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An Uninterruptible Power Supply Can Save Your PC
If only it were as simple as plugging your computer in and leaving the rest up
to Mother Nature. Unfortunately, PCs are finicky about what goes into them. Just
like a nutrition-conscious athlete relying on a precise dietary regimen to fuel
championship performance, a computer needs a specialized power diet to perform
to its optimal levels.
If you don't inject enough power into your PC, your system will behave erratically
or even black out (analogous to the times when you skip a meal and your blood sugar
gets dangerously low). Conversely, if you feed your computer system too much power
the excess energy will overwhelm its miniscule circuits, which are the thickness
of a human hair or even slimmer. As any experienced computer user knows a PC with
millions of fried circuits is not a lovely thing.
Keeping Your PC Safe from Harm
We call on our computers to do an extraordinary number of tasks, requiring a
great deal of electrical energy. It's easy to think of them as indestructible,
mistakenly believing that their only enemies are viruses and obsolescence. Yet
your PC is a fragile machine that must be protected. As it turns out, the
biggest threats to your PC's health, even survival, are sudden increases or
spikes in the amount of electricity that flows into your system.
Outside influences not under your control, like fallen power lines are a bolt
of lightning that strikes too close to home, can have a perilous impact on your
power supply by delivering a surge of electricity right into your mother board.
You might as well get out your trumpet and begin playing Taps when your
motherboard gets toasted in this manner.
Safeguard Your System with Top-Notch Surge Protection
You absolutely MUST have a surge protector to guard your system against
electrical spikes and surges, and do NOT sacrifice quality to save a few
dollars. Leaving your PC with inferior surge protection is tantamount to
inviting unthinkable disaster. You might as well start planning your CPU's
burial ceremonies.
Make sure you choose a high-quality surge protector, even if it costs you a few
bucks more than you'd spend on a cheaper model. The low-end surge protectors
usually cannot provide the shielding your machine needs. At the very least, your
surge protector should meet the Underwriters Laboratories' UL 1449 specification.
These specifications are usually indicated on the package.
If you live in an area that's often hit by electrical storms you should get a
surge protector that includes an indicator light that confirms it is working
properly. Many surge protectors lose their ability to provide protection against
excess current after only one high-voltage surge. Because the unit will still
provide power to your computer, if it lacks an indicator light you will not know
if it can no longer guard against power surges. Some surge protectors come
equipped with alarms that sound off when a surge has harmed the unit.
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Don't Leave Your Phone and Modem Lines Unprotected
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Remember, your PC isn't your only device that needs protection against unwanted
power surges. Your phone and modem are just as vulnerable to the aggression of
spiking power. Phone line protectors are available as separate products, or as
an added feature of your surge protector.
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