL . . .

Well, thats precisely what I would do if they do that. Personally, I think it will all be gone because of the burnt smell inside my computer, but we will find out the estimate tomorrow morning. If I was to buy a P4 3.06Ghz and a Radeon 9800 Pro, the 350W PSU we just bought wouldn't cut it, would it? So then, what I ask is what power supply would be SUFFICIENT (remember, I do overclock sometimes) for my needs?

I am looking to go for a custom HSF for a P4 system (I am preferring it over another Athlon XP system just because these latest P4s are better), so what heatsink should I get? The SLK-800 listed earlier plus a ThermalTake fan? I will read in on those Canterwood boards too.

What about the case? If I can get away with buying a new case, is the Antec Sonata a nice case? I'm looking for the best design to cool properly, yet also not be incredibly loud. Thank you for your suggestions and opinions! Also, if I ever sound hostile to ANYTHING for whatever reason, please give me a break and I apologize ahead of time---this has not been a good week .

 

[BHeemsoth]

Originally posted by: Ardan

Originally posted by: NokiaDude
If you're getting a check for everything . . . get everything you've ever wanted. P4 3.06Ghz, 300GB HDD. ATI Radeon 9800Pro DROOL . . .

Well, thats precisely what I would do if they do that. Personally, I think it will all be gone because of the burnt smell inside my computer, but we will find out the estimate tomorrow morning. If I was to buy a P4 3.06Ghz and a Radeon 9800 Pro, the 350W PSU we just bought wouldn't cut it, would it? So then, what I ask is what power supply would be SUFFICIENT (remember, I do overclock sometimes) for my needs?

I am looking to go for a custom HSF for a P4 system (I am preferring it over another Athlon XP system just because these latest P4s are better), so what heatsink should I get? The SLK-800 listed earlier plus a ThermalTake fan? I will read in on those Canterwood boards too.

What about the case? If I can get away with buying a new case, is the Antec Sonata a nice case? I'm looking for the best design to cool properly, yet also not be incredibly loud. Thank you for your suggestions and opinions! Also, if I ever sound hostile to ANYTHING for whatever reason, please give me a break and I apologize ahead of time---this has not been a good week .

Your 350watt power supply should be more than adequate for that load. Eccspecaily an antec psu.

 

[Ardan]

Okay, so the 350W PSU is a go. I haven't heard back from the computer repair place doing a damage estimate yet, so I don't know the extent of the damage...just that it smelled like something was burnt in my computer. From my analysis, I would probably say that everything is dead. This much is certain, however: the replacement cost will be somewhere between $1000-$3000 from the insurance company. Provided this is certain and I get $1000-$3000 for a new PC, is a 3Ghz P4/800Mhz FSB and ------ okay? Where -------- is will be a motherboard because I still don't know what to get for a P4 motherboard...whether to get an 875P or 865PE board. What about a case? I would like a great case that doesn't have to be flashy and have a neon light in it...but still be stylish and do a good job at dissipating heat. I saw this Antec Sonata case...would that be alright?

Should I buy a GF4 4600 or a Radeon 9500 - 9800 Pro? I will buy Corsair XMS DDR400 memory...that is a no-brainer here. I know HyperX is good, and I might go with it if I don't get as much $$$ as we should get.

Are the retail Intel heatsink/fan combos good or should I buy a P4 HSF combo that you guys suggest?

 

[Regs]

Should you buy a 4600 or a 9500-9800 pro? Well anyone would tell you to buy a 9800 pro of course, its just how much you are willing to spend and what games you play. 9500 pro is good for eye candy in First person shooters of this generation of games. the 4600 is a solid benchmarker in framerate that is higher then the 9500 pro but dramatically falls behind when you enable FSAA and all the other filters. The 9700 pro in my opinion is still the best card out there with actual value.

Right now buying a 9800 pro is overkill on any game out there now. However, with the games coming up this fall you will want one pretty bad. So if you can survive off a 9500 pro or a 4600 ti for the middle of the Fall season , then go out and get a 9800 np or pro when the hardware is needed.

As for mobo/cpu combos, run a search in General Hardware or even skim a few pages. You will notice a lot of topics about people asking what others think about what they should upgrade. I sure you will find some pretty helpful tips and solutions.

 

[Ardan]

Thanks. I have answered my own questions anyways...I usually like to see what others think but I always end up answering my own questions . Well, if you read the beginning you would know that my insurance is covering it. Provided my Ti4200 128Mb is dead, I am thinking of a Radeon 9700 Pro because I feel the same way as you. I am also going with Corsair XMS LL or Crucial memory...I've heard of troubles with Kingston HyperX in some P4 boards...so I won't use it just to be safe.

 

[John]

Most of the time people fail to run the phone line from the wall to a surge protector. Instead they hook it straight to the modem. Unfortunately this is usually the weakest link. Usually the surge will zap the cpu/mem/powersupply first.

Since I do insurance damage estimates on PC's I'll give you a little insight. The shop performing the inspection is testing your hardware (at least you'd hope so) and making note of what's good/bad. From there they will add in their tech time and cost of replacement parts to get your systems fully functional again. On the insurance form it should ask if there is a salvage value, and if so how much would the shop be willing to give for the hardware "as-is".

Once the shop finishes the paperwork, and your insurance adjuster agrees on a total figure. You'll then be responsible for the deductible.

