Blackout and Brownout- what to do to prepare?

[zpkerosky]

Hello everyone, A few days ago I built my own Pc for the first time. I got thru the Bios, installing the operating system and the drivers, and thankfully, everything worked. But now that that's done, I'm worried about protecting my investment. I've done a little reading on blackouts, brownouts and surges and I'm concerned.

Is it recommended that home users buy a small ups battery back-up? I don't live in the mountains where the electric current could perhaps fluctuate more, but I do want to be protected. Currently I have a surge protector and that's about it. Thanks in advance for help

 

[Outlander_04]

A surge protector is all most people need .

Nothing will protect a pc from a direct lightning strike on your house though since the power is not the only way a pc is wired in to your house . We lost two [ and all the telephone cabling in the house ] in a bad storm about 10 years ago

A UPS could be useful if you are doing high value office work that you cant afford to lose , but other than that its not worthwhile for the home user IMO

The best protection is an insurance policy covering the computer , and regular back ups to an external hard drive you leave unplugged

 

[maawdawg]

Many UPS backups come with coverage for everything plugged into it. I really like the APC one I have and it was fairly cheap. Mine was under $50 and had lifetime coverage up to $75,000 (ridiculous I know) in electronics plugged into the UPS. If you are worried about it and want to be safe then go for it but it is hardly a necessity. Mine is primarily for coverage on power loss to keep from losing whatever I am working on at the time. It just gives me time to shut down properly, which has saved me tons of time in redoing stuff.

 

[zpkerosky]

Best answer selected by zpkerosky.