Laptop surge protection? - advice please!

Hi all.

Just got my new laptop and was contemplating surge protection. Anyone have any idea of the best small sized unit available? (UK not US)

Have seen some by Belkin, in line units that seem to plug into the power block.

Are there any drawbacks to using one? - anything i should look for specifically? - do they afect the power getting to the laptop? (mine's an Asus G73JH which is pretty hungry i think so would using one limit or affect power supply?

Any advice greatly appreciated

 

I have been using suppressors like this for years (that is for a fig-8 (2 pin) connector - the one for the cloverleaf (3 pin) connector is here. They make no difference in normal use but are meant to die and block any surge before the computer or PSU gets zapped. The Belkin offering looks OK except it is more bulky than the ones I use.

John

 

so, these devices dont alter (in any wa y shape or form) the power required by the laptop and they are safe to use - i didnt know if i should be looking out for specific ratings etc (obviously 240v for UK)?

 

Are they safe? These should be a requirements! In fact, it's more unsafe not to have one.

Some people will just use their laptop with the battery installed, as an inexpensive means of protecting data. But that's only good for brownouts; and in fact, a much more expensive way to protect data than a UPS unit.

In addition, it does nothing to protect your computer from power surge and spikes. An investment of about $40-$50 should be fine but I'd go with APC instead of Belkins--which tend to be way overpriced. Anything more will just adds convenience.

 

i can get one of the belkins kind for only £4 - seemed like a good deal to me - just wanted to be sure of compatability and any possible implications of using one!

 

I've never seen those types before! Can anyone else talk about their reliability? If they do work, I'm going to grab a couple.

 

Think i will go for the belkin one even though its a tad bigger, it does come with a lifetime warranty and offers financial coverage should anything go pear shaped.

For under £5 from Ebay UK, dont think i can go far wrong with that eh?

 

Try looking at these, they have the highest joules ratings you can find in a mobile form factor.

TRAVELERC6 - 2 (C6) 3-prong connectors, in-line surge suppressor with 1 in/2 out tel/modem surge protection

or

TRAVELERC8 - Protect It! Surge Suppressor - TRAVELERC8 In-Line Surge Suppressor

 

Thanks for that

Think i will stick to the UK available Belkin as its only a few quid and i dont have to worry about importing (not worth the hassle)

 

I've been using them for several years (I travel a lot) and have no PSUs or computers blow up since I started using them. I've had one of the surge protectors die, presumably in the line of duty. The built-in neon light is also useful for indicating that there is mains power.

Check the small print on the lifetime warranty. You may need to register the equipment that you will be using.

John

 

Thanks John....duly noted! and thanks for all posts, much appreciated.

 

Got this one in the end....just bought it.

NEW BELKIN TRAVEL C6 NOTEBOOK/ LAPTOP SURGE PROTECTOR on eBay (end time 24-May-10 12:31:08 BST)

Seemed like a good deal for the money!

 

how would something like this perform?

SurgeArrest Performance - Product Information

By plugging the power back into the surge protected mains wouldn't it work well?

edit: or this? http://www.belkin.com/IWCatProductPage.process?Product_Id=135001#

 

They would work just fine as same principal involved, the 6-way block is obviously less portable....the small "in line" ones discussed above are much smaller, do the same job and are quite discrete.

The smaller of the two you ilustrate just means that surge protection takes place at the mains outlet instead before the power hits your 3 pin UK plug.

Depends on if you want small and portable i guess!