Kat asks, "I have a power strip that lets me plug in all of my devices on one outlet. My question is: do I really need a surge protector to power my devices? I've seen a lot of surge suppressors advertised and they seem to cost a lot more than the regular power strip."

You absolutely, positively must have surge protection for your electrical equipment. Most factory warranties do not cover electrical damage. So, you can see why you'd want some kind of protection to keep your electrical equipment from failing horribly. There are a few options available:

Power strips usually come with some basic form of surge protection. Any electrical voltage that spikes higher than a given tolerance (this varies from product to product) will set off the electrical fuse inside the strip and cut electricity to your computer. It'll cause your computer to hard boot, and you'll either need to replace the power strip or buy a new one, but at least your components are safe.

Well .. not totally safe. If the voltage input is high enough (say, from a lightning strike) then the electricity can actually jump the gap in the cheap fuse used by these power strips. It's risky, but unless you live in a area where lightning storms are frequent, it's not something you generally need to be worried about.

Surge Suppressors are power strips, it's just a more technical name for them.

Line Conditioners literally condition the electricity coming in and output a steady flow for electricity. The electricity coming from the power plant isn't generally stable - there are hiccups, spikes, and drops that the computer has to deal with. Most modern computers can handle this really well, but sometimes - and especially if you live in the sticks - electricity can be "jumpy." A line conditioner can help in this situation by smoothing out the flow of electricity.

Uninterpretable Power Supply or UPS is a really large battery that supplies power to a computer when electricity is cut off. These products are great if you need to shut down your computer after a power failure (so you don't lose any work), or if rolling power outages are common in your area. They can last anywhere from a few minutes to several hours (the longer they last, the more they cost).

If you're paranoid about your system, a UPS powered by a Surge Suppressor and a Line Conditioner is the best way to supply electricity to your sensitive electrical components. It's also the most expensive way.

So, yes, you absolutely need some form of electrical protection for your computer equipment. What you get is up to you, but most people can get away with a simple power strip.

Do you have a question you need answered? E-mail me! lordkat@gmail.com

Click here to check out How to Build a Gaming Computer for Under $1000.

Be safe,

Jason