Other Surge Protection?

Discussion in 'Hardware' started by earlydoors, 3 Apr 2011.

  1. earlydoors

    earlydoors Minimodder

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    Hi

    What do you BTers do about surge protecting your PC?

    I have a basic Belkin Surge Protector, but I think it's not really up to the job having looked into it a little closer.

    Is this an area you spend cash on, or do you just plug and play and hope for the best?

    Thanks
     
  2. Wira

    Wira Spoderman

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    Plug and Play, but now that you mention it I should probably look into some surge protection :jawdrop:
     
  3. N17 dizzi

    N17 dizzi Multimodder

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    I use a Belkin 8 plug protector that I picked up for £20. Seems to be fine. I've never read any reviews on surge protectors so...
     
  4. Fizzban

    Fizzban Man of Many Typos

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    I use a surge protector. Peace of mind for a few quid is worth it. Should help slow the rate at which your PSU degrades too.
     
  5. The_Beast

    The_Beast I like wood ಠ_ಠ

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    I've got a APC 14 plug surge protector that also handles phone line and coaxial cable
     
  6. earlydoors

    earlydoors Minimodder

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    Apparently the basic range Belkin do are not quite sufficient for protecting enthusiast kit (i.e. compuaters), so you have to go for the advanced or extreme range.
     
  7. Telltale Boy

    Telltale Boy Designated CPC Jetwhore

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    I used to not use a surge protector with my old PC but... it got killed by a surge, destroying most of the components in the process (but weirdly or not the PSU was fine).

    Now I just a fairly standard connector that I got for a couple of quid, but now you guys are saying that the basic ones aren't up to protecting a computer i might want to look at getting a better one.
     
  8. Wira

    Wira Spoderman

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    :duh: ugh that hurts, I feel in danger of losing my pc every moment now
     
  9. Telltale Boy

    Telltale Boy Designated CPC Jetwhore

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    It's better to be aware than taken by surprise. After all they're hardly costly and they're protecting quite a large investment.
     
  10. r3loaded

    r3loaded Minimodder

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    Is it really that much of an issue? Maybe it's a problem in other places, but in my entire life in the UK, I've never seen a single electrical surge, brownout or power cut in the electricity supply. It's about as reliable as the sun rising in the east in my experience.

    Sent from my GT-I9000 using Tapatalk
     
  11. tehBoris

    tehBoris What's a Dremel?

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  12. Wira

    Wira Spoderman

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    I'll probably go out and get myself a surge protector now that I noticed it, but I have acutally never had problem with power surges and pc's in my life, a life without surge protectors :)
     
  13. padrejones2001

    padrejones2001 Puppy Love

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    Uninterruptible Power Supply is the only way to go, in my opinion. There have been lots of times where I've been working late at night and the power goes out. It gives you enough time to shut your computer down without any damage to your components. I've experienced a few brownouts as well, which can be just as damaging.
     
  14. Salty Wagyu

    Salty Wagyu moo

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    I'm pretty sure surges do happen often in the UK, if say, a light briefly dimming for a millisecond then going back to the brightness it was beforehand is considered a "surge". I typically see this during thunderstorms.

    Anyway, using a Belkin Extreme I believe, for my TV/PS3/HTPC. Also read about the basic range of Belkin's surgemasters not being suitable for computer equipment so I spent a bit more. Computer is connected to an APC UPS so no surge socket is necessary there.
     
  15. Fizzban

    Fizzban Man of Many Typos

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    That's a brownout I believe.
     
  16. westom

    westom What's a Dremel?

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    Your doubts are completely justified. Start with so many other replies. It is called a surge protector. That proves it does surge protection? Of course not.

    Start with its spec numbers. How do hundreds of joules inside the protector absorb surges that are hundreds of thousands of joules? It doesn't. How does the tiny 2 cm part stop what three miles of sky could not? Damning questions never asked so that advertising replaces 100 years of well proven science.

    Hundreds of thousands of joules dissipate harmlessly outside the building. Or go hunting for earth ground destructively inside. Nothing inside a building will prevent that destructive hunt. A protector too close to appliances can even make damage easier.

    Protection means every single wire inside every incoming cable must connect to single point earth ground. A short (ie 'less than 3 meters') connection to earth made either directly (ie cable TV, satellite dish). Or via a 'whole house' protector.

    Responsible manufacturers provide 'whole house' protectors. Including ABB, Keison, General Electric, and Siemens. In every case, the effective solution has a dedicated wire for the always (no exceptions) short connection to single point earth ground.

    Direct lightning strikes are 20,000 amps. So a minimally sized 'whole house' protector starts at 50,000 amps. More numbers that will never be provided to promote ineffective power strip protectors such as the Belkin.

    How many provide any such numbers? Another damning question. Anyone who recommends that Belkin, et al can provide manufacturer spec numbers that claim protection from each type of destructive surge. Where are those numbers? No numbers is called subjective reasoning. A classic example of something called junk science. And that makes advertising so effective. A £2 power strip with some ten pence protector parts sells for ... how much was that Belkin? Or a same protector circuit sells for £50 or £100with a Monster label. Monster has a long history of identifying profitable scams. Then selling a similar product for even higher profits.

    Protection starts with single point earth ground. Earthing that ineffective protectors will not discuss and do not connect to. Notice something completely different. An answer that also includes engineering numbers.

    Protection is always about where energy dissipates. A protector is only as effective as its earth ground.
     
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