What level surge protector??

I just got a HP Laser printer. After about 30 pages it stopped working. Dead.
Staples would like to blame on a power surge. My comp, pda, and other stuff behaves strangely at times too. Already haev a surge protector about 3 years old.

NOW, I will go get a new one. What level of protection do you all think is needed to protect all my electronic gadgets -- comp. printer, pda, ext HD, and MP3? Is this measured in Jhoules?

Thanks for the input.

 

if it were me, i'd talk to staples and tell them that you do have a surge protector. anyway, g/l - sos

hope this link helps you.

http://www.apc.com/tools/surge_selector/index.cfm

 

Get a UPS, not just a surge protector, especially for your computer and, I guess, your PDA. The number of devices you can support with a single UPS is going to depend on the model, and cost, of the UPS. UPS means Uninterruptible Power Supply; APC is a well-known brand. In other words, it's a battery backup unit, not just a surge protector. But, they also provide surge protection. Now, you should still have a surge protector for printers or other peripheral devices that at not connected to the UPS.

The basic advantage of a UPS over a simple surge protector is that they provide a smooth stream of power, on both the upside (preventing surges, same as surge protector), but also on the low side, or dips in power, which a surge protector can do nothing to help.