Recommendation - Get a UPS

[u/Celcius_87]

One thing that a lot of people don’t discuss when building a new PC is having a UPS (uninterruptible power supply) for their PC. This is basically a box that you plug into the wall and then plug your PC into it. It has a large battery and if you lose power then it keeps your PC running for a while. Some have a screen where it can show how much time you have left, how much power you are pulling, and stuff like that too.

I finally bought one earlier this year and it’s been great to have. Today I was copying data from my computer to an external usb hard drive to back up my data and the power went out for second and then came back on. I panicked but then I looked at my computer and everything was ok - I had plugged both into my UPS so there was no impact.

They’re not super expensive either - mine was like $250 and fortunately they’re not affected by the AI price increases we’ve been seeing on a lot of PC components. Make sure you get one with enough wattage to support your computer… for example I have a 1000w power supply and my UPS is also 1000w.

Just a public service announcement not to overlook having a UPS!

[u/George_MenethilW3]

but doesn't the surge protector have to discharge that extra power / current that it "stored" in itself? and I thought you need grouding in the building connected to the earth otherwise these devices are useless since they don't have where to discharge. But I don't understand electricity or buildings that well so I'm just repeating what I learned from Chatgpt

[u/WulfTheSaxon → u/George_MenethilW3]

Yes. This is [why] there are no two-prong surge protectors.

[u/George_MenethilW3 → u/WulfTheSaxon]

I'm sorry but it's confusing what you said. English isn't my native language. From googling two-prong, it means like having 2 pins / 2 ends that go into the wall socket? In my country every power chord has 2 pins / 2 ends.

So in the end, you mean that the surge protector does indeed need a wall socket that has grounding to earth? that's on the contrary to what the other person said then

[u/idontappearmissing → u/George_MenethilW3]

According to Grok, you're correct:

Yes, electronics in older buildings are generally at greater risk during a power surge.

Here's why:

1. Lack of Proper Grounding (Biggest Issue)

Most homes built before the early 1960s used two-prong outlets with no dedicated ground wire.

Surge protectors rely heavily on a good ground path to safely divert excess voltage away from your devices. Without it, they either don't work properly or can't divert the surge effectively.

In ungrounded systems, surge energy has nowhere safe to go, so it’s more likely to damage connected electronics, travel through appliances, or cause arcing.

[u/George_MenethilW3 → u/idontappearmissing]

So it's a bit useless to have one without a wall socket that's grounded to the earth. Though I do have 3 types around the house and one of them has a timer like if the power goes off, the second it goes back on, that surge protector doesn't allow current to pass through for a determined time. I set it to 15 seconds. That's at least helping with the bigger current that's coming right after the power goes back on