The typical plug-in UPS does not cost $500. Computer grade
UPSes connect appliance directly to AC mains when not in
battery backup mode. Where is the power conditioning? Does a
relay 'clean' electricity? Of course not.
Without the 'less than 10 foot' connection to earth ground,
then power strip also provides no effective protection.
Worse, a power strip protector located adjacent to the
computer can provide a transient with more destructive paths
through computer. Yes, the adjacent power strip may even
contribute to damage of a powered off computer.
High reliability facilities (ie telephone switching
computer) use protectors distant from the electronics AND near
zero feet from earth ground. That same protection is also
called 'whole house' protection.
Effective transient protection also costs less money. Any
protection at the appliance must already be inside a power
supply. Protection that can be overwhelmed if the building
does not have properly earthed 'whole house' protectors.
Effective protectors have responsible names such as Square D,
Cutler Hammer, Polyphaser, Leviton, Intermatic, GE, and
Siemens. Specifically not on that list is APC, Belkin,
Powermax, and Tripplite - whose products are recommend without
electrical facts. Effective 'whole house' protectors are sold
in Home Depot, Lowes, and electrical supply houses.
Ineffective protectors are sold at excessive cost in Sears,
Kmart, Staples, Circuit City, and Radio Shack.
How to protect that disk drive? A power supply must contain
functions that were standard even 30 years ago. And properly
installed 'whole house' protector where utility wires enter
the building so that protection inside that power supply is
not overwhelmed.
One final point - this UPS is called computer grade. When
in battery backup, its 120V 'sine wave' is two 200 volt square
waves with a spike of up to 270 volts between those square
waves. Yes, that UPS is outputting a sine wave ... and more.
Why is that voltage not destructive to computers? Why is that
a computer grade UPS? Because protection already inside a
computer's power supply makes 200 and 270 volts irrelevant.
Protection for that disk drive means a power supply that
claims to have essential functions - in writing. Functions
often missing in 'dumped' and discounted power supplies.