You're stretching the cost of a UPS a bit there Ripley. I bought two UPS devices for system for less than I paid for a single graphics card. You will never be able to buy an entire system for that same price. Furthermore, an adequate surge protector will cost you half of the price of a single UPS, and the UPS provides surge protection also!
An UPS large enough to actually do something will cost you an arm and a leg. I see that UPS prices have come down lately, basic setup is not too much but still warrant the question of ever getting return for the money. The cheapest UPS:es do not do proper power filtering for example anyway so you're still not protected against the most detrimental of power problems, phase changes and fluctuating AC frequencies (if such exists, in Finland the grid is pretty much rock solid. All power that we import from Russia for example goes through a complete AC-DC-AC cycle).
Then you speak about a PSU preventing power cycling? Sorry, but that's just untrue. Also, why are you concentrating on surges? The most common issue is sags. Sags damage equipment slowly over time. You claim that you have never known of a PC failure because of electricity, yet there are thousands cited via Google including many that were not saved by surge protection.
Reading comprehension please! I said the motherboard protects itself from switching back on immediately after a power cut. For every case of failure on Google you will find 100 000 of his neighbours who did not get a failure from the same power problem. Your searches are just not worth anything in this discussion. It's like doing Google searches from Toyota owners forum to 'prove' the statistics are wrong and Toyotas are in reality very unreliable

The one instance I cited where I lost a motherboard came through across the network line, not through the UPS. On the system that lost the UPS it was battery failure, and the motherboard survived.
How do you know the battery didn't fail on its own? How do you know your motherboard died not because of a manufacturing fault but something that came from the network?

So the only thing your posts have accomplished is demonstrated your lack of knowledge concerning electricity, and your inability to understand the written word.
Hah gimme a break! Again: 99% of AH user base for SURE never bought an UPS in their lives and they continue to play without problems. Why is that? Don't you think they'd be better off investing to a new high-end display card instead of buying the UPS they'll most likely never even need?
Just last February I recall reading a story where a German forensic team had determined the precise moment a recording had been made because of the electric hum from appliances in nearby sockets. So, I know your electric grid suffers the same issues as anyone else. The only thing saving you so far has been the fact that lightning storms are less frequent. Ignorance is bliss as they say.
Yes you go buy a house full of UPS:s to protect your electronics which will be obsolete in 2 years anyway. I'll take my chances and use that money to buy new stuff instead

I can't recall when was the last time any electronic device would die on me. Light bulbs have burned I give you that. You reckon I should run them through UPS?

We still have our wide screen TV which we bought when we got married 14 years ago, now stored in the kids room. Works flawlessly - never been surge protected and it has been plugged in during thunderstorms too.
Oh, and I live in Finland not in Germany.