Technology Do I really need an UPS?

[principessa]

I have one and I've always used it, but it's large and bulky and as I get ready to pack up and move to a tiny room about 1000 miles from home, I'm really questioning what I need to take. It's for a laptop, too, so I wonder about the necessity of having battery backup for something that already has a battery and will hibernate and shut itself down if the battery runs out. Would I be able to get by with just a surge protector, or do I really gain something by using an UPS?

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[Stroganoff]

If you have a laptop, if it's plugged in and using AC power and the power goes out, it should auto-sense and switch to battery power for you and should give you plenty of time (depending on your battery, a couple hours at least) depending how new your laptop is.

My UPS's have saved me dozens if not hundreds of time, but I have a desktop.

Definitely use a surge protector, but a UPS is unnecessary for a laptop with a good battery.

 

[flighterdoc]

I have one and I've always used it, but it's large and bulky and as I get ready to pack up and move to a tiny room about 1000 miles from home, I'm really questioning what I need to take. It's for a laptop, too, so I wonder about the necessity of having battery backup for something that already has a battery and will hibernate and shut itself down if the battery runs out. Would I be able to get by with just a surge protector, or do I really gain something by using an UPS?

As long as your laptop is working correctly (running on AC power, pull the plug from the wall and make certain the laptop keeps working), you should be OK with a surge supressor.

Or, for what smallish surge supressors cost these days, just buy a new one at school

http://www.staples.com/Catalog/Brow...ClassId=141931&bcClassName=UPS+Backup+Systems

 

[Yogi Bear]

first thing u have to make sure is if the ups still works. anything w/ batteries breaks down eventually...and some of the cheaper ups (sub $50) don't work as advertise. i.e. take out ur laptop's battery and cut the power to the ups....if it still runs then u might consider leaving it at home for backup purposes when ur laptop battery dies (usually after 3-4 years of usage). otherwise, u could dump the ups, remove the ups software from ur computer, and be free of the heavy package..

 

[principessa]

Thanks. I'll go w/out it. My laptop battery is working, and it will give me about as much time as the UPS will.