Basement Finish

I would put in power strips so I could use UPS to the computers (have lots of cords too.)

I'd be inclined to put in two duplex outlets in a 4x4 box instead of a single duplex so that you can plug in 4 things instead of just 2, then you won't need power strips. Put a whole house surge suppressor at your main panel - they are more effective than the ones in the power strips.

Yes.

I would suggest 20 amp lines instead of 15 amp. If you will ever use a linear amp, put in a 240 volt circuit for that while you have the walls open. Aside from that, wire the room with 2 20 amp lines feeding your receptacles. Unless you have some specific requirements you have not mentioned, that'll be more than enough to serve the receptacles. There is no hard and fast rule as to how many receptacles you can install.

Surge arrestors on panel are good if you are in an area of a lot of lightning or voltage spikes. You still need surge arrestors at the equipment. That is what I have run for several years now. As for the circuits. If you have an laser printer put it on its own circuit or with the lights. Lasers are very noisy (harmonics) and can cause problems with other equipmnet. I would look at the equipment being installed or thought about and go from there. A couple of circuits should be fine. Most of us use the circuits in the walls in a bedroom or other part of the home and never have any problems. Do not over think the problem.

I am curious why you think the cheap surge suppressors commonly found in power strips would be necessary if you have a whole house suppressor. The suppressors found in typical power strips really don't do a very good job of protecting the equipment anyway.

When you purchase a personal computer, printer or monitor (especially from a "name" like Dell, HP, IBM, etc) you should know that the mains front ends in their products contain surge protection. This requirement is spec boilerplate to their OEM suppliers; products are type tested, approved and SPC controlled. Additional surge protection is really not necessary aside from, perhaps, direct lightning strikes.

Ken

Please provide numbers that demonstrate the voltage and current for each electric mode (normal and longitudinal)created in Romex wires. This is a repeated request because those who claim Romex wiring "acting like a big antenna/coil" have yet to demonstrate that assumption with numbers and E/M field equations.

Little hint. Any transient created by such fields is so trivial that virtually every electronic device has sufficient protection. If this "romex wire" transient existed, then we all would be replacing dimmer switches and clock radios after every thunderstorm.

And so again, we must have numbers and equations to demonstrate how Romex wire acts "like a big antenna/coil and redistributing the surge."

All receptacles must be on a 20 amp circuit minimum. Yes those receptacles are rated at 15 amps. But they must be on 20 amp circuits which means 12 AWG wire minimum.

Not true. See 2002 NEC 210.21 Receptacles can be fed from a 15 amp circuit as well a a 20 amp circuit.