I'm not really sure whats going on here but I recently bought a new core2dual and I've had some problems which are a little out of my league. The speakers make popping sounds every once in a while and the computer often freezes. I'll be doing something like 3d animation and all of a sudden everything will just freeze with no warning and I'll have to press the reset button. I finally clued in that it must be a power issue. I live in a very old apartment building with bad wiring. I have the computer plugged in to a surge protector and the wiring fault light is always on. yesterday I downloaded a hardware moniter and on the voltage moniter the Aux is always in the red. It's at +3.28V and the Core usually around +1.36V but it goes down to 1.34V when I do anything intense and turns red. I havent had a lockup since I've installed the moniter but it seems like the Voltages could be the issue. Is there any way to fix this problem? I know nothing about electricity so I need some advice. Should I try a different outlet? Is there anything I can buy or make my landlord put it to get things working properly? Is this even my problem?

Hello tybomb, and welcome to the forum
It wouldnt hurt to try a different outlet to see if it helps. Its common in old buildings with outdated wiring, to not have enough circuits, and to have alot of outlets on each. If you have other appliances or things in the building on the same circuit, it could cause enough of a voltage drop to cause you problems. Most power supplies can only regulate to around + or- 5% input, above or below that can cause problems. Talk to your landlord and see if he will check the line voltage, or have someone check it. Could be there is too much running on the circuit youre using. If you or he has a voltmeter, you can monitor the voltage and see if its fluctuating when your problem occurs.

I'd go get a UPS strait away to protect you computer a serge protector is no good for this situation a UPS is not expensive and will correct your problem.

A UPS is an uninteruptable power supply

Hi, thanks for the help. I just had another freeze while using poser. I had the moniter on but it didnt go in to the red. This may just be because it didnt have time to register before freezing. What kind of drop do you think would be required to cause a lockup? +1.34V is the lowest I've seen it go but who knows what happens when it actually freezes. Also, why is the Aux always in the red no matter what? It's at 3.28V and stays there usually. I have 2 fuses in my apartment. Last week the super was here and I got him to replace a plug and he accidentally blew both my fuses and a fuse in the hallway through that one plug somehow. I thought this was odd. I got him to check the voltage in the outlet my pc is plugges in to and I think he said 115 or something. I can't really recall but he said it was fairly normal. I guess that just measures the voltage at the moment it's tested though.

Sounds like if you don't get a UPS your computer is doomed power problems no good for a PC. a UPS will regulate your voltage In Australia they cost around $50.00

An uninterruptible power supply (UPS), uninterruptible power source or sometimes called a battery backup is a device which maintains a continuous supply of electric power to connected equipment by supplying power from a separate source when utility power is not available.
A UPS is inserted between the source of power (typically commercial utility power) and the load it is protecting. When a power failure or abnormality occurs, the UPS will effectively switch from utility power to its own power source almost instantaneously.
While not limited to any particular type of equipment, a UPS is typically used to protect computers, telecommunication equipment or other electrical equipment where an unexpected power disruption could cause injuries, fatalities, serious business disruption or data loss. UPS units come in sizes ranging from units which will back up a single computer without monitor (around 200 VA) to units which will power entire data centers or buildings (several megawatts). Larger UPS units typically work in conjunction with generators.
Historically, UPSes were very expensive and were most likely to be used on expensive computer systems and in areas where the power supply is interrupted frequently. However, UPS units are now more affordable, and have become an essential piece of equipment for data centers and business computers, but are also used for personal computers, entertainment systems and more.
In certain countries, where the electrical grid is under strain, providers struggle to ensure supply during times of peak demand (such as Summer, during which air-conditioning usage increases). In order to prevent blackouts, electrical utilities will sometimes use a process called rolling blackouts or load shedding, which involves cutting the power to large groups of customers for short periods of time. Several major blackouts occurred in 2003, most notably the 2003 North America blackout in the north-eastern US and eastern Canada and the 2003 Italy blackout, both of which affected over 50 million people, and brought attention to the need for UPS power backup units.
A UPS is not to be confused with a standby generator, which does not provide protection from a momentary power interruption and may result in an interruption when it is switched into service, whether manually or automatically. However, such generators are typically placed before the UPS to provide cover for lengthy outages.

The guy just came and went through the wiring and tightened everything up and cleaned it up. The plug my pc is connected to was getting 114 and is now at around 119. I fired up the computer and started screwing around with poser and it froze once again. Had to reboot. Then I unplugged the pc from the "always on" plug in the surge protector and plugged it in to a different slot. I also unplugged the speakers and plugged them directly in to the wall. Now I havent been able to lock up the computer and I'm doing pretty much the same thing. The Core moniter still dips to +1.34V but no lock up as of yet. Could just be a coincidence of course but time will tell. Any clues as to what the problem is now? If the core gets to 1.34V is that a big deal? It always seems to be between 1.34 - 1.38V. I'll definetly check out UPS.