surge protectors matter?

[Jexta]

I need someone to break down what i NEED in a very easy to understand manner please. I read alot of pages, forums after forums talking about sag and surge and earth grounding and what not.. I can't process anything I have been reading.

The one thing I took away from another thread on here was someone said surge protectors are useless and the only thing worth buying would be a UPS incase the power goes out and you want to save something or properly shut down.


I had a WII break during a storm once.. everything else in house was fine but that must mean that something happened to break that WII right? I just want to know what I should get or what I need please.... I am building a very expensive computer and I want to be sure everything is fine... weather that be knowing power surge protectors are just bogus $ machines for companies or if I actually need one for anything. Thanks.

 

[Guest]

Surge Protectors are glorified power extension strips. A UPS will protect against a lightning strike and will be able to switch to battery when power fails or otherwise are at unsafe levels. If you live in an area that is prone to thunderstorms or have bad power (lights flicker a lot for no reason), you should protect your electronics with a UPS. I have one on every PC and for my home entertainment system in my living room.

 

[rex4235]

A UPS is a better solution as it will protect your components from surges AND brown outs. A low voltage situation (like when the power goes out) can cause damage as well.

I lost an onboard LAN port because of a power outage before. Sucks

 

[USAFRet]

If it's an expensive machine, up the budget just a little more and get a good quality UPS for it.

 

[ittimjones]

Do you want to risk your $800+ gaming PC for a $5-$10 price difference in power strip and surge protector?
Yes a surge protector matters. I put them on my entertainment systems and PC desks. I've had them trip a few times and let me know that they saved my 47' TV, 360, and PS3 from frying. Just spend the extra $10 for the piece of mind at the very least...

UPS's are very nice, but i would say they're more of a luxury, than a necessity. They will protect from voltage spikes and drops, but they are expensive. A surge protector is more than enough to protect ur system's from damage from the electrical circuit. A sudden loss of power isn't exactly easy on ur PC, but ur PC will be fine if the power gets cut every once in a while.

 

[rex4235]

Just keep in mind, a surge protector only protects from power spikes, while a UPS will do the same and protect from under powering