warhammer3025

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I know that one of the (many) benefits of having a Uninterrupted Power Supply is that it will regulate the voltage and/or amperage (not quite sure) that flows to your PC.

Does a normal or high-end Surge Protector offer the same function?
 
Solution
No. UPS ( except on-line type ) does not regulate voltage and/or amperage that flows to your PC. If voltage is only outside of the range the UPS is designed for, it cuts city electricity and feeds the PC on battery power. For example, if an UPS is designed for VAC 150 - 250, then this UPS will switch to battery power when voltage is below 150 or above 250. It will not regulate power for frequency or for noise or when voltage is 160.

Normal or high-end surge protector has no battery. Therefore, it cannot do what an UPS does. It can only cut city electricity from the PC or equipment and pass it to ground in a properly-grounded environment if the voltage is excessively high ( thousands or millions of volts ) due to lightning bolt, etc...

suat

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No. UPS ( except on-line type ) does not regulate voltage and/or amperage that flows to your PC. If voltage is only outside of the range the UPS is designed for, it cuts city electricity and feeds the PC on battery power. For example, if an UPS is designed for VAC 150 - 250, then this UPS will switch to battery power when voltage is below 150 or above 250. It will not regulate power for frequency or for noise or when voltage is 160.

Normal or high-end surge protector has no battery. Therefore, it cannot do what an UPS does. It can only cut city electricity from the PC or equipment and pass it to ground in a properly-grounded environment if the voltage is excessively high ( thousands or millions of volts ) due to lightning bolt, etc.

By the way, if you want a good UPS that regulates power fully ( for voltage, for frequency, for electrical noise, etc. ), then you should buy an on-line UPS.

Normally, for a proper protection you should have wall outlet ( city electricity ) + surge protector + UPS + PC or other equipment all connected exactly in this order.

Hope this clarifies.
 
Solution

suat

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Please also note that the downside with on-line UPS is that they are rather expensive and they work continuously because they convert AC to DC and then back to AC, thus filtering out electrical noise and keeping voltage and frequency within tight tolerances. The fans spin all the time and make noise. The other type of UPS, which is called interactive UPS works only when voltage is out of design limits.