Hey everyone! I'm super excited because I'm about to get my new PC setup soon! However, I live in an area that experiences power cuts often due to generator maintenance or heavy rain, which can cause outages for a few minutes. I'm on a tight budget and can't afford a UPS (uninterruptible power supply) right now. My question is, can a surge protector alone keep my PC safe from damage during these power interruptions? Here are my specs for your reference: Ryzen 5 5700x3d, 32GB RAM at 3600MHz, B550 Asus TUF motherboard, a 1st Player Steampunk 850W power supply, and a 5060Ti with 16GB. Thanks for any advice!
1 Answer
A surge protector is definitely better than nothing, but it’s not foolproof. It mainly protects against voltage spikes when power comes back on, but it won’t save you from brownouts, flickering power, or sudden blackouts, all of which can harm your components or corrupt data. Given your frequent power cuts and generator issues, I really suggest saving up for a UPS when you can. Even a basic model can give you a few extra minutes to shut down safely, and that could help prevent hardware damage or data loss. An entry-level UPS typically starts around $50. Take care of your investment!
Yeah, I get that! But I still won’t have enough for it right now. I’ll only have enough for the GPU for now, but I really hope the surge protector at least keeps it from getting fried.