Power outage & what should I look for in a UPS? (Computer and power related)

I’m the paranoid type. Some power-related incidents recently have caused a few instance s of power flickering just long enough to make the lights blink, my cable modem to reset, and phone answering machine to “stutter,” but not to overtly interrupt performance on my computer. As far as I know.

I’m running it now, without having shut it down yet, and it SEEMS fine. But how do I know it is, really? What should I be looking for? The only thing that seems unusual is that the fans don’t seem to be running as loudly as normal, but it’s cold in this place. How do I tell if damage is done? I’m not concerned that much about data (I have recent backups) but hardware.

Which leads me to my second question. This and some research have led me to the conclusion that getting a UPS would be a good investment, and more useful to protecting hardware than a surge protector (which is what I have now). Can anyone recommend a brand/type? What should I look for there?

Thanks!

APC makes a good, sturdy UPS. Given the necessity of decision, overpurchase instead uf underpurchase. And make sure you configure the automatic system shutdown once you’re set up - graceful shutdown is your goal with a UPS.