Conditioning power?

[torin3]

Well, my second motherboard in 2 weeks seems to have died. The first one was probably due to old age and a few accidents. The second one was brand new and just stopped dead and now freezes early in the BIOS boot up. I'm wondering if there is an easy way to tell if the power coming into my computer is spiking or surging and possibly damaging the hardware? I'm getting some very high end equipment to build a new system and don't want it to die on me right away.

Would getting new power strips with surge supressors every few months help with this? I know the surge supressing ability dies over time as it protects. Would a UPS be a better choice?

Thanks, and sorry if this isn't the right forum.

 

[Eric1285]

I wasn't aware that surge protectors became less useful with age...although I suppose it makes sense.

I'm not sure how much a power conditioner would help...I know some audiophiles use power conditioners for all their gear and they swear it makes a difference, but it just doesn't seem worth it to me, unless you live in a very old building with poor wiring, where it's possible that the power coming in isn't "clean". Any building built recently shouldn't have this problem though.