[damiensmunki]

So...I recently invested more in a computer than I ever have. It follows that I'm nervous about something happening to my new baby. I've never purchased an UPS before, but I've owned many surge protectors. I don't care about the battery backup (being able to run the computer during a power outage). I just want whatever will be most effective in preventing damage (lightning, spikes, surges, etc.) to my beautiful new Mac Pro. What do you guys think? Is a surge protector or an UPS more effective? Thanks for any input!
Rob

[ghporter]

UPS all the way. It puts an ACTIVE layer of protection between the mains and your computer, whereas a surge protector simply has passive components that (are supposed to) fail open when surges come in. Since the power comes through a more complex sensing circuit, there's more of the UPS to absorb really big hits, like nearby lightning (a direct hit is considered an Act of God in most cases, though you might get a good UPS maker to honor the warranty even in this case). And don't downplay the ability to gracefully shut down during a power failure!

Get an UPS from a well regarded maker like APC or Tripplite (their warrantees are great too), that is rated for more volt-amps than you'll need (the conversion is on the product's box) as a minimum get a 500 V-A device. They aren't very expensive and are worth MORE than what they cost.

[Cadaver]

I have a big-ass UPS from Belkin, and it works fantastically. 1500VA, 830 watts. Keeps my Mac Pro, 30" display and 5 external hard drives quite happy.

[Macola]

If you don't care about battery backup or brownouts, then I'd say get a good surge protector (one that's rated above 2400 Joules or so). They can be more effective during a lightning strike than the surge protection circuits built into a typical UPS (which usually has a much lower rating). I've had the misfortune to experience a lightning strike many years ago, and a few pieces of equipment on surge protectors survived, while my computers on UPS (good ones from APC) were fried.

[ghporter]

Originally Posted by Macola

I've had the misfortune to experience a lightning strike many years ago, and a few pieces of equipment on surge protectors survived, while my computers on UPS (good ones from APC) were fried.

My experience was the exact opposite-the computer on the UPS barely noticed a lightning strike two houses down, but I lost my amp, my satellite receiver, my modem and answering machine (there was a chunk blown out of one of the modem's chips!). These were all on high-quality, highly rated suppressors. The telephone line protection seems to have been particularly ineffective.

I think this kind of thing depends on exactly where the lightning touches and how the wiring around the house is distributed. I believe the phone equipment died because the pulse from the strike was picked up by telco wiring across the front room. The fried stereo and TV equipment got fried THROUGH surge suppressors-one the amp was on and a different one (recommended for satellite TV installations, by the way) the sat receiver was on. It cost me a lot to get that stuff replaced!

[Macola]

I think you're right, ghporter. The exact nature of the strike (ours was a direct hit, but no physical damage to the house) makes a difference. Also, the UPS models that I have now have much better surge protection than an equivalent model from 6 years ago. If you just go by the Joule rating, however, I still see much higher ratings on good surge protectors than on UPS. In theory, that should translate to better protection against extreme surges (as in lightning hits).

In practice, I'm not sure if anything can protect electronic equipment 100% from a direct hit. The only way to do that is to unplug everything before a storm.

[ghporter]

Joule rating is only half of the equation. You need to look at response time too. A fifty bazillion joule rating won't help at all if the response time is in milliseconds instead of nanoseconds (or better, picoseconds). It's fairly easy to find MOVs (metal oxide varesistors-the active surge busting component in supressors) that can recognize and react to high surge currents, but the higher the current rating the harder it is to make reaction time short. For this application, you need both. I would at least focus on surge protectors from "good" companies like APC. At least they have a history of not trying to pull the wool over customers' eyes.

[PattyK]

I bought a UPS and plugged it in last night, but when my Mac Pro tried to wake up the UPS killed power to all UPS outlets. I will try to see if disabling the software that came with the UPS will solve the problem.

[ghporter]

Patty, what volt-amp rating does the UPS you bought have, and did you let it charge fully before you plugged the Mac Pro into it? Typically UPSs will do fine if they are plugged into a properly connected and rated outlet (which brings up the question "did the Mac Pro work on the outlet you plugged the UPS into?"), but certain outlet wiring errors can cause them to give you problems. In your case, it sounds like the Mac Pro was pulling more current that the UPS was ready to provide, and if it was plugged into a working outlet, that sounds suspiciously like a bad UPS...

[ginoledesma]

I'd also recommend a UPS, but I've had the misfortune of having my iMac's ethernet port die out due to a power fluctuation. Thank goodness these Macs have WiFi as an alternate means of connecting to the network. If you want to go the extra mile, you might always want to get something like APC's ProtectNet to cover all paths of electrical surges.