Surge protector for PC

[anomaly]

In case of a blackout, i wanted to make sure my pc has enough juice for like 15 mins so i can shut it down atleast. my friend says most pcs nowadays have surge protectors or whatever its called to protect the pc incase of a blackout. i wanted to know if my pc has one?

anyway here is a pic of my psu. does it have the surge protector thing?

 

[OnePostWonder]

To be blunt, that isn't a higher quality PSU. I doubt it has built-in surge protection and if it does, it probably isn't that good.

If you're just curious, there's one answer. If you're looking to buy surge protection and are on a limited budget, you can either buy a decent surge protector or, and possibly better yet, you can invest in a better PSU.

 

[FordGT90Concept]

The phrase you're looking for is an uninterruptible power supply (UPS). The power supply is plugged into a UPS. UPSs are always separate from the computer so no, if you didn't hook the computer into one, you don't have one. Cyber Power Systems PFC Sinewave UPSs will do the trick. They're relatively cheap and good:
http://www.cyberpowersystems.com/products/ups-systems/adaptive-sinewave-series.html

CP1500PFCLCD won't break the bank and as long as you don't have anything too heavy plugged in, could last 15 minutes. Keep in mind that UPS's are intended to keep the computer on long enough to save your work and gracefully turn the computer off. They aren't intended to run the computer for extended periods of time. Electric generators are better for that.

 

[anomaly]

ok thanks guys. so is there a psu that has a built in surge protector?

again, i pretty much want to have the pc be able to run long enough to save anything and shut the comp off in case of a blackout. in my building, during a storm, there are blackouts that last a couple seconds at most, but they will shut the comp off risking data loss. so i want to avoid this. when i was using my laptop, this wasnt an issue.

 

[TRWOV]

Your Cooler Master Elite Power 500 has over current protection which is what a surge protector does. If you want your PC to keep going after a blackout you need an UPS as FordGT said. Most PSUs have a holdup time measured in miliseconds, I doubt there's one with a capacitor large enough to supply the PC with power for a minute, let alone 15.

 

[FordGT90Concept]

ok thanks guys. so is there a psu that has a built in surge protector?

Most PSUs have "over current protection" as TRWOV said. None will survive a major surge which is why surge supressors are sold separately. When a surge surpressor sees a major spike in current, a fuse breaks sending the surge into the ground (theoretically) instead of into your devices.

Let me clear this up...
PSU = AC to DC converter either found in a power brick on laptops or in the computer on desktops/servers.
surge supressor = something intended to try to protect from surges (e.g. indirect lightning strikes).
uninteruptible power supply = a battery to power plugged in devices (often has a surge supressor too).

If you want your desktop to behave like a laptop (albeit for a much shorter time), you need a uninteruptible power supply. Again, see the link above.

 

[westom]

so is there a psu that has a built in surge protector?

again, i pretty much want to have the pc be able to run long enough to save anything and shut the comp off in case of a blackout.

Which problem do you want to solve? A surge protector is for an anomaly that is completely different from a brownout or blackout. The latter is near zero volts. The former is thousands of volts. Which anomaly do you want to solve? Nothing solves both.

All electronics contained some protection even long before the original IBM PC. Your concern is for a rare type of surge (maybe once every seven years) that can overwhelm protection inside any appliance. Those solutions are only connecting devices to what actually does protection. Earth ground is where hundreds of thousands of joules harmlessly dissipate. Effective protectors make a low impedance (ie 'less than 10 foot') connection to what actually protects all appliances.

You have two choices. Let the surge go hunting destructively inside the building. So that it finds earth destructively via any appliance. Or earth that surge BEFORE it can enter.

Even dimmer switches and bathroom GFCIs have protection from surges. Your concern is all appliances that are at risk from the rare surge. What most needs protection during a surge? Smoke detectors. If computer protection is needed, then 'everything' needs that protection.

UPS does not even claim to protect from such transients. View its spec numbers. Those hundreds of joules in a UPS will absorb surges that are hundreds of thousands of joules? Of course not. The UPS is for another and completely different anomaly. A blackout. It provides temporary and 'dirty' power. Why so dirty? Because all electronics are so robust (already contain protection) to make irrelevant high voltage spikes from a UPS in battery backup mode.

UPS is for temporary and dirty power to protect unsaved data. 'Whole house' protector is for a rare transient that can overwhelm protection inside all appliances. To make irrelevant even direct lightning strikes to incoming utility wires Define which anomaly is to be solved before selecting a solution.