Which APC Surge Protector?

Okay I have decided on an APC surge protector for my notebook. However, which model do you guys suggest for a kid in a college dorm?

PS dont want to spend over 30

 

APC BE350R . It is a surge protector and battery backup. It is on sale at Circuit City this week for 19 dollars after rebate.

 

Funny you say that I saw it in the flyer after I posted haha

 

yea I should saw it right before I posted because I am looking for one too for my Dell 1420 that I will be using in my dorm room.

 

That looks like a pretty decent APC going on there, I'm a big fan of APC in general.

If you had loads of extra cash I'd consider getting a http://www.powersquid.com/ if you have scary old University power. It has a very high wattage (1875), joule rating, and response time (<1 nanosecond).

The only problem is that you don't get battery backup.

APC is still a very powerful surge protector, but why do you need battery backup on a laptop? (just wondering).

 

There are a few good reasons to go with a UPS even with a laptop's battery. Many universities have buildings that have very old wiring which means a lot of ripples or sags when the heating pump turns on.

Your power brick can filter all this but at a cost of shortening it's life. The APC is $20 would you rather pay $20 now or $50 for an adapter later? Most good UPS's and premium surge bars can filter ripples but only UPS's can compensate for sags or brownouts.

 

Does a laptop need a battery backup or just a surge protector?
A laptop has a battery, unlike a desktop.

I am more concerned about surge protection for AC and Ethernet and was considering a Belkin for a dorm room

http://www.amazon.com/Belkin-12-Outlet-Protector-Ethernet-Protection/dp/B000HPX46U

About $30 including shipping

 

Very good points, yeah I think I'm gunna go with the APC from circuit city

 

I'm not saying I'm right, but I can't understand why a laptop with battery needs UPS. If the power shuts down it runs off of its battery unlike a desktop which has no battery. I understand why a laptop needs a surge protector but a UPS?

And does one need a surge protector for ethernet?

 

I understand that the UPS cleans the electrical signal, but that is why I listed the powersquid, which also has EMI/RFI filters. The only advantage of the UPS listed is battery backup, which is somewhat irrelevant for a laptop.

A UPS battery backup cleans out the power by completely cutting your computer off from the power line. It accepts the power into its battery and then your computer takes from the battery. A surge protector uses a metal oxide varistor, or MOV, to divert surges and a toroidal choke coil for line conditioning. If you really need the battery backup, go for the APC. Otherwise, I think the PowerSquid is great in a college setting.

 

now i don't know what to buy. do i really need a ups system for my laptop? I am using it in an old dorm room in the fall.

 

You should make sure your university doesn't have certain requirements. My University requires you have one of three different power strips, because of fire safety, anything else (at all) isn't allowed.

 

If you aren't stressing out the APC UPS by putting silly things like microwaves, irons, hair dryers, or refrigerators on it then it should be fine. Putting a laptop, external hard drive, and small television on one of those should be fine.

Otherwise, I'd go for the APC SurgeArrest Performance if you don't really need the battery backup.

This model is 35 dollars.

 

APC is garbage. Poorly designed with float voltage set too high. This kills batteries fast. In a UPS, the battery should last 6 years. In an APC brand UPS, they only last 3, due to the float voltage being set too high. It's how they make their money - selling you another battery (or another ups unit). I'd avoid APC and their crappy garbage products and look at Tripp lite or some other brand. Anything but APC.

 

This is exactly what companies like APC like for you to think. Do you really think your power brick's life is going to be noticably shortened from power line ripples??? Not to mention you need to be replacing that APC battery fairly regularly... None of the consumer-priced APC stuff has ever impressed me. I can probably count on one hand the number of power bricks that go bad where I work in a year, however I can assure you there is a steady stream of replacement dekstop and laptop APC UPS units and replacement batteries coming in at all times.

 

I use belkin, tripplite, and apc surge supressors. All of them have served me darn well! On the UPS side I've only used apc, it did what it was designed to and interfaces well with my PC (through parallel).

I don't think any of these companies' surge suppressors are at all bad, except for the fact that all of them use a silly data grounding system that will fry your data packets if you happen to have a power surge. Anyone know if suppressor tech has advanced to the point that data and power don't use the same ground wire?