Did a Brownout just damage my computer?

[alexb870]

We just had a brownout in which our electricity did not completely shut off, but had about a 30 second episode of dimming lights and such. At the beginning of this, the monitor to my computer went dark, but the computer kept running. I immediately shut off the computer until it was over, and it booted up fine and here I am. My question is, Is there anything behind the scenes I need to be worried about breaking? Graphics card since the screen went black?

Thanks

 

[Ethanh100]

If you cannot notice anything, its probably fine.

 

[rhysiam]

A brownout like that does carry a pretty high likelihood of damaging electrical equipment. But the fact that your rig is up and running and seems okay is an excellent sign. You could spend time stress testing and checking equipment, but were I in your shoes I think I'd just continue to use the computer as normal but be on the look out for anything usual.

You are probably okay.

Is that likely to be something that happens again? If you get those regularly and your PC is worth a bit money, investing in a UPS might be sensible in the long term. You also want to make sure you have a good quality PSU. The latter won't quite guarantee protecting your equipment in the case of a nasty brownout, but a quality PSU will do a much, much better job of either keeping outputs under control or just shutting itself down to prevent damage.

 

[alexb870]

A brownout like that does carry a pretty high likelihood of damaging electrical equipment. But the fact that your rig is up and running and seems okay is an excellent sign. You could spend time stress testing and checking equipment, but were I in your shoes I think I'd just continue to use the computer as normal but be on the look out for anything usual.

You are probably okay.

Is that likely to be something that happens again? If you get those regularly and your PC is worth a bit money, investing in a UPS might be sensible in the long term. You also want to make sure you have a good quality PSU. The latter won't quite guarantee protecting your equipment in the case of a nasty brownout, but a quality PSU will do a much, much better job of either keeping outputs under control or just shutting itself down to prevent damage.

Funny you should mention it being worth a bit of money, as I just built it yesterday. I put an EVGA 750BQ which states it has UVP Protection (Under-voltage Protection?)... Does this mean that it would have protected against any damages that could have occurred?

 

[rhysiam]

Funny you should mention it being worth a bit of money, as I just built it yesterday. I put an EVGA 750BQ which states it has UVP Protection (Under-voltage Protection?)... Does this mean that it would have protected against any damages that could have occurred?

It absolutely doesn't guarantee you of anything. A UPS is really the only device that will (or least should) protect you properly in the case of a brownout.

I can't find any reviews of those BQ units, I don't know much about them other than that I think they're made by HEC, who don't have the best reputation (but they're far from the worst either). I can't really comment much further than that, There are some PSU experts on these forums who know far more about this than me. I would tend to think, however, that it's not worth going and buying a new PSU.

If you are worried about the brownouts the PSU can only do so much anyway. At least get a decent surge protector (surges are common after a brownout), and if it is a regular occurrence, a decent UPS is the proper solution. You'd need to decide whether the cost of the UPS is worth it against the risk to your system. I don't claim to have particular expertise in this area, so I can't really quantify your risk for you. You might want to do some Googling around brownouts and risk to computers if you think it's likely to be a regular occurrence where you live. If it was just a freak one-off I would worry (though a decent surge protector at least is never a bad idea).