brownouts do they screw with PC's

badcompany · 24 Jan 2013 at 19:20

got brownout at the mo. pc was on for a bit had te hold power button in to turn off as screens dont work.

tv work and one lamp rest are on very low kettle.microwave all of

will it mess the pc up?

on my phone now

neoglow · 24 Jan 2013 at 19:32

What the heck is a brownout ?????? :confused:

Columbo · 24 Jan 2013 at 19:34

Pretty sure I had a brownout after a Vindaloo the other night. It had nothing to do with PC gaming.

Zefan · 24 Jan 2013 at 19:37

I wouldn't have thought it would do any damage, but you might find it could cause stability issues if it's severe enough as the PSU won't be getting what it needs so won't be able to supply the power your components need.

dirtybeatfreak · 24 Jan 2013 at 19:40

neoglow said:
What the heck is a brownout ??????

Omaeka · 24 Jan 2013 at 19:43

You know when you read something and it blows you away? Well you sir owe me a new wall.

Kavalree · 24 Jan 2013 at 19:44

neoglow said:
What the heck is a brownout ??????

A Brownout is when voltage drops way below what it should going into a house etc.

I shouldn't pf thought it would interfere as it's a drop in voltage?

norm · 24 Jan 2013 at 19:45

Brownout is a drop in voltage.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brownout_(electricity)

A switched-mode power supply which has a regulated output, will be affected. As the input voltage falls, the current draw will increase to maintain the same output voltage and current, until such a point that the power supply malfunctions.

As the PSU has regulated output I doubt if it'd do any damage to the motherboard etc, it just would cease to work. Maybe the PSU is at risk of being damaged however.

badcompany · 24 Jan 2013 at 20:22

ok power back now and pc powered on ok thank god

IIDeathCubeKII · 24 Jan 2013 at 20:24

That's good to hear.

We get quite a few where I live, never damaged anything.

Zirax · 24 Jan 2013 at 20:25

When I was in Leicester it used to happen a couple of times a week. Having had a machine damaged through it I got a UPS that kicked in quite often when the power was on the blink. It wasn't helped either by my housemate running the hairdryer, tongs, kettle and bar heater in her room!

What you want is a line interactive UPS rather than a cheapo one.
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=UP-012-AP&groupid=702&catid=55&subcat=1208

This was 5 years ago but I remember paying extra for a UPS that covered brownouts.

badcompany · 24 Jan 2013 at 20:51

Never happend before was quite strange, I think I will look into getting a ups thingy, Cheers.

hideki · 24 Jan 2013 at 20:59

Lost a mobo due to power drops a few years ago. UPS recommended to keep your expensive PC hardware safe.

caz32 · 25 Jan 2013 at 17:54

Just had this happen 3 times in the space of 15 minutes, turned off pc and psu for now, is this covered in ocuk warranty?

Jokester · 25 Jan 2013 at 17:59

Modern PSUs should be able to cope with brownouts reasonably enough so that it shouldn't affect the rest of the PC. Only if the voltage drops a lot should it cause it to fall over, but it shouldn't cause permanent damage I would have thought.

lurkio · 25 Jan 2013 at 19:18

I usually buy a PSU much bigger than I will need that way v drops will not effect it much if at all

olivier renault · 25 Jan 2013 at 20:02

neoglow said:
What the heck is a brownout ??????

It's like blackouts, but less racist.

<too much?>

Dave**** · 25 Jan 2013 at 21:10

olivier renault said:
It's like blackouts, but less racist.

<too much?>

Surely it's more racist.

caz32 · 26 Jan 2013 at 01:26

Had 3 of these in a row then a random one an hour later, rather of just had the power off the 2 hours, restarted my PC 3 times made me paranoid as hell

Suarez7 · 26 Jan 2013 at 02:25

lurkio said:
I usually buy a PSU much bigger than I will need that way v drops will not effect it much if at all

And the stupidest reply goes to this guy. If you have a brownout it doesn't really matter what PSU you have.