UPS

[Smooth*{MEOW}*]

No, not the shipping company, the Uninterruptable Power Supply.  So tell me about these guys.  Any recommendations?  Are they dependent on what size of power supply you have?

[Raidien{MEOW}]

I use CyberPower because they are cheap and last a few years... for the price of an APC, they might last longer, but I buy within my budget :P CyberPower can be found at Walmart & Best Buy.

[Gunner{MEOW}]

should all of use one of these I dont have 1 but should I?????

[Raidien{MEOW}]

it's never a bad idea to have one. in my old apartment i had lots of power failures / surges, so i bought one because I was constantly annoyed by my computer shutting off and never saving my work. Even if you don't have issues such as that, i'm sure that in the past you've experienced annoying power outages and most likely will in the future as well. It's a good investment. Some UPS's even have warranties that if it fails and your computer gets fried, they will get you a replacement computer up to the value of the equipment that was connected to it.

[THEKATZ*{MEOW}*]

I really cant see a home users benefit for a UPS.  A  certified surge protector definitely.   Unless you are hosting a website, game server or working with critical data that would be jeopardize in a power failure, I see no good reason to have a UPS.  They do not last but a few years and you will have to put out a few bucks again.  I am almost sure that 99.9% of the home users will not loose big bucks if they lost power. They would wait for power to return and continue on.  Just MHO

[Felix*{MEOW}*]

A descent Battrie back up is worth having. you only need something that will run your PC for 10,15 minutes when you lose power.
If it doesn't bother you not to have a battrie back a good  surge protector will do the job.
don't buy a POS. get one with a warranty that will replace your stuff if it fails.

i sell my customer's a surge protector when they buy a digital copier from me.. if they don't want to i will not warranty the electronics.. the newer machines nowa days are very sensitive and a good surge or even a spike can hurt them.
Heres what i sell my customers Note: the 25,000.00 warranty for replacement if it fails.
http://www.smartpowersystems.com/

and they stand behind there warranty.. my buddy has used there replacement warranty 2 times.

now i know you like to know how the watch it built.

So here ya go.

http://computer.howstuffworks.com/surge-protector.htm

[Kat*{MEOW}*]

I'm kinda with TK, with a caveat. If you live in an area that is prone to power brown outs in the summer, than a UPS is a good idea.  A good one will provide good, clean, full voltage power during a brown out.  Running any electronics at to low a voltage is as damaging as to high a voltage.

[THEKATZ*{MEOW}*]

Yes that is so true Kat. I didn't think of that aspect.  There are also surge protectors that will make sure the voltage stays with in a few volts – if the current drops too far or rises to high with in a few volts it will simply regulate it or in extreme flux’s shut down  These SP’s or AVR(Automatic voltage regulation) are more specific to critical electronics in which a computer most definitely falls into.  I run a surge protector with AVR. 
You should note, SP's do not last for ever. Most will still function after a fault but no longer provide the protection.  A few dollars more on a good SP that will alert you of this is IMO the best route.