Surge protection for notebook

What do you guys use to protect your notebook? I have a cheap power surger, and was wondering if anyone can recommend a cheap but effective way to protect my little investment. Thanks.

 

Get a surge protector, but you already have one...

 

no really. is there any major difference from upgrading to a higher quality surge protector, or am I just fine with mine that cost about $20.

 

Higher quality surge protectors look better, and have more holes.

 

i should get one but im to lazy =p and we never get surges. or if we do my desktop never got fried. and i never had it plugged up to one for almost 4 years. its just plugged strait into the wall.

 

I would say it doesn't matter what brand you have as long as it has a warranty/protection guarantee (like most reputable brands do!!).

 

This is not true. The technologies for surge protection vary widely, and most of the cheaper solutions will wear out over time. The more you spend on one, the better the protection usually. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surge_protector

Good luck trying to collect on a warranty like that.

 

I live in the second highest house, in the second highest place in Florida, in the second most lightning struck place on earth. Having been hit by many hurricanes in the past few years, trees are still falling over and takiing out powerlines everytime the wind kicks up or it rains. I can speak volumes on the subject, having had all sorts of stuff fried, including laptops.

First let me say that if you ever have to take advantage of the "connected equipment guarentees" for surge protectors (ie: $75,000 and so forth in protection as claimed), you may be very disappointed in the outcome if you ever have to make a claim. Belkin will make you jump all sorts of hoops, including spending your own money to have your laptop sent off for repair estimates at your expense, then they will offer you fraction of its worth.

Your homeowners insurance may cover a surge. We never make a surge related claim, since we have an "insurance crises" here in Florida due to hurriicanes, and do not want to get canceled.

Your power company may also offer surge protection and a policy for your equipment.

Even your credit card company may offer some protection.

Now on to the good/bad stuff about your notebook and surge protectors...

First, your notebook (with the battery plugged in) is its own UPS, and will easily survive most common non-lightning related surges, brownouts, and overvoltages on its own.

Your biggest threat is lightning (that is a really big surge). I own a sailboat, and can state without any doubt that your best protection is a really good lighting rod (and I am gonna put one in at the house), coupled with being inside a grounded Faraday cage (the sailboat rigging). Since that is probably not practical, you next best bet is a UPS that always provides it's power from the battery. Those are kinda pricey, tend to be very large, and very heavy. Again, probably not very practical for a portable laptop, aside from use at a desk.

Finally, if you do get hit by lightning, on the high side, probably only 4 out of 5 UPS's are gonna survive (figure an 80% survival rate, and figure you gotta replace them all after they have been hit, since the surge-y-ness factor is perhaps not so good afterwords). Non UPS surge units will usually have a higher failure rate.

Next, most surge companys will make you send in the registration card, and state exactly what you are plugging in to it. If it is not listed on the registration card, its not covered. Belkin is an exception to this common rule.

You will want to make sure that all paths to the notebook are surge protected. In other words, if you are connected to an network or phone cable that is not protected, then your notebook may get fried.

Also, most surges have a coverage exclusion if you hook up to anything but a grounded electrical outlet. For example, you cannot use an extension cord, and you cannot plug into another surge protector (daisy chaining) and so forth.

The very best surge protection for your HP notebook is the accidental damage protection offered with a HP service plan. It covers everything, including surges, and I have had very good experience(s) with making accident claims with HP. For example, I have sent them what was "a pile of smodlering plastic", and they sent back upgraded units better than what I sent them. Once they even sent me a list of upgraded machines to pick from.

Currently, (although I am not a APC fan), I use a APC in line surge protector (Model PNOTEPROC6) made for notebooks, with a optional 15 foot cord. This little surge protector has a velcro belt, and allows you to tie it to your power brick. It also has protection for a phone line and eithernet cable. They make two verisons of this protector: one for the "Mickey Mouse" style 3 prong cord, and one for notebooks that have the two prong cord.

I think this little surge unit is probably absolutly worthless, but it does give me the warm fuzzies. For this reason, when traveling, I almost always carry at least one spare laptop of identical design.

The 15 foot cord was very hard to find, and is quite nice for use in hotels and the like. it also gets around the surge protection exclusion for plugging into an extension cord.

For the surge, the best price I have found ($14.99) is here:

APC SURGEARREST NOTEBOOKPRO C6 W/TEL/NET 100-240V

http://shop2.outpost.com/product/4138573?site=sr:SEARCH:MAIN_RSLT_PG

For the 15 foot cord ($9), see:
NEMA 5-15P to IEC C5 Cable -- 10 Amps, 125 Volts; 3 wires (18AWG, SPT-2) -- 15 ft., Black

http://www.stayonline.com/detail.aspx?ID=5541

Ok. I said I could speak volumes on the subject, so consider this to be the cliff notes version

Hope this helps,

Joe