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You know, one clear sign of a PC power user is at the end of the PC's power cord. True power users will use either a surge protector or an uninterruptible power supply (UPS) to safeguard their system. However, neither will be able to protect your PC from a direct lightning hit on your home or office wiring! (That's just too much current for a surge device to handle.)
Otherwise, using both a surge protector and a UPS will help guard against less serious power surges, and both will provide additional AC sockets for your rapidly growing system. If you can afford to spend a couple hundred bucks, the UPS is the better choice for the following reasons:
- Safety nets: A UPS provides a number of extra minutes of AC power if your home or office experiences a power failure — generally enough power so that you can close any documents that you're working on (like that Great American Novel that you've been slaving over for 20 years) and then shut down your PC normally.
- Auto shutdowns: More expensive UPS models can actually shut down your PC automatically in case of a power failure.
- Current cleaners: Most UPS units filter the AC current to smooth out brownouts and noise interference from other electronic devices.
- Audible alerts: Some UPS units sound an alarm whenever a power failure or significant brownout occurs.
The number of minutes that your UPS will last during a power failure depends on the power rating of the battery. Don't forget, however, that a honking big cathode ray tube (CRT) monitor will use much more power than the PC itself, so you should allow for it when deciding on which UPS to buy.
 | If you're using a dialup, cable, or digital subscriber line (DSL) modem connection, make sure that you get a surge protector or UPS that will also protect your modem from electrical surges. That juice can travel just as easily across a phone line as across your power line. |
Power and electrical rules
Nearly everything that comes with a computer should be plugged into the wall or some similar wall-socket-like device. Ideally, the console and monitor should be plugged into a UPS, or uninterruptible power supply — a power source capable of running the computer during brief power outages.
Other devices should be plugged into a power strip or surge protector.
 | Printers can also be plugged into a power strip. A laser printer, however, should be plugged directly into the wall. (Printers don't need to be plugged into a UPS; just wait until the power comes on again to print.) |
Here are some other power and electrical issues and rules:
- Never use an extension cord to meet your power needs. People trip over extension cords and routinely unplug them.
- If you need more sockets, use a power strip or one of those multisocket adapters that plugs and screws into an existing wall socket. Avoid those plus-shaped extensions because they easily fall out of the wall socket when burdened with cables.
- Computers need grounded sockets, which must have three prongs in them.
- If a UPS has extra sockets, plug in your desk clock or an external modem.
- Not every UPS has full UPS sockets. For example, some UPS devices may have two full UPS sockets and two surge-protected sockets that aren't backed up by battery.
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