A higher price of power protection load better? [catastrophic failure] [power supply]
Q: My computer was hit by a catastrophic failure two weeks ago and Im finally back online. I was testing a UPS when it happened. I had my monitor and computer is connected to UPS and when I unplugged the power to UPS, instead of staying without a transition, the computer restarts. Shortly, I heard a pop from the computer and the disabled. I took the lid of the state to investigate and there was smoke from the power supply.
I knew since the generic 250W ATX power supply that came with my case it was a toast. I bought an Allied 250W ATX power supply to replace. When I connected the new power, it would cycle on and off quickly so I knew it was over food that is damaged. My hypothesis is UPS doing something about food and nutrition aside if it damages the motherboard failed.
At the end I had to replace the motherboard and power supply. Does anyone know if high-end power supplies have an average of the charge against the abnormal voltage would fail?
Re:> I bought an Allied 250W ATX power supply to replace it.
AFAIK Allied is the new name of the old Deer branded power supplies, which from my experience were the absolute WORST because I have seen a large quantity of them blow up… often kamikazee (sp) style, taking other components with them
Re:Any decent unit will shut off if overloaded. Presumably this should protect other components as well.
Re:In Mechwarrior II (edit: and MW3, doh!) there was a technology called CASE (cellular ammunition storage something) that could be added to the 'mech, section by section. If the armor was gone and the ammo took a hit (or overheated and detonated), CASE would buffer the explosion (the alternative being to select the weapon type and manually jettison the ammo… been there, done that
).
It sounds like you're asking whether top-end power supplies have some sort of feature along those lines, where they'll disconnect when they're about to self-destruct under excessive load. I honestly don't know, but I would suggest not overloading in the first place 
Quality first, then output & regulation. Overprovisioning doesn't hurt anything but your wallet, either. I mean, your car can probably cruise at 60mph on under 20 horsepower… gonna buy a car with a 20hp engine? Didn't think so 
Re:Cheap Charlie pays twice!
Re:edit = OOPS!!!!
A better ps will give you a more stabile power outlet, and generally a bigger ps will run more efficiently. take a look at this article
AT power supply review (http://www.{$MySite}/showdoc.html?i=1774)
Re:A "higher end" power supply such as an Antec True Powersupply may not "protect" from power problems, but it sure as hell is of much better quality than some generic piece of crap that came with your case.
The better quality PSU you get, the less likely something bad will happen because of it.
This tends to be the case with most things. More money = better quality.
Dan
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Tags: catastrophic failure, power supply