OT: Power Supplies

[Robert L Cochran]

To learn whether your computer's power suppy is working, get a power 
supply tester for about $15 from your favorite computer e-tailer. Turn 
your power supply off and unplug the cord from both the power supply and 
the outlet. Open the computer case. Locate the 20-pin power supply 
connector and disconnect it from the motherboard. Plug it into the 
tester unit. Plug the electric cord into the wall outlet and turn on the 
power supply. All 7 LEDs on the power supply should turn on. If one or 
more does not turn on, replace the power supply.

As Scott Mueller says in his book, bad power supplies are the most 
common source of PC problems.

Speaking for myself I use either PC Power & Cooling or Antec power 
supplies. It's amazing how these power supplies just quietly work 
wonders. I put a PC Power and Cooling 510 watt unit in my latest 
computer because at full operating temperature it will still deliver 480 
watts if needed, and that is about what the latest video cards like the 
Nvidia need. I can't afford the $500 video card right now, but next year 
I'll be able to.

I also use 3 Uninterruptible Power Supply units. 2 of these are Belkin 
supplies and 1 is APC. My first APC unit was defective and the long 
drive back to the store to exchange it really annoyed me. I bought a 
Belkin unit, then later on a second Belkin unit, then much later an APC 
Back UPS XS 800. Together these UPS units have saved me any my wife many 
an unexpected shutdown and loss of data.

Bob Cochran
Greenbelt, Maryland, USA


RoboticGolem wrote:

>Does everyone here agree that a 500watt power supply is sufficient
>enough for a dual MP 1800 board with 4 hard disks, DVDrom, cdrw,
>dvdrw, and plenty of self powered usb hubs?  I'm trying to figure out
>whats up with my computer and my next stop is to call an electrician.
>
>-Matt
>
>  
>