Surge protection do we really need it?

[dr emulator (madmax)]

well i've been thinking about doing this poll for some time now, and would like members views on these devices


things i'd like to know

whether you use some form of protection

or if you don't use any


what types of protection you have (i'e manufacturer/ model)


if you think they are they worth it


and also if you have you had any bad experiences with these types of devices in the past


why do i ask?

well i've only had this one i'm using now for a short while (i bought it because it was on offer and thought i needed one to protect the new i7), and as many may know i've had random poping noises when i switch on my pc at the wall socket which seriously worries me (i've still not been able to record the noise yet )

i'd not used one before i got the i7, so i'm pretty sure my other hx 650watt power supply was damaged by the surge protector i got

could it be the surge protector that's somehow gone wrong damaging my powersuppy?

the views expressed here are the authors and are in no way linked to techpowerup or any of it's affiliates ​

 

[MadClown]

Ive had two antecs die on me within the same year while not using a surge protector, you be the judge

 

[dr emulator (madmax)]

do you use any now ?
and if yes what type?

 

[Bo$$]

in the UK the power is much cleaner, it would help in case of a surge or spike if your area had a power cut but we usually dont have troubles why leave it to chance for £10?

 

[Krony]

I use a Belkin, they only about £10 so not worth the risk not using really

 

[newtekie1]

I'm more concerned with a good UPS to protect against brown outs.

I've seen many a pieces of equipment die from a power surge, even when connected directly to a surge protector and the surge protector never even tripped.

 

[trickson]

It would be better to have a APC to protect from " Bad or dirty " Power brown outs and power surges . This is the main reason I use a APC battery back up . Nothing can kill your equipment faster than a power surge or spike ! Or even the worst of all loss of power totally ! while a surge protector is ok I would caution against it and go with a APC battery back up .

 

[Bo$$]

I'm more concerned with a good UPS to protect against brown outs.

I've seen many a pieces of equipment die from a power surge, even when connected directly to a surge protector and the surge protector never even tripped.

in the UK we have NEVER experienced any of these things, just keep a basic surge protector as a precaution, in the US these issues are much more common, they are cheap and just buy a decent 4 or 6 way splitter with surge protection and be done with it

im using one called a master plug, gives you a warranty upto £10000 if anything dies on it

 

[[I.R.A]_FBi]

lightning storm killed my phone charger thru the surge protector,

APC PER7 1.83m 7 Outlets 240 Joules Personal Surge...

im gonna level it up to a voltage regulator next

 

[slyfox2151]

surge protectors are not designed to withstand a lightning strike , they are to stop random surges from anything such as a faulty transformer... or a power line arcing. they are definetly not intended to stop lightning....


that being said, i use a Powerguard http://powerguard.com.au/prod/plugin/pgextht.html on my PC, i got it for $5 due to damaged packaging lol......

 

[overclocking101]

I rock a surge protector. I've lost 2 psu's to power outages before getting the one I have now, it's worth it for me

 

[EarthDog]

Never have used. Never been burned by anything that could have been prevented by a surge protector. Several power outages a year at my place.

I dont know much about PSU's outside what good brands are (thanks oklahoma Wolf!!) but dont modern ones just blow a fuse or crap out before it takes your entire rig out?

Also, the protection any inexpensive surge protector gives you is nothing.

 

[MohawkAngel]

I'm in Quebec and we often have surge during storms but the whole system i think regulate the peaks shuttig down the breakers on the transformers before it come in. But i still use a kensington power bar and my mobo is having anti-surge . asus got it but it does not protect the hdd and other drives i suppose.

 

[Thatguy]

given the nature of a switch mode power supply, the power supply is basically a surge protector. Back in the old heavy iron IE core power supply days. Line voltage spikes could easily kill a power supply. Today, not so much. Plus the internal current limiting would most likely stomp out any residual problems.

 

[fullinfusion]

I use an APC 500W unit which isnt nearly strong enough to even let my rig shut down during an outage. I use it for the clean stable power it delievers. I dont get any flucuations in power after it passes through the APC

Plus It helps over clocking to

 

[robn]

...gives you a warranty upto £10000 if anything dies on it

That's the key thing for a small power-strip type surge protector; they don't provide much protection at all, but they do provide financial insurance.

You pay your $20 for financially covering your gear if it gets fried by a surge when plugged into the protector. Said exactly that on a Belkin protector I had from PC World (lol, was over priced, I learnt a lesson).

Now before anyone disagrees, these protectors do feature components (typically a bunch of MOVs) which block surges getting through, but they are worn out as much by frequent small (unnoticeable) problems as by a lightning strike, so there often isn't any protection left when a big surge comes along. Furthermore, lightning jumps over a mile through the air - PCB components can't do magic and protect from that size of surge. Some protectors have an LED that lights to show if the protector is still effective.

