What do you do to protect against electrical damage?

[Michael19xx]

What measures can I take to prevent my new computer from being damaged by lightning or power surges? Can anyone recommend a good surge protector, give any advice, or point me in the right direction?

 

[Hameister]

First, you should get yourself a high quality uninterpretable power supply, such as sold by APC. A 1500va unit will give you lots of run time in a power failure, for about $189.00.

A quality UPS will already have a surge suppression circuit built in, but they're not the best.

Just look around Newegg or Amazon there are soooo many on the market, just choose one that gives you the most protection your budget can afford.

 

[Michael19xx]

I'm reading here on a particular UPS that its output wattage is 865W; Does this make it incompatible with my 1000W PSU?

Also, are there adverse effects to powering down a computer by unplugging it or holding down the power button, instead of properly shutting down?

 

[Hameister]

I'm reading here on a particular UPS that its output wattage is 865W; Does this make it incompatible with my 1000W PSU?

Also, are there adverse effects to powering down a computer by unplugging it or holding down the power button, instead of properly shutting down?

The 865watt rating you're referring to, is the output rating of the UPS vs. the output rating of your internal PSU in your computer. No, there is no incompatibility.

I'm running a 1250watt PSU with an overclocked i7 3930k, and 3 video cards, and my 1500va @ 865watt APC, will run everything, including my monitor, and all peripherals for about 16 minutes before shutting down.

The answer to the second question is also no. If a computer is shut down incorrectly, it will simply notify you of that the next time it boots, and give you options. Just choose "Boot Normally", and it will correct itself.

 

[Michael19xx]

Thank you for your replies, I greatly appreciate them! But I must ask, what is the main purpose of a UPS? Is it to protect against surge, or to maintain a steady supply of power in the event of an outage?

My budget is getting a bit tight for my build. My primary need at the moment is a device whose main purpose is to protect my parts against damage.

 

[Hameister]

Thank you for your replies, I greatly appreciate them! But I must ask, what is the main purpose of a UPS? Is it to protect against surge, or to maintain a steady supply of power in the event of an outage?

My budget is getting a bit tight for my build. My primary need at the moment is a device whose main purpose is to protect my parts against damage.

The primary purpose of a UPS is to maintain power in the event of an outage. An outage is particularly dangerous when you're in the middle of flashing the BIOS, or doing a firmware upgrade. It can render the chip unusable. A UPS prevents that.

If you can't afford it at this time, just go for a high quality surge protector.

Here is a high quality one designed for home use...

Newegg.com - Tripp Lite ISOTEL8ULTRA 8 Outlets 3840 Joules 12' Cord with Tel/DSL Isobar Premium Surge Suppressor

There are many good ones available. Just stay away from the cheap units, about $20.00 on down. They're not very effective.

 

[strollin]

The primary purpose of a UPS is to maintain power in the event of an outage. ...

The rest of this statement should be: ...long enough for you to have time to do an orderly shutdown.

 

[Hameister]

The rest of this statement should be: ...long enough for you to have time to do an orderly shutdown.

I thought that was implicit, since in post #4, I stated that mine will run my system for 16 minutes before shutting down.

 

[strollin]

I disagree that it is implicit, some users could get the idea that they can continue to use the system for 16 minutes hoping the power will be restored by then when the intention is really that they have ample time to save all of their work and shutdown.

 

[Hameister]

Oh for pete's sake, there always seems to be someone ready to pick at every word. Ok, it's not implicit.