Archived from groups: alt.comp.hardware.pc-homebuilt (
More info?)
>
> Thanks again for the info Dave.
>
> I have an AGP card for the AMD system. I have to check the voltage as
> you suggested. The decent($100.00 and under if possible) PCI video
> card is for my P2 system. Nothing fancy, but good, for watching
> internet related stuff (vids, pics, etc.) and a few old games like Duke
> Nukem, Descent, MDK, Quake I and II.
>
> I have to check the PSU used on the AMD system, but most probably is a
> cheapo PSU, it doesn't weigh as much as a good PSU. I read somewhere
> that the heavier the PSU the better quality the components used inside.
> Can the problem be also caused by a faulty or bad UPS?
>
UPS??? Assuming that's not a typo . . . the UPS wouldn't likely cause any
problems, as long as your electricity was still on. Even if the lights go
out, your worst problem with a UPS would be that it runs out of power before
you want it to. A UPS typically has pretty good protection circuits in it,
for good reason. The UPS is built EXPECTING the wall power to be
unreliable.
A UPS is pretty much the opposite of a PSU. While a UPS converts DC to AC,
the PSU converts AC to DC. With any component, garbage in equals garbage
out. But unless the power goes out, the PSU is running off the wall
current, even if plugged into a UPS. Thus the UPS won't likely affect
reliability of your computer components at all.
A bad PSU however, CAN and HAS affected reliability of all components in an
adverse manner. Stable DC power out of the PSU is imperative to keep all
computer components stable and reliable. In severe cases, a bad power
supply can not only cause stability problems but actually (permanently)
damage connected computer components.
It's possible your Athlon XP system had two bad motherboards. It's also
possible your Athlon XP system had a power supply that damaged two
motherboards. Both scenarios are equally as likely. Motherboards do go
bad, but not as often as power supplies. Cheap power supplies fail with
alarming frequency. Unfortunately, they don't always fail in ways that are
obvious until after they've taken several other components down with them.
But there is no reliable way to test a PSU short of replacing it. You can
use a multimeter to test voltages, but BAD power supplies can look good when
hooked up to a multimeter. So all the multimeter will tell you is if your
power supply is dead or not. That would only be helpful information if you
had a motherboard that appeared to be totally dead. That is, if you turn on
a system and absolutely NOTHING happens, then a multimeter might be a good
way to check to see if you are getting ANYTHING out of the PSU.
For a decent PCI video card for the P2 system, I might suggest the
following. It is DX8.1 and OpenGL 1.3, so it should handle older games just
great. There are some DX9 cards less than a hundred bucks. But this one
has a DVI connector. I'm thinking you might want to use it to power an
extra monitor later, perhaps. In other words, I think the card will outlive
a P2 system, and DVI is already here. Note that this appears to be
passively cooled too. (I like quiet) -Dave
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=14-102-354&depa=0
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram