Do I Need a UPS?

[Steady Teddy]

The neiborhood that I live in averages about 2-3 power outages a month. Usually the outages only last for a few seconds. Sometimes a few minutes or more.
I'm wondering what is the risk of damage to my pc. I leave my system on 24/6 and I power down one day a week.
I'm guessing the most vulnerable piece of hardware that could be subject to damage from a sudden power loss is my Hard Drive.
I've been thinking about investing in an Uninteruptable Power Supply.
I only use my pc for web browsing and gaming. I never use it for any business applications or important documents so that is the reason I never really considered buying a UPS before as I'm not worried about losing any unsaved data. But I'm getting tired of the intermittent power outages and wonder if I'm playing Russion Roulette by not protecting my pc as best I could.
Ive had a surge protector to avoid spiking since I had my first pc (APC PRO8T2) and I originally thought that this would be sufficient.

Another question about a UPS: What happens when my pc is running all day but I'm not home?? Let's say the UPS will keep my pc running for 15 minutes after a power loss. What will happen after that? If a power outage lasts for an hour or so and I'm not home to safely shut down my pc, the UPS wouldn't help my cause would it? Is there a UPS that would safely shut down my pc after a certain period of time?

Considering that I only use my pc for web browsing/gaming, should I still purchase a UPS?? Are the NEWER Hard Drives more vulnerable to damage since they are generally faster?

Thanks in advance

[N'kosi]

@steady teddy
As far as I know the only damage that will occur is that you would lose any data that windows usually writes back to the hard drive when closing down normally. The heads on the newer hard drive are self parking and therefore there should be no physical damage to the drive. If you can afford a UPS then I suggest that you purchase one any way.

[Confused]

Depending upon wattage your PC uses and UPS size you should have 10 to 30 min. of power with 15 minutes about average. Some UPS systems have the ability to shut down your PC automatically after a period of time. You need to research as I'm not sure whether they are OS dependant on automatic shutdown. Some to look at are APC, Belkin, Blackout Buster.

I consider a UPS system cheap insurance. The better ones not only give you a margin to shut down normally during a power outage, they also condition the power protecting against spikes and brownouts.
Chas

[ZANEY123]

hey steady,

i would rec one it is a cheap investment for what it could save you in the long run,, apc sells a es350ups for about 49.00 us and that is not alot compared to a good surge protecter anyway. it has about a 10 min backup and comes with a serial cable( i think new ones have a usb cable that comes with a autoshutdown feature, so like you said a bout being away it would shut it down for you.,,,and if you are running xp apc's shutdown software is xp approved,


also to back what confused said it would cover you for the brownouts and spikes that eventually will shorten the life off all electrical parts.

[demoduck]

A UPS is a good investment...take it from someone who learned the hard way. I live on a island that frequently has power outages and brownouts due to Typhoons, snakes, ect. I had my computer hooked up to a surge protector only. Needless to say, after a while the power supply was damaged from the power outages and fluctuations. I now have my system plugged into a UPS by CyberPower. It cost $50.00 and comes with software and USB connection that automatically will shut the computer down after a specified time.

[BFD Deadeye]

Yes, a UPS is recommendable in this situation. Get one with a removable battery. NiCd batteries will build a "memory" after time, and will be unusable in 2-3 years. They need to be replaced. If you get one with an interchangeable battery, your cost will only be half of a new UPS.

I wonder why they aren't manufacturing UPS's with Metal Hydride batteries? No memory buildup, and typically they can offer twice the run time of the same sized NiCd counterparts. Is MH too tempermental still?

[HAL9000]

YES, Get a UPS. If you're having that many outages, you have to question how many sags and surges you're getting that you don't know about. These will definitely shorten the lifespan of your PC. Get the UPS and don't look back on the expense.

[Steady Teddy]

Is anyone familiar with "Minute Man" brand UPS? The one I'm looking at has the auto shutdown feature and replaceable battery. Price is about $100.

[Lord Prism]

http://forum.pcmech.com/showthread.p...&highlight=ups

Some units come with software that will safely shut down your pc when you aren't there.

Good luck,

[Tuf]

I wouldn't even consider leaving my network up without UPSs.

[Steady Teddy]

Thanks for all your input.

Yesterday I bought an APC Back UPS 350 for $89 (U.S.).