Thread: UPS Recommendation needed

Monsoon season has started in Arizona and that means weekly electrical storms. I currently am using just a $5 surge protector (band-aid solution)and I want to get a UPS to better protect my system for when the power goes out. I am getting a 8800GTS and I would hate for that or any other components to get fried.

I seen this when I was at Frys Electronics. http://shop3.outpost.com/product/455...H:MAIN_RSLT_PG
I am confused as to what minimum rating I need for a UPS to protect my computer and monitor and be able to safely shutdown. Any suggestions?

XPS-400
Intel Pentium D 830 3.0 MHz
2.5GB RAM DDR2 SDRAM
ATI X300 SE 128MB PCI Express (soon to be upgraded to 8800GTS)
80GB ATA Hard Drive
16X DVD/ROM
375W Power Supply (Dell rates PSU at Nominal not Peak)
Windows XP Home Edition
19" Dell E193FP Analog Flat Panel Display

I tried one like that a while back, and I could never get it to work.
I just use the typical surge protector. I used to live in Mesa up till like 9 months ago. I never had any problems with the electricity being shut off and staying protected.

The battery part of the APC listed is the spec "350VA/200 Watts". My translation of that is 350 volt/amps or 200 Watts. I'm guessing your gaming rig is drawing a lot more than 200 watts of power, so that APC isn't going to give you much battery time after the power goes out to shut down.

The more expensive battery backup surge/spike protectors usually have bigger batteries, so more juice after the blackout.

This one might be a better bet, with 1500VA (865 Watt capacity).

Most of the APC-brand stuff I've used has been pretty solid. I'm using an "APC Back-up ES 650", which is pretty basic, but better than the surge/spike protector I had before.

Yeah I saw the APC ES 650 at Circuit City for $59. It's rated at 650VA/390 Watts. That should be enough to give me about 5-10 minutes to shutdown the computer if the power is gonna be out for more than a couple minutes. Plus it has the Power Chute software that will shut down if I'm not around. I'm not trying to play 2142 on a backup battery.

I checked out a website for APC that calculates what minimum size is needed for a battery backup. http://pcworld.about.com/gi/dynamic/...sizing.apc.com. I plugged in all my details (Pentium D, 19" LCD, etc) and it recommended the ES650 with my configuration with a power draw of 220 Watts and estimated runtime of 12 minutes.

I don't think I should need more than 650VA/390 Watts with the 8800GTS and a 19" LCD monitor. I could be wrong though. Anyone have any thoughts on this?

I found this APC model that is being discontinued on sale. It's a 1000VA for $100. The one I purchased can power my home server for 20-30 minutes with the LCD off. You won't find a better price on that much power from APC. And I wouldn't trust my computers on anything other than APC.

http://www.texasteamplayers.com/index.php?topic=15906.0

All I can tell you is that this is an area that you dont need to be cheap on if you want a battery back up. If you are trying to save money then get a good surge protector and register the thing.

FYI the batter back up I want for my home theatre is $1,000. Guess what? I dont have one lol.

Currently have have an APC 575 on my CPU and monitor with 2 575's on my home theatre. It gives me about 10 min on my rig and about 2 min on my home theatre. I have a 20KW stand by generator so that is enough time for it to kick on and back to full power. The down side to that is I installed it over a year ago and my lights have not so much as flickered. Prior to that we lost power all the time. I think maybe next time I will take 10g and flush it down the shitter.

Nuck

I am against UPS units for home use. In my experience the batteries wear out before the UPS ever gets a chance to be used. Also, charging batteries inherently creates heat and presents a limited but real risk of fire. To me the risk is not worth it.

About eight years ago I let myself get sucked in by a BestBuy ad for an IBM/APC UPS and bought it against my own opinion. It never saved me from jack and eventually melted under my desk. Luckily it did not catch fire. Then, to top it all off, I called APC and asked them how to dispose of the lead-laden piece of shit. They said they didn't know - maybe I should call my local government. So I called them and they didn't know. I ended up storing the thing in my garage for a few years, moving it with me to a new house, and finally throwing it in a dumpster during a remodel. Fucking piece of polluting garbage.

Did I mention that I am against UPS's for home use? :5

Originally Posted by ebaconjr

I am against UPS units for home use. In my experience the batteries wear out before the UPS ever gets a chance to be used. Also, charging batteries inherently creates heat and presents a limited but real risk of fire. To me the risk is not worth it.

About eight years ago I let myself get sucked in by a BestBuy ad for an IBM/APC UPS and bought it against my own opinion. It never saved me from jack and eventually melted under my desk. Luckily it did not catch fire. Then, to top it all off, I called APC and asked them how to dispose of the lead-laden piece of shit. They said they didn't know - maybe I should call my local government. So I called them and they didn't know. I ended up storing the thing in my garage for a few years, moving it with me to a new house, and finally throwing it in a dumpster during a remodel. Fucking piece of polluting garbage.

Did I mention that I am against UPS's for home use? :5

You should really learn to speak your mind.

I am all for them for the simple reason that they keep your stuff running when you have a power loss. I mentioned above that I have not lost power in over a year and by that I meant for long enough for our generator to kick on (we actually lost if for 45 min a few months ago just to come clean). We have however get on average 3 brown outs or loss of power per week. My example would be this"

I have a 65" mitsu diamond that I dont care to discuss how much it cost me. The bulb for it is around $250. It losing power instantly with no fan to cool the bulb will decrease bulb like by about 5% per instance not to mention the damage to the electronics. So yea, I want to have a battery back up on it.

That being said it is easy for me as my wife brings me 2 or 3 back ups a year that she gets from her customers where they have a critical system that warrents upgrades even if the unit does not show being faulty.

Yea, I just said it, all my back ups are free other than the beast I want for my home theatre.

Nuck

Originally Posted by ebaconjr

Then, to top it all off, I called APC and asked them how to dispose of the lead-laden piece of shit. They said they didn't know - maybe I should call my local government. So I called them and they didn't know. I ended up storing the thing in my garage for a few years, moving it with me to a new house, and finally throwing it in a dumpster during a remodel. Fucking piece of polluting garbage.

I took a battery from work to Lowe's when the replacement battery didn't come with a label to ship it off for recycling. You can find local recycling places here : http://www.rbrc.org/call2recycle/

Radio Shack turned it down because it wouldn't fit in their little box for cell phone batteries. Come to think of it, I had to dismantle the container at Lowe's because the battery was to big for the hole in the lid. But how often do you have a battery for a 1500VA UPS?

And bacon, computers generate heat and can cause fires also. I've seen more computers start smoking than UPS's. You do keep your computer turned off at all times, right? And your TV and lights? I hear those can generate heat and cause fire too. Maybe you should call the power company and cancel service just to be safe. :P

Originally Posted by ImitationMan

And bacon, computers generate heat and can cause fires also. I've seen more computers start smoking than UPS's. You do keep your computer turned off at all times, right? And your TV and lights? I hear those can generate heat and cause fire too. Maybe you should call the power company and cancel service just to be safe. :P

Are you being sarcastic? Or do you want to start a debate?