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Plug Arcade directly into the wall?
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Organic Jerk:
Well to be truthful I'm speaking of a Mame machine based off a PC.  Like any PC that handles important data, I would want protection  for any power fluctuations or brownouts, as well as a good buffer period when power goes out, lest I lose my entire mame config..

I can't speak for a genuine arcade machine, though
Bobbler:
Have mine hooked up to a UPS. Every PC, peripheral and monitor in my office is connected to a 1000VA APC UPS. Bought it after we kept running out of electricity (house used to be a rental before we bought it and they had pay as you go electric) and ended up damaging one of my harddisks. Only thing not attached is my laser printer as that overloads it as soon as you try to print anything.

fjl:
I never used a surge protector before and I leave my computer running 24/7.

In the last 10 years that i've been using a PC, I've never once encountered any kind of surge that has caused any damage to anything electronic in my house. I suppose it's still a good idea to use one but from my experience, power surges are not really neccessary. At least not here where I live. I must also mention that I live in L.A. It rarely ever rains here and its even more rare to have a lighting storm which can cause electrical surges.
Tahnok:

--- Quote from: efjayel on March 17, 2007, 03:36:12 am ---I never used a surge protector before and I leave my computer running 24/7.

In the last 10 years that i've been using a PC, I've never once encountered any kind of surge that has caused any damage to anything electronic in my house. I suppose it's still a good idea to use one but from my experience, power surges are not really neccessary. At least not here where I live. I must also mention that I live in L.A. It rarely ever rains here and its even more rare to have a lighting storm which can cause electrical surges.

--- End quote ---
I, on the other hand, have experienced two or three surges with the potential to damage electronics. Any electronics of value I keep on surge suppressors. A cheap stereo though, which was not protected, was ruined once. Also, a few of cheaper suppressors burned up (small loss, considering what they're protecting).

The moral is that it can and does happen. Even if you're area doesn't seem to have problems with it, all it takes is for someone to make a mistake once.

Edit: Another habit I've gotten into is unplugging electronics when I know I'm not going to be using them for a long time. Things can't get damaged if they aren't plugged in. Of course though, it's hardly a solution for things that are used more than about once a month, or if the plugs are in hard to reach places.
patrickl:
I have never used surge protectors either and I think the only thing that ever broke was an alarm clock.

On the other hand I do use UPS for my computers since I hate it when the power fails and my work is lost. UPS are incredibly annoying things though. The batteries often run out in a year or 2 years and then buying a new battery is about as expensive as buying a whole new unit. I tried a few cheap standard replacement batteries from a local electronics store (the things use simple lead batteries) but somehow the UPS never did work even though the specs seem to be exactly the same.
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