Learn why UPS devices are great for consoles, not just your computers.
Episode #13-05 released on October 4, 2022
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Game consoles, like computers. Have a great many electrically fragile parts that can be damaged by black outs, brown outs and over voltage. The answer to do game consoles needing a UPS, is yes.
The consequences of suddenly losing power or suffering over voltage are numerous and are outlined under various types of events.
The most likely event will be a black out. Normally the entire device is powered off at once. If you were just playing, you lose progress from the point of the last saved game. However, if your console was in the middle of saving, the save file can be lost. Gladly, some games simply create a new file, so you do not lose all your progress.
If you have a brown out, or a significant drop in voltage, certain parts of the console can cease functioning properly and lead to all sorts of damage, typically related to heat and cooling. It may be possible that saving would be affected, too. Needless to say, that the damage over prolonged usage could damage the console, and you may not necessarily be aware of it.
The final event, appropriately, is over voltage. Usually caused by a power surge or lightening strike. Our consoles are designed to function with very specific voltage ranges and anything significantly over that will risk shorting our various components, if not all components. This can result in complete loss of data and hardware.
The risks of over-voltage due to power surges and lightening strikes can be mitigated by using a surge retention bar, however, you would suffer the same consequences as a blackout. The best solution is the UPS. A UPS is an uninterruptable power supply. It powers devices from the battery and cuts the incoming power when it is too low or high. This allows you to save your game and shutdown gracefully, without damaging your console. And, for that, this is why, yes, you should have a UPS. If fact, if you love gaming, you need a UPS.
Host : Steve Smith | Music : | Editor : Steve Smith | Producer : Zed Axis Dot Net