[SOLVED] Surge Protection question regarding my PC

[rcsverige]

So I recently built a PC back in February of 2021. It was more of an upgrade but it required me removing my old motherboard in place of a new one alone with new CPU, PSU, RAM, and Aftermarket CPU cooler. I live in an apartment complex in Stockholm and plug the PC directly into the wall. Recently I began to think about surge protection. I was wondering if my PSU (Corsair 650x 750w) would be adequate in protecting my PC from power surges. I think it does but if not what should I do? I am fairly new to PC and this was my first "build" so any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Eximo]

That depends on how much you trust the incoming power.

A surge protector is usually the minimum recommended for expensive electronics. That can, possibly, save your system from things like lightning strikes, power disruption from lines contacting things (cars knocking over power lines for example). In an urban environment the primary worry might be something like a brown out and the the surge that occurs when everything connected to power tries to turn back on at once.

The PSU itself is a decent buffer and there will be built in protections at the incoming power. PSU should sacrifice itself to protect your components, but doesn't always succeed.

For those with known bad incoming power, a line conditioner can be good.

UPS is the next step up from a line conditioner which can weather brief power interruptions.

 

[rcsverige]

so what would you suggest? Picking up a surge protector power strip?

 

[geofelt]

Earlier, There was a vicious lightning strike near by.
I thought my APC 1500 protected me well.
But, it turned out that my gateway failed as did my Klipsch pro media speaker system. Both were connected to the ups.
The gateway was easy enough to get replaced.
But I sent the amplifier to one who does repairs on them.
He explained how surge protection does not always work.
And, such things as power strips are destructive in that they must be replaced when they encounter a surge.
He offered a SURGEX box to be used on the wall in front of the UPS.
FLATPAK SA-82
It is non destructive if a surge should hit.
These things are expensive.
Here is a link to a product site, look for the 208v products.
https://www.ametekesp.com/surgex

 

[emitfudd]

At a minimum I would pick up a good surge protector. I use them on both my PC's and my home theater system. One I have is a Belkin and it has a 4156 Joule rating and a $300K connected equipment warranty. Pretty good protection for $30 or so.

 

[Nigel Spike]

Electric surges are as rare as giraffe attacks in Stockholm. There can be a 30 minute blackout once every 10 years, but never surges. It would be a waste of money to get one IMHO.

 

[Eximo]

Electric surges are as rare as giraffe attacks in Stockholm. There can be a 30 minute blackout once every 10 years, but never surges. It would be a waste of money to get one IMHO.

Depends entirely on where you live. Not all electrical grids are in good shape.

Moved into my current house in April, had my first power interruption a few weeks ago. (probably a squirrel got fried). At my old house, it was pretty regular, someone would take out the telephone poles that spanned the nearby highway (That got much better after they rebuilt the line to add in a new neighborhood)

If you live on the east coast US, ice storms will take out the lines annually, multiple times. Brown outs are common in big cities on the east and west coasts.

In some countries, they will simply shut down neighborhoods when demand is too high.

 

[Nigel Spike]

I totally agree. That's why I specified that these problems are rare in Stockholm, where the OP had told us he lives. FWIW, Stockholm is the capital of Sweden, Europe.