PC game crashes when mains voltage fluctuates suddenly - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / projects

author: drummerdimitri
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: April 27, 2020, 09:25:02 pm
content: So I recently started playing Dota 2 and sometimes when the mains voltage swings a bit more than it should, the game crashes!My computer is connected to a UPS which in turn is connected to a voltage regulator (servo) but it needs about half a second to adjust the voltage which obviously isn't fast enough and I lose the game.One would think the entire PC would crash but I can most of the time force the task to end and re-launch the application but I would like to know if there's a way to regulate the voltage in a faster way so that this doesn't happen again.I have a theory regarding this though: I am realizing that this happens usually a bit after I lose power and the generator comes on which is no big deal as the UPS deals with the power outage without any issue, the game freezes a few minutes later as the neighbourhood's appliances start powering up back again pulling current in a non linear way which causes large voltage drops hence the fluctuations that are sometimes maybe too severe for my computer's PSU to handle.Would some kind of power switch with a delay function help in this case? Maybe one that I can time from 1-10 minutes perhaps? The voltage would have regulated enough by then so when the UPS comes back online, it will not have to endure large voltage changesNot sure if such devices exist but if they do, I think that would be the best and cheapest alternative. Only disadvantage there would be the increased cycles on the external batteries but since they can run the system for over an hour, 10 minutes shouldn't be a problem.How about a large bank of high voltage CAPs? wouldn't that also work by smoothing out the peaks and troughs?

author: Whales
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 27, 2020, 10:43:40 pm
content: Might not necessarily be junk going in through the power cord. Example:- long ethernet/audio/USB/etc wire in your computer acts like an antenna, picking up transients- received transient temporarily zaps part of your mobo. Part enters a locked-up or self-shutdown state.- syscalls in the game hang because the target hardware is unresponsive (network HW, sound HW, usb HW, etc)Do you have any long cables attached to your computer? Wired or wireless?

author: drummerdimitri
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: April 27, 2020, 11:15:01 pm
content: Quote from: Whales on April 27, 2020, 10:43:40 pmNever thought long cables could have such an impact.In fact I do. Got a 2m USB cable to my DAC and 2 balanced XLR cables to my monitors (2m).I'm also using a very long ethernet cable (10m) but I recall having this issue on Wi-Fi as well.should I try eliminating these one by one to isolate the cable(s) that might be causing this issue?

author: coromonadalix
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 28, 2020, 04:06:55 am
content: Maybe your ups is not up to the task ?I have an Apc 1500va ups, with an added battery pack, it resist very well any voltage drops / kicksFor any transients, you have some powerbars who provide or add more protections, some ups have this integrated into them too ?I have long network cables, never had any problems tooMy computer (more like a server) and my screen and the router are connected to the ups, the computer 7.1 sound system is not.

author: drummerdimitri
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: April 28, 2020, 06:44:34 am
content: I doubt that's the case as mine is rated for 1500 VA or 900 W while the system only draws about 500 W max.Also as I have mentioned, the issue seems to be non-UPS related as it happens when the UPS is online (bypass mode) so it is not drawing any current from the external batteries.That being said, I do have a pure sinewave model with AVR and possibly surge suppression but I'm waiting on some cables and connectors to hook it up to my batteries.Will also try using a surge protected power strip instead of my current one which has no filtering/suppression circuitry.

author: Miyuki
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: April 28, 2020, 09:00:44 am
content: So you have UPS with bypass mode which must switch a relay and start conversion ? Not a one than makes own output all time.Lot of computer PSU dont meet requirement and especially at high load dont have enough long hold time (charge in input capacitor) to withstand even single missing period on mains (even when specification says they should in reality they dont)If you can afford price and loss in efficiency I recommend Online/double-conversion UPS what makes independent clean output at any circumstances//edit: I am looking at some computer PSU test and some fail even when input voltage fails even for15 msso UPS have almost no time to reactLook at this picture, yellow line is mains and just small deviation can make bad PSU to fail at higher loads