Loud pop, PC shut down.

[MTSteel]

Well, Sunday afternoon I was laying on my basement floor trying to get some sleep in the middle of the afternoon with son I heard a loud pop, and looked over and saw my PC had shut off!!!
OMG, what was that!!! I immediately opened the side door, could not smell anything. Did not see anything that looked out of the ordinary. No popped caps, no smoke. Put my nose up to the PSU, could not smell anything. I decided to try the power switch, to my surprise it started up. All fans are going, everything seems OK. I had Prime run for 8 hours, stopped it to play some CS:S, ran Prime for another 21 hours, stopped it to play CS:S again. No signs of any problems. SmartGuradian shows all temps and voltages within spec. the 12V goes between 11.83 and 11.9, that is the only voltage I see change once and awhile.


Theories on what happened??

 

[wisdomtooth]

Most likely an momentary AC power drop. Happened to me a few times when I lived in a place that has frequent power disruptions.

 

[MTSteel]

Maybe time for a UPS.....

 

[Ike0069]

Originally posted by: MTSteel
Maybe time for a UPS.....

Yep.

 

[MTSteel]

So what UPS do you guys recommend. Not worried about runtime, just want it to protect vs spikes. Would this be enough? http://www.apc.com/resource/include/techspec_index.cfm?base_sku=BE500U

 

[harrkev]

You should look in your power supply using a powerful flashlight. The popping sound might have been a capacitor. Since you did not see any burst caps on your mobo, check out the PS.

If it IS the PS, then replace it.

And a UPS is always a good idea. But a good surge supressor would also work. Modern (cheap) UPS devices are surge supressors connected to an inverter-battery combos. Expensive UPSs give much better protection, but I cannot see spending $500 to protect a $100 computer.

Note that the UPS that you linked to may not be enough. The "VA" rating is how much power it can deliver at one time. How long it will go is a function of the load and the size of the battery. If you use a LCD, that UPS should be fine. If you use a 19" glass CRT, that might not be enough.

I picked up a 900VA on Black Friday last year. $30 after rebates. If you wait for the right rebate deal, you should be able to pick up at least 700VA for under $50.

 

[usernamemax20charact]

If you have a Staples store near you, check to see if they have any of these Energizer UPS's in stock. They're on clearance for $34.90 last I checked -- in store only.

650VA should do you fine. And if I remember correctly, some people have said that these are just rebranded APC UPS's.

 

[bocamojo]

I have an older APC 650, and it has never let me down...