I recently fried a very expensive 2tb Wd black sn850 nvme hard drive in my laptop and the guy at the shop said it’s common here in Thailand because of unstable power.  Greaaaat.  So he suggested some sort of power bar or something that can avoid that, he meant a surge protector power bar right? Anyone know where I can buy a good quality one that’s guaranteed to work?  Don’t mind expensive, data is priceless.

100% solution: Run the laptop on battery power when using it and only charge it when it is totally powered off.

I use UPS's for all my major IT gear (including a Qnap NAS) and TV.  They have surge protection and stabilize the power.  I'm not sure if they handle a lightning strike though.  I use Schneider Electric / APC brands.  I've got one for 900VA and another for 1100 VA.  I just checked on line and there is an 800 VA model for 2,460 Baht.  We don't get many power outages, but when we do, the UPS's work fine. 

Over the years there has been debate whether a surge protector plug or power bar / board will work in Thailand.  That's because Thailand has a 2 pin plug system, and no third pin to discharge the surge to earth. 

 

A surge protector may offer some protection, but can not be relied upon, due to Thailand's 2 pin plug system.

 

You will need a UPS.  There are basically three types, Line interactive, Online, and Offline. 

 

An online UPS is the best, but they are expensive.  I think you will be fine with line interactive UPS which can "clamp" surges" and "boost" low voltage, so you will always be in the 230v to 240v range.

 

Make sure the UPS has AVR (Active Voltage Regulator) which keeps the power 230 - 240v. 

 

Many of them have an ethernet port that protects your desktop from a surge coming down the telecommunication line as well. 

Where would I buy one of these?

57 minutes ago, KhunHeineken said:

Many of them have an ethernet port that protects your desktop from a surge coming down the telecommunication line as well. 

I need to correct this. 

 

The ethernet port on the UPS protects your modem / router, which your desktop is plugged into, so both are protected from electricity line surge and telecommunication line surge.

56 minutes ago, TheLaughingMan said:

Where would I buy one of these?

Plenty on Lazada.

 

https://www.lazada.co.th/tag/ups/?q=ups&_keyori=ss&from=input&spm=a2o4m.home.search.go.11257f6dbYWpNF&catalog_redirect_tag=true

 

They are heavy, so you will probably pay a fair bit of freight.  The big appliance stores have them, like Banana IT.

 

https://www.bnn.in.th/en/p?q=ups

 

Look for a UPS that you can also change the batteries.  The batteries last around 5 years, depending on how many times they are called upon to supply power.