Can a power surge through the cable TV line destroy the CPU?

PunchsucKr 2009-11-14 00:02:17 UTC #1

Hi all... i have a Prolink Pixelview Pro3 tv card.. (cheapass but working fine :bigsmile:).. i was wondering whether a power surge through the cable tv line destroy my cpu if in the unlikely event it ever occurs..??

do these cards have some sort of protection for this or these are inherently protected or am i sitting ducks in front of this sort of thing.. this is a new pc i have assembled and don't wanna lose it anytime soon :sad: i could not find anything on this on the net... any ideas??

Thanks !!

coolcolors 2009-11-14 01:43:19 UTC #2

Yes and no, that’s a hard thing to really determine but you can at least figure there are line surges at any given time. That is why you should get a surge protector that has cable connections to protection your tv card that is installed inside your computer. So go and buy a good surge protector that has built in cable and phone protection and then correctly plug them into the right connections to protect your equipment. This will inturn insure that your equipments will last longer over their duration of usage.

getit29 2009-11-14 03:19:49 UTC #3

I agree 100% with coolcolors on getting yourself a surge protector with the cable and
phone line protection I have 2 of them with all of my equipment hooked up to them I
wouldn’t even think of doing without them.

Here is what I’m using the Rotating Surge-Protected Outlets are a must have if you have
anything with the large block plugin. BELKIN BP112230-08 8 ft. 12 Outlets 4320 Joules
Pivot-Plug Surge Protector http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812107131

Price $34.99 + shipping but it can save you hundreds or even thousands of dollars in
equipment if you ever do get zapped by a power surge in the lines.

Lifetime Product Warranty
$300,000 Connected Equipment Warranty

PunchsucKr 2009-11-14 05:23:53 UTC #4

Thanks for the response guys…!! i was quite worried… actually i just need protection on the cable line as the other lines have first an APC home UPS protecting the lines and then the computer’s UPS itself. I think this will serve the purpose well for me… won’t it?

coolcolors 2009-11-14 09:24:54 UTC #5

If that fits into your current APC unit then go for it that will at least prevent buying more equpiment if you don’t need them.

eric93se 2009-11-14 23:45:37 UTC #6

I’m pretty sure a surge wouldn’t get anywhere near you CPU, it could potentially kill the tuner card, but nothing else. Not to mention a surge in the first place along the cable line would be unlikely.

coolcolors 2009-11-15 05:35:44 UTC #7

[QUOTE=eric93se;2465154]I’m pretty sure a surge wouldn’t get anywhere near you CPU, it could potentially kill the tuner card, but nothing else. Not to mention a surge in the first place along the cable line would be unlikely.[/QUOTE]

I am sure it would be able to kill your motherboard and CPU if the surges get past a bad surge protector or without no protector. Surges happens on cable just like surges happen in power lines. Cables need power to run them so it would sounds to reason there will be surges as well. Rather then wait for it to happen I think doing the safe thing is the smart way to go rather then spend more money to replace damaged equpiments. Surges happens in homes when the A/C or dishwasher or drier kicks in so it would stand to reason surges do happen not like lightning types surges but surges do happen to lines that requires power to operate.

brokenbuga 2009-11-17 17:15:55 UTC #8

This is an accurate statement.

[QUOTE=coolcolors;2465193]I am sure it would be able to kill your motherboard and CPU if the surges get past a bad surge protector or without no protector. Surges happens on cable just like surges happen in power lines. Cables need power to run them so it would sounds to reason there will be surges as well. Rather then wait for it to happen I think doing the safe thing is the smart way to go rather then spend more money to replace damaged equpiments. Surges happens in homes when the A/C or dishwasher or drier kicks in so it would stand to reason surges do happen not like lightning types surges but surges do happen to lines that requires power to operate.[/QUOTE]

Not so much.

AC power that is used by cable companies on their lines, is isolated from subscribers homes at the NID. Should such protections fail then a code violation is in place, a case in which no surge protector can help.

coolcolors 2009-11-17 17:27:46 UTC #9

Unfortunately there is more that isn’t being said. FYI

http://www.naturalhandyman.com/iip/infelectrical/infsurge.html

Mr_Belvedere 2009-11-19 00:49:35 UTC #10

[QUOTE=PunchsucKr;2464939]cheapass but working fine

…power surge through the cable tv line destroy my cpu if in the unlikely event it ever occurs…??[/quote] Sure. It’s cheapass, isn’t it?

do these cards have some sort of protection for this or these are inherently protected or am i sitting ducks in front of this sort of thing

Most electrical devices are tested with voltage spikes at a rate of 2 kiloVolt (2000 volts) to see if they mess up or could harm someone in the process. Most devices short circuit and stop working, nothing more.

Power surges are different and can cause overload both in volts or amps on a electronic device. It usually is not certified for that so it is very possible that everything electronically connected to the power surge will fry.

any ideas??
A surge protector that diverts that sudden energy boost or build one yourself if you are skilled in electronics. All you basically need is a Metal Oxide Varistor. They’re cheap so why not invest in a cheapass surge protector?

Don’t think a surge protector will keep you safe from lightning though. The lighting bolt just traveled half a mile through air to reach your protector, it will have no problem getting straight through your inch-thick surge protector if it isn’t grounded correctly!