How is your computer plugged in?

[nageov3t]

heavy duty surge protector.

I can't say as I've ever run into a situation where I wished I had a UPS.

 

[Jawo]

APC UPS for my main rig, 10 outlet strip for everything else (including laptop). When I'm on the road, whatever outlet I can find (hopefully a strip).

The power has been so flaky here this summer with all of the thunder/electrical storms. Thinking about something longer term (greater than 32 min from my ups)

1000th post!

 

[j00fek]

Standard 6-outlet power strip/surge protector

and a UPS

 

[1sikbITCH]

I have a CyberPower 1100AVR for my main system and my plasma tv. However I could get by with a heavy-duty surge protector, as I really am only interested in protecting my equipment rather than being able to frag in a thunderstorm.

 

[neutralizer]

Standard surge protector. Why would I need a UPS? I hit CTRL+S often anyways so I don't care if I lose data.

 

[JBT]

Main PC hasa UPS. Secondary has a Surge Protector.

 

[Banzai042]

Somewhat heavier duty surge protector with 8 ports, want to get a ups for my desktop.

 

[dullard]

Originally posted by: duragezic
Yeah I read an article on that a week or two ago. How are you to tell that it has no surge protection ability left? Is it just roughly average that over 3 years it will experience enough surges to wear the mechanism?

There are different ways to tell. Most of the cheap ones I've used have a light that is red. It is solid red when the protection is good, sporadically blinking red when the protection is fading, and barely on (if at all) when the protection is gone. Often that light is combined into the on/off switch of the strip or it could be a separate light. More expensive power strips shut down entirely and stop working (won't conduct electricity) when they have lost their protective abilities.

3 years is just a general number I threw out there. From what I've read they often protect for 1000-2000 small surges. If you have 1-2 surges a day (think air conditioning system turning on/off) then you'll run out after about 3 years. Some will be built better and will last longer. But 3 years is a good estimate if you know nothing else.

 

[Daishiki]

This for the main system with RJ45/coaxial, 375 for the peripherals.

 

[ballmode]

electric bills own me

 

[Rubycon]

MOV's do have a finite life - as do gas discharge tubes and ferroresonant transformers. Replacement is always scheduled into a well thought out plan of contingency. Like an out of data virus scanner, having no protection but thinking you do is far worse than none at all. At least make sure your outlets are properly grounded.