Concerning repeated power outages and blackouts, what power protection device should be used for PC's and laptops?

Question

We encounter numerous blackouts here where I live. I've heard of UPS's and other devices such as surge suppressors, etc...

My question is, aside from the integrated battery (which is said to provide around 15 minutes of 500W power in the more expensive models), what other features makes it the de facto name used for protection devices concerning power usage in computers?

In other words, whenever I presented my problem to anyone they say: "buy a UPS" so what do you say about that?

Info:

The power is cut around twice a week with a rather small surge in voltage immediately before it goes out. The problems to tackle here are data loss and possible hardware malfunction due to voltage/current surges.

Answer 1

UPS stands for Uninterruptible power supply. The reason why an UPS is the most suggested device for your situation is because it provides all of the necessary features to keep your systems running (more than just the simple surge protector). A UPS does more than just protect your devices from sudden power loss. Not only does a quality UPS protect your hardware from sudden over-voltage (like a "surge protector"), it will also protect you from under-voltage and "clean" your power.

If your power is very "dirty" (probably the case if you experience frequent outages), meaning AC frequency isn't stable, the voltage varies, ect., a UPS will utilize its battery to ensure that anything plugged into it receives clean power at a stable, constant frequency and a stable, constant voltage. This reduces the strain on your devices with in turn helps them last longer.

Note that not every UPS is the same; you really do get what you pay for. Some of the cheaper models do not clean your power that well, for example.