PSUs and Surge Protectors

[Bic5]

Hey guys, I was looking at purchasing a surge protector to protect my various computer peripherals (monitor, chargers, speakers, maybe my console gaming system) and my computer would be protected as well. My question is, what surge protector would I need for my computer with a 600W PSU, monitor, gaming system, and speakers. I noticed the surge protectors only use so many joules. I'm not very familiar with the measurements and I don't really know what surge protector to get. If you guys could give me some economical choices and maybe some advice that'd be much appreciated. Thanks!!

 

[popatim]

Joules are basically the protection rating. The more the better. Keep in mind they do wear out and you need to replace them every few years. Buy as many joules as you can afford.

I like the big ugly Tripp lite isobar but the belkin pivot gets excellt reviews.

 

[Bic5]

Oh, so the joules aren't the energy that is put out. I thought joules could be converted to watts and that was the max amount of wattage the strip could be used for. So any surge protector wuld be fine but more joules = more protection. Is that right?

 

[popatim]

yes, joules is the size of the energy spike it can absorb. Its basically watts per second so if you have a 100w spike thats 10ms long it would be 10000 joules. its a good thing spikes arent usually that big and certainly not that long. <grin>

And by wearing out I meant the strip itself. The circuitry used in most of them wears out a little with every spike they absorb so every year or two, replace them.