The key thing is to make sure you use the protector as the manufacturer says to avoid forfeiting your right to claim when something goes bad. To quote Belkin's Connected Equipment Warranty

The CEW is simply an insurance that Belkin as a manufacturer is offering directly to its customers in case a power imbalance is damaging any of your devices connected to a Belkin Surge Protector.
In order to make sure this insurance is valid please make sure that:
The Surge Protector is properly connected, with no adapters, to the main power line**
The Surge Protector is connected to an earthed socket, and that the light "earthed or protected"*** in switch on.**
The electrical device is properly connected, with no adapters, to the Surge Protector**
No Surge Protector is daisy chained with other Surge Protectors or any other power strips or UPS**
No Surge Protector is at risk of contact with any liquid**

UPSs and solenoid conditioners provide much more actual protection, helpful Dan's data article here.

 

[Swamp Monster]

I couldn't decide and I will explain why, referring to poll if u dont mind
1)yes we need surge protection - It's better to have double surge protection, than have weak one. That is why I vote 1st option.
2)no not with modern pc powersupplies - They do have integrated Surge supression, but it might be incomplete, weak(skimping on components etc.).
3)no it's just a gimick they aren't worth it, and might cause more harm than good - Also true, because they sometimes catch fire when real surge happens- reported by firefighters. But same components that catch fire are also present in PSUs

I use surge protector. I bought it long time ago, when I knew nothing about it. Cheap Gembird brand $12. Once I had a "site fault" accident at home (about 420v vs 220v in wall outlet)-It blew up with loud noise. When I repaired it, I saw the same circuit and components as in any PSU. That means that using cheap surge protector, you can double what your PSU already has, so it is not completely useless. Feel free to ask questions! Picture of cheap stuff insides:

 

[hellrazor]

My cousin just got his power supply fried from power outages, so I voted numero uno.

 

[trickson]

One of the main reasons I will never use a power strip surge protector is they are not good at all in protecting a computer . A computer needs more than just a surge protector . This is why I only use APC battery back up's . When power surges through the line the APC will clean it up kicking over to battery when this happens protecting your computer preventing it from getting fried by brown outs , Power outages , Lightning strikes and even a power surge ! Thing is if you just use a power strip surge protector you are leaving your computer and all the hardware in it open for hardware failure . I put too much cash time and work into mine to skimp on the power input so I always us APC battery back up for top 100% clean power and protection .

 

[Thatguy]

My cousin just got his power supply fried from power outages, so I voted numero uno.

I doubt that, likely it was just a crappy power supply.

 

[westom]

well i've been thinking about doing this poll for some time now, and would like members views on these devices

Your poll has a serious problem. It does not differential between protectors that actually are part of a protection system. And other protectors that are profit centers; that do not even claim protection in their numeric specs.

For example, that popping is noise. Maybe tens of volts. A surge protector will say on its box a let-through voltage. Any voltage less than a maybe 500 volts is completely ignored by a protector.

Others confuse a brownout (that is harmful to motorized appliances) - diminished voltage - with a surge (which is thousands of volts)

Well, what do you want to protect from? Noise (popping)? Surges? Brownouts? Harmonics? Bad power factor? Frequency changes? Which problem? Nothing protects from all - despite so many urban myths that assume all are same. Which one do you want to protect from?

What is 'dirtiest' power an appliance might see? From a UPS in battery backup mode. Power so 'dirty' as to be harmful to small electric motors or power strip protectors. And that same power is ideal perfect for all electronics. Superior protection already inside all electronics makes 'dirtiest' power from a UPS irrelevant.

That same internal protection is why potentially destructive surge occurs throughout the world maybe once every seven years. And less often in the UK. But myths that promote surges get the most naive to blame surges for what are only manufacturing defects. Most appliance failures are from manufacturing defects; not from surges.

Meanwhile, only thing that can protect from that rare and destructive surge must be distant from electronics and connected as close as possible to earth ground.

So, what are you trying to protect from. Obviously, you must read each manufacturer spec number to have an answer. What has protection inferior to a power strip protector? A UPS. Don't take my word for it. Read the spec numbers. UPS has a least number of joules. Just above zero so that it can claim surge protection. But those educated only by hearsay never bothered to first learn these numbers.

And that is the point. Learn from technical facts with numbers. Other will either help you find those specs. Or promote a scam without any numbers. That tells you where to find an honest answer. The only useful answer comes with the reasons why AND the always required spec numbers.

 

[Thatguy]

Your poll has a serious problem. It does not differential between protectors that actually are part of a protection system. And other protectors that are profit centers; that do not even claim protection in their numeric specs.

For example, that popping is noise. Maybe tens of volts. A surge protector will say on its box a let-through voltage. Any voltage less than a maybe 500 volts is completely ignored by a protector.

