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Questions tagged [power-supply]

A power supply is an electronic device that supplies electric power to another device, such as a computer, monitor or printer. This is achieved by converting wall power (or mains power) to a lower voltage, and in most cases also from AC to DC. Most power supplies also provide protection from overload, power surges and other potentially problematic or hazardous conditions.

8 votes
5 answers
1k views

What are these? Are they broken?

Please excuse the poor image quality: What are the components that I've circled in red? The ones on the left look whole and solid. The ones on the right have cracked tops, and although this picture ...
Chris Nielsen's user avatar
8 votes
10 answers
4k views

Can a UPS be too powerful?

Our old network admin bought the top range UPS a few months ago but never came around to setting it up and is no longer with the company. Now the old UPS broke down and needs to be replaced, but an ...
Andy's user avatar
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8 votes
7 answers
21k views

How do I lower power consumption of my computer

My electricity bills are high and my Dad keeps shouting me for that (I use my computer over 20 hours per day). Below are the few things I am curious to know; How do I lower my Computer Power ...
subanki's user avatar
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8 votes
4 answers
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Does the wattage on a power supply simply mean the max output wattage?

If I have a system running at ~500W of power draw, will there be any tangible difference in the outlet wattage draw between a 1200W power supply vs, say, a a 800W power supply? Does the wattage only ...
Naftuli Kay's user avatar
  • 9,651
8 votes
5 answers
2k views

My power supply/motherboard nightmare

Last summer I bought a broken power supply (without knowing of course) and put it in my computer. Turning my box on made one of my cheaper HDDs catch fire (I believe a capacitor or resistor blew) and ...
nopcorn's user avatar
  • 16.7k
8 votes
3 answers
231k views

Is the 4-pin PSU connector required? (Trying to connect a PSU to a mini case.)

I am trying to build a computer, placing an ASUS P8H67-I DELUXE in a custom retro Commodore 64 case. The case is an extra small form factor which can accommodate the Mini ITX board, but it requires ...
Geeks On Hugs's user avatar
8 votes
5 answers
85k views

Charge a laptop via USB power (500mA)? [closed]

My laptop is almost dead and I do not have the charger. Is there anyway I can DIY a charger for a laptop. Even if it takes 20 hours. To make it clear, I want to send power from a usb port on another ...
Ray Foss's user avatar
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8 votes
1 answer
10k views

When is too much voltage too much on a PC?

TLDR: The BIOS shows voltages as vcore: 1.248, 12V: 12.566, 5V: 5.160, 3.3V: 3.424. Is this bad? I got one miniITX motherboard that supports a 19 V laptop input instead of the regular ATX ...
gcb's user avatar
  • 5,011
8 votes
3 answers
26k views

auto power on after power loss on laptop

I know for a computer I can change the BIOS settings to have it 'auto on'. This way the computer turns on by itself after power is restored ( instead of manually having to start the computer after ...
AP01's user avatar
  • 181
8 votes
2 answers
24k views

Why is -12V needed on an ATX power supply

Checking the standard ATX connector pinout it mainly gives out "standard" positive voltages, like +3.3VDC, +5VDC and +12VDC. There is one exception, pin 14, which actually gives out -12VDC: Based on ...
SztupY's user avatar
  • 283
8 votes
2 answers
401 views

Computer Shuts Down, BSOD, Aggravation

---BOUNTY & EDIT--- Ok, here is the latest update, and attached a bounty! So I ran all of my ram sticks 1 at a time for around 24 hours each. None of them caused a BSOD. I ran test on all of ...
MrJustin's user avatar
  • 138
8 votes
3 answers
47k views

Electric shocks from tip of laptop charger and laptop case - how to safely test if it's a bad charger or a bad outlet?

I've recently started consistently getting electric shocks from either touching the tip of my laptop charger while it's plugged in, or from touching the metal rim of the laptop while it's charging. ...
user56reinstatemonica8's user avatar
8 votes
6 answers
26k views

Charging a laptop though a USB-C power port with a low voltage/amperage

Let's say we have a new laptop with a USB-C port - like the new Macbook1 or the Chromebook pixel which, yes, are meant to be charged through these ports -, a good solar panel for smartphones (5V 3A ...
David Mulder's user avatar
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8 votes
4 answers
21k views

What could cause a desktop power supply to "hiss"?

Some background to my problem: My city had a thunderstorm last Monday and when I woke up, I noticed my desktop was turned off. I powered it on. It would stay on for about 20 seconds and then shut off. ...
TheCloudlessSky's user avatar
8 votes
1 answer
183 views

Laptop power options while flying [closed]

I have noticed some laptop power supplies include a plug that allows you to connect it to a power source while flying. If I was going to go out and buy a laptop power supply for this purpose, which ...
Axxmasterr's user avatar
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