Power Strip Vs Surge Protector vs UPS

I assume most people here use a surge protector for their electronics? If so, which one is good? I'm in the US now and I am using a very old power strip. This power strip might be close to 20 years old but it works fine. It has 6 outlets which for me would be enough most of the time.


In my old setup, I was outside the US and used a Cyberpower UPS with a UPS battery that no longer worked anymore so the UPS was basically a surge protector. Had the cyberpower connected to a wall outlet. My setup at the time was 2 laptops and 2 monitors connected to that UPS. I didn't connect anything else to that UPS. That UPS had I believe 12 outlets or so. But because of how those outlets are in the UPS, I'm sure many of you know that you can't use all 12 outlets if you wanted to due to the positioning of the outlets.


My current setup now with the old power strip in the US, I have 2 outlets used for 2 laptops that are connected to it. One of the outlets I always have an iPhone charger connected to it. I of course can remove it anytime but I prefer to just leave it there. Another outlet, I currently connect an old Dell monitor. I most likely will buy a new big gaming monitor. So I will either have 1 or 2 monitors connected to the power strip so if it's 2 monitors, I only have 1 outlet remaining. This last outlet I would use for things like when charging a shaver or some other thing. So 6 outlets would be enough for me.


My concern though is if I buy a new gaming monitor and have all these things connected, could I cause damage to it because it's a power strip and not a surge protector? These are the specific things that is going to be connected to the power strip.


XPS 15 9520 Laptop
Asus Chromebook
Dell 2007FP Old Monitor
Apple 20W Charger


The monitor that I'm going to buy is going to be most likely one of these gaming monitors below in bold. Now because it has so much Hz compared to a regular monitor with 60Hz, it uses a lot more electricity right? The other thing is because of this, would it use so much power that using a power strip wouldn't be safe for this and you need a surge protector with a lot of joules? Or if not a surge protector, get a UPS?

Samsung - 40" Odyssey G75F WUHD 180Hz 1ms AMD FreeSync Prem Pro Curved Gaming Monitor with HDR 600 (DisplayPort, HDMI)​

or

Samsung - 37" Odyssey G75F 4K 165Hz 1ms AMD FreeSync Prem Pro Curved Gaming Monitor with HDR 600 (DisplayPort, HDMI)​

Here is the big difference between now in the US and outside the US. When I was outside the US, power outages were common. So because of that, I had laptop powerbanks that I bought for my laptop. It gives an hour probably with each. When my UPS was new, it probably gave me 30 minutes of backup with my laptop and monitors. But once the UPS battery went bad, everything powered off when a power outage happened. I also didn't bother buying a power station either while outside the US. I read that would have powered my monitors for a few hours at least but I never bought one.


Here in the US, power outages are extremely rare. So because of that, I don't think I even need to buy a UPS anymore. Do people agree? But I should at least get a surge protector? Previously whenever I was in the US only for a short while, I used the same power strip and only connected those items I mentioned above with the 2 laptops and old Dell monitor and that apple charger and it was never a concern. Since I'm back in the US full time now and going to buy a new big gaming monitor, will this old power strip be able to handle all my devices? Or should I definitely get a surge protector? The interesting thing is when it rains, it can rain really bad here. The interesting thing about this is I don't believe the power ever went out. So because of that, is surge protector still recommended for my electronic setup?

I use a CyberPower UPS CP1500PFCLCD along with Surge protection.

@newmann

In addition, it's not just about the number of outlets for a surge protector. The most important part is how many watts and amps the surge protector is rated for so you don't overload it. You also have to keep in mind what the wall outlet is rated for.

A UPS can be good if you need battery backup power. A UPS can also include line filtering to protect connected devices more from current dips and spikes.

Josey Wales said:

I use a CyberPower UPS CP1500PFCLCD along with Surge protection.

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I have the same UPS, it includes surge protection. I have number of UPS systems, CyberPower, APC, and even an old Belkin. All the computers are on UPS and surge protection.

My old house had a whole house surge protector, I have one in my drawer to install here, it just hasn't come up the job queue yet.

I have a small UPS, but the only connected devices are my modem and router.

I've not had a desktop computer for more than 25 years, our home is all laptops. The laptops themselves already have excellent protection against power failures.

TraderGary said:

I have a small UPS, but the only connected devices are my modem and router.

I've not had a desktop computer for more than 25 years, our home is all laptops. The laptops themselves already have excellent protection against power failures.

Click to expand...

I have one Panasonic Toughbook, but it is in the closet.

My laptop comes out for trips and the occasional update.