I'm a college student and often have to transport my PC between school and home. The electrical wiring at my home is quite old and can be prone to power outages or circuit breaker trips, especially when multiple appliances are in use. I'm thinking about investing in a UPS to protect my PC from power surges and outages, but I'm uncertain if I should connect my entire setup, which includes my mesh Wi-Fi point, monitors, and headphone amp, to the UPS or if I should just plug my PC into it while using a separate surge protector for the rest of my equipment. If I choose a UPS that can handle the wattage for my PC, would it be fine to connect everything to it? Essentially, I'm wondering if a UPS can replace a surge protector or if it should only be used for my PC.
4 Answers
A UPS should supply both power and surge protection. I keep my main gear on UPS while my mesh Wi-Fi satellites are just on typical surge protectors. If you're moving all this equipment back and forth, do you really need to bring it all each time?
Plug all your essential and expensive equipment into surge protectors, while anything critical, like your PC, should definitely go on a UPS to avoid losing work. And hey, make sure all your university files are backed up in the cloud! By the way, have you thought about getting the wiring in your parents' house checked? It might be a worthwhile investment in the long run, even if it's a bit pricey.
Just a heads-up, PCs and their power supplies might not work well with battery power due to fluctuations.
Most UPS units come with both battery backup slots and separate surge protection slots, so you can actually cover both bases if needed! Just check the specs on the one you're considering to make sure it fits all your equipment.
Yes, a UPS does provide surge protection as well as power backup. Just be sure to get one with a pure sine wave output, especially for sensitive equipment like PCs. It's crucial for running your setup smoothly.
It's tough! My parents' house is also quite old and the wiring is weak. Rewiring the entire house can be expensive, so I totally get that it might not be in the budget.