From the tone of your initial post, it sounds like you're under the impression that you're going to get a lot of cash.....don't hold your breath. You only have a mediocre cpu, and the other components are probably what I would consider "average".

Just food for thought.

 

[Ardan]

Just to point something out: the phone line did go to the surge protector first. I don't think anyone should be surprised that over half the electronics in my house are damaged considering I took a direct lightning hit.

We are being charged $55 a computer (2 desktops) for the damage estimate. The PC repair shop isn't going to repair ANYTHING and the insurance company wanted it like that as well. They said that if the computer is dead or a majority of it is (as reported by the repair guy), they will pay 100% of the cost for a new computer. Upon talking with them, my father said that they might be willing to let us buy our own parts for it and they would cover the cost of the parts. As far as a $500 deductible, we easily met that and it was the first thing they wanted to know. Also, most of the equipment in my computer was bought in the last 6 months...I haven't been using it for years and years. The newest peice is the hard drive (3 months old) and the oldest is the sound card (9 months).

Its all been worked out and we're not paying for a new computer. It is covered 100% by insurance and they said so themselves that they are paying for the whole cost, even if it is basically a new computer. Did I mention it smelled like smoke in my computer?

 

[rahvin]

No surge suppressor in the world can stop a direct lightening hit. It's a fallacy to think that it can. A direct lightening hit surges way faster than a suppressor can react and the voltage often frys them into the open position before they can close the circuit. The only way to have equipment safe from a direct hit is to have it unplugged.

 

[Ardan]

Originally posted by: rahvin
No surge suppressor in the world can stop a direct lightening hit. It's a fallacy to think that it can. A direct lightening hit surges way faster than a suppressor can react and the voltage often frys them into the open position before they can close the circuit. The only way to have equipment safe from a direct hit is to have it unplugged.

You pinned the tail on the donkey with that one .
You know what? A kid also broke a nice lamp we had in the living room...base was ceramic I think, but it was nice. What a week! First, I had an engine seize up (not the same as stalling...it just STOPPED asap...no stalling or warning)...and before we could pull the engine up and out to look at it, our house gets struck by lightning and now a very nice lamp gets broken. What next? lol.

 

[dszd0g]

Originally posted by: GaryShandling

I bet you wished you bought this.

Belkin surge suppressors and UPS's are absolute crap in my opinion. I have never heard of one surviving a lightning strike.

Anyone who has had much experience with lightning and computers goes for something like:
APC SurgeArrest Performance

The Belkin is only rated at 357 Joules while the APC is rated at 480 Joules (surge energy rating, higher is better). The Belkin has 330V of let-through, while the APC only has a let-through of <40V (lower is better). The APC has an eP rating of 3420 Joules and a response time of 0.0ns. The APC has a lifetime warranty of $100,000.

The Joule rating is less important than the let-through voltage. The Joules may destroy the surge surpressor, but it is voltage that is going to destroy your computer. There are some commercial products (read expensive) with let-through voltages of less than 10V.

Originally posted by: rahvin
No surge suppressor in the world can stop a direct lightening hit. It's a fallacy to think that it can. A direct lightening hit surges way faster than a suppressor can react and the voltage often frys them into the open position before they can close the circuit. The only way to have equipment safe from a direct hit is to have it unplugged.

I'm not sure how the Belkin works, but the APC uses a MOV (Metal Oxide Varistor) that normally acts as an insulator (high impedance) in parallel to circuit to the computer. When a spike or surge occurs (above the let-through voltage) the MOV becomes a low impedance (effectively a short) path and the circuit bypasses the computer until the voltage drops below the let-through. The APC uses a fast-break fuse that will break before the MOV overheats (MOVs can catch on fire if they are not fused). When lightning hits an APC the MOV will create a bypass circuit and then the fuse will break.

MOVs are fast, but not instantaneous. They are also non-linear, meaning the higher the current the higher the let-through voltage is. A lightning strike has about 20,000A, and I'm not sure what the let-through voltage of the MOVs used in the APC is at that current.

A lightning strike is generally about 25,000V, but once inside a home generally drops to about 6,000V. The 6,000V is what UL 1449 tests at. Although UL testing is basically to ensure that the device won't catch on fire, it doesn't ensure that the surge suppressor actually is a very good TVSS device.

 

[OverVolt]

GET WD RAPTORS!!!!!!!!!!!!

































GET WD RAPTORS!!!!!!!

 

[Ardan]

No way dude! I don't need a WD Raptor, and I need more than 36Gb per computer.

More news on my motherboard: the capacitors were all blown, same with in the Enermax 350W PSU. They said that it is likely that all of the components truly are dead. I'm probably going to go for a 120Gb Western Digital and a 40Gb Western Digital (for linux...possibly only 2mb cache as well). The processor/mobo/memory I get largely depends on what amount the insurance company gives.

 

[spclwpns]

Move..... Buy a new house somewhere else.

(sorry, I thought someone had to say it )

Hate to hear of it being struck twice.........

 

[Ardan]

Originally posted by: spclwpns
Move..... Buy a new house somewhere else.

(sorry, I thought someone had to say it )

Hate to hear of it being struck twice.........

What? What are you talking about...and why did someone have to say it? I love this place, I will never move away. Don't hassle me, i've had a bad week

 

[GaryShandling]

Im talking about the surge suppresors which come with a warranty of up to £unlimited worth of damage on any device plugged into the surge suppresor. here.