Others confuse a brownout (that is harmful to motorized appliances) - diminished voltage - with a surge (which is thousands of volts)

Well, what do you want to protect from? Noise (popping)? Surges? Brownouts? Harmonics? Bad power factor? Frequency changes? Which problem? Nothing protects from all - despite so many urban myths that assume all are same. Which one do you want to protect from?

What is 'dirtiest' power an appliance might see? From a UPS in battery backup mode. Power so 'dirty' as to be harmful to small electric motors or power strip protectors. And that same power is ideal perfect for all electronics. Superior protection already inside all electronics makes 'dirtiest' power from a UPS irrelevant.

That same internal protection is why potentially destructive surge occurs throughout the world maybe once every seven years. And less often in the UK. But myths that promote surges get the most naive to blame surges for what are only manufacturing defects. Most appliance failures are from manufacturing defects; not from surges.

Meanwhile, only thing that can protect from that rare and destructive surge must be distant from electronics and connected as close as possible to earth ground.

So, what are you trying to protect from. Obviously, you must read each manufacturer spec number to have an answer. What has protection inferior to a power strip protector? A UPS. Don't take my word for it. Read the spec numbers. UPS has a least number of joules. Just above zero so that it can claim surge protection. But those educated only by hearsay never bothered to first learn these numbers.

And that is the point. Learn from technical facts with numbers. Other will either help you find those specs. Or promote a scam without any numbers. That tells you where to find an honest answer. The only useful answer comes with the reasons why AND the always required spec numbers.

furman Power Conditers, I run one in my bass rig. Works great.

 

[Soylent Joe]

I think a good surge protector is a great investment. Although modern solid PSU's protect well against the small surges that happen very frequently, a good protector adds a lot to the barrier. Also, they turn one AC plug into as many as 10 or 12, which makes us geeks that much happier.

 

[dr emulator (madmax)]

I couldn't decide and I will explain why, referring to poll if u dont mind
1)yes we need surge protection - It's better to have double surge protection, than have weak one. That is why I vote 1st option.
2)no not with modern pc powersupplies - They do have integrated Surge supression, but it might be incomplete, weak(skimping on components etc.).
3)no it's just a gimick they aren't worth it, and might cause more harm than good - Also true, because they sometimes catch fire when real surge happens- reported by firefighters. But same components that catch fire are also present in PSUs

I use surge protector. I bought it long time ago, when I knew nothing about it. Cheap Gembird brand $12. Once I had a "site fault" accident at home (about 420v vs 220v in wall outlet)-It blew up with loud noise. When I repaired it, I saw the same circuit and components as in any PSU. That means that using cheap surge protector, you can double what your PSU already has, so it is not completely worthless. Feel free to ask questions! Picture of cheap stuff insides:

looks like they skimped out on one of the components
although it doesn't look as bare as this belkin i was given

more pics in this thread

 

[dr emulator (madmax)]

Your poll has a serious problem. It does not differential between protectors that actually are part of a protection system. And other protectors that are profit centers; that do not even claim protection in their numeric specs.

For example, that popping is noise. Maybe tens of volts. A surge protector will say on its box a let-through voltage. Any voltage less than a maybe 500 volts is completely ignored by a protector.

Others confuse a brownout (that is harmful to motorized appliances) - diminished voltage - with a surge (which is thousands of volts)

Well, what do you want to protect from? Noise (popping)? Surges? Brownouts? Harmonics? Bad power factor? Frequency changes? Which problem? Nothing protects from all - despite so many urban myths that assume all are same. Which one do you want to protect from?

What is 'dirtiest' power an appliance might see? From a UPS in battery backup mode. Power so 'dirty' as to be harmful to small electric motors or power strip protectors. And that same power is ideal perfect for all electronics. Superior protection already inside all electronics makes 'dirtiest' power from a UPS irrelevant.

That same internal protection is why potentially destructive surge occurs throughout the world maybe once every seven years. And less often in the UK. But myths that promote surges get the most naive to blame surges for what are only manufacturing defects. Most appliance failures are from manufacturing defects; not from surges.

Meanwhile, only thing that can protect from that rare and destructive surge must be distant from electronics and connected as close as possible to earth ground.

So, what are you trying to protect from. Obviously, you must read each manufacturer spec number to have an answer. What has protection inferior to a power strip protector? A UPS. Don't take my word for it. Read the spec numbers. UPS has a least number of joules. Just above zero so that it can claim surge protection. But those educated only by hearsay never bothered to first learn these numbers.

And that is the point. Learn from technical facts with numbers. Other will either help you find those specs. Or promote a scam without any numbers. That tells you where to find an honest answer. The only useful answer comes with the reasons why AND the always required spec numbers.

feel free to pm me any suggestions of things to add/subtract from it and i'll see what can be changed