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My GPU has recently died, and I got to wounder why. I have been having PC shutdowns and bluescreens over the last 5 years. I noticed at some point, that these often happen when someone turned on a light outside my room. I would hear the sound of the switch, then my PC would make a small sound (maybe like a HDD stopping to spin) and the system would be frozen to then bluecreen.

Over time this must have destroyed my GPU, and possibly other components over the years.

Can modern PSUs handle small surges or power cuts (for mili or nanoseconds)? And if not, is there a way to protect my next system?

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  • Long-term, I'd get the mains looked at. In many countries lighting & power are not on the same circuit, so shouldn't affect each other. There's the possibility the light switch is sparking & sending RFI which upsets the computer, rather than it being a power dip. [Never buy cheap light switches, they're not worth it ;)
    – Tetsujin
    Apr 16 at 10:58
  • Nanosecond? Definitely no. Milliseconds are unlikely. Experience with a workstation where the nearby elevator caused dips lasting 0.5 seconds caused only intermittent problems on a workstation year ago. Any halfway decent ups will alleviate any doubts.
    – doneal24
    Apr 16 at 15:39
  • @doneal24 - an elevator, perhaps, but if a light bulb can cause a voltage dip there are far bigger problems in the household electricity supply.
    – Tetsujin
    Apr 16 at 15:57
  • @Tetsujin True but the light switch itself is not the cause of his problems.
    – doneal24
    Apr 16 at 15:59
  • @doneal24 - how do you know?
    – Tetsujin
    Apr 16 at 16:00

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The first thing that almost every electronic device should have is a surge protector such as this.

Every time something is turned on and off, it can produce a surge on the power line. However, I think your problem is a bit more that the power actually dips.

You should have an Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS). Here is a simple one for voltage fluctuations only

Here's a full-blown one that will handle brownouts too, for several minutes

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  • I think it's more likely to be RFI than a power surge, tbh.
    – Tetsujin
    Apr 16 at 10:59

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