Skip to Main Content
PC Hardware in a Nutshell, 3rd Edition
book

PC Hardware in a Nutshell, 3rd Edition

by Robert Bruce Thompson, Barbara Fritchman Thompson
July 2003
Beginner to intermediate content levelBeginner to intermediate
874 pages
38h 13m
English
O'Reilly Media, Inc.
Content preview from PC Hardware in a Nutshell, 3rd Edition

What BPSs Protect Against

Most electric utilities supply consistent, well-regulated power. But as that power moves from the generating plant through the distribution grid to you, the power company gradually loses control of its quality. A good BPS protects against all of the following power problems:

Blackout

A blackout is a sudden, complete loss of voltage, which may be accidental (a tree falling on a power line) or intentional (the power company shedding load during a power emergency). Blackouts are the reason most people consider buying a BPS, but they are the least-common power problem. Blackouts of very short duration, called drops, occur frequently and often pass unnoticed. Drops may be so short that the lights may not flicker. High-quality PC power supplies have enough inertia to continue supplying power to the PC during short drops. Lower-quality PC power supplies have much shorter hold-up times, so even very short drops may cause the PC to lock up. In fact, this is one of the most common causes of PC lockups, and installing a BPS eliminates them.

Brownout

A brownout is a significant reduction in voltage lasting from seconds to days. Short brownouts, called sags, are usually caused by a sudden load on the line, such as a high-amperage motor being turned on. Longer brownouts may be caused by the utility intentionally reducing voltage in response to demands heavier than they can meet. Utilities supply a nominal standard voltage, which in the U.S. normally ranges from 108V ...

Become an O’Reilly member and get unlimited access to this title plus top books and audiobooks from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers, thousands of courses curated by job role, 150+ live events each month,
and much more.
Start your free trial

You might also like

Computer Busses

Computer Busses

William Buchanan
Hacker Techniques, Tools, and Incident Handling

Hacker Techniques, Tools, and Incident Handling

Sean-Philip Oriyano, Michael Gregg

Publisher Resources

ISBN: 059600513XErrata Page