Hi,
I live in the Philippines and electricity fluctuations aren't uncommon. I bought a relay-type AVR (I can't afford a UPS at the moment and blackouts are pretty rare in our area) and recorded a video of it showing the fluctuations on the output voltage meter.
*You can see at the start of the video and around the 1:10 minute mark the short span between each tick.
I have a Seasonic Focus GM-650 and I've read that most current branded PSUs have built-in protection against fluctuations and heard about this thing called "Active PFC."
What I'm worried about though is that there are times that I can hear the AVR click 5 or probably 7 times in a row, a bit faster than a clock tick (more like the ticking speed of a car's turn signal).
It's rare not to hear a click for hours. Probably the longest the AVR would stay silent is an hour. Most of the time I'd hear a click or two every few minutes.
Because of this, I'm hesitant to plug my PC directly to the wall outlet, thinking that it's better to have the frequent fluctuations wear out the AVR first.
- Can my PSU withstand such frequent fluctuations?
- Also, whenever the AVR clicks, the pointer in the output voltage meter points past the red bar (220) and lands on the left tip of the right-most white bar (300) -- I thought AVRs are supposed to provide a constant output. Is this normal/how it's supposed to show?
I hope an expert can help clarify these points in layman's terms.
Thanks!
I live in the Philippines and electricity fluctuations aren't uncommon. I bought a relay-type AVR (I can't afford a UPS at the moment and blackouts are pretty rare in our area) and recorded a video of it showing the fluctuations on the output voltage meter.
I have a Seasonic Focus GM-650 and I've read that most current branded PSUs have built-in protection against fluctuations and heard about this thing called "Active PFC."
What I'm worried about though is that there are times that I can hear the AVR click 5 or probably 7 times in a row, a bit faster than a clock tick (more like the ticking speed of a car's turn signal).
It's rare not to hear a click for hours. Probably the longest the AVR would stay silent is an hour. Most of the time I'd hear a click or two every few minutes.
Because of this, I'm hesitant to plug my PC directly to the wall outlet, thinking that it's better to have the frequent fluctuations wear out the AVR first.
- Can my PSU withstand such frequent fluctuations?
- Also, whenever the AVR clicks, the pointer in the output voltage meter points past the red bar (220) and lands on the left tip of the right-most white bar (300) -- I thought AVRs are supposed to provide a constant output. Is this normal/how it's supposed to show?
I hope an expert can help clarify these points in layman's terms.
Thanks!
Last edited: