Picking a UPS

Krug

So after losing my motherboard to lack of a surge protector(thank god for newegg return policy), I've decided to invest in a UPS, but there are a few things I'd like to know before I sink 100-200 bucks into one.

On newegg the main search parameters are VA Rating and Watts, so I'm wondering what range I'll need for my stuff?

Things I'll be plugging into it;
1 desktop powered by a corsair 650TX PSU, running a phenom II X4 and geforce GTX 260
1-2 22" LCD widescreen monitors running off a DVI slot
1 5.1 surround speaker system
1 IBM Thinkpad T60 laptop
1 small ipod dock
1 lamp


I really don't want to have to replace anymore hundred dollar computer parts, so I hope you all can give me some idea what kind of UPS to get.

Feral

Don't bother to factor in the lamp or laptop into your load calculations. Most UPSes have surge-protection-only jacks, use those for the lamp and laptop instead.

Try the UPS power load calculator at APC:
http://www.apc.com/tools/ups_selector/index.cfm

That said, what you've described would probably do fine with 1250VA, but use the calculator above to be sure.

Krug

Alrighty, so I'm looking at http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16842102070
1350VA, 810 Watts

The APC calculator presented me with a 1250VA for about $20 less, but this one has more features like AVR.

Thanks for the tip.

Feral

Free shipping is definitely a plus. UPSes weigh a fucking ton, you definitely don't want to pay to ship one if you can get away with it.

tsmvengy

The only point of a UPS is to give you enough time to shut things down if the power goes out, or to keep things going if there's a brownout/surge.

So the only thing you're going to be plugging into the UPS is the computer. Then you use the software/USB hookup on the UPS to make it automatically shut down.

I'm not even sure you can run an LCD on a UPS.

RuddurBall

So I am currently speccing out my first desktop after years of primarily laptop use, should I factor a UPS into my build? Or can I get away without one?

Tofystedeth

tsmvengy wrote: »

The only point of a UPS is to give you enough time to shut things down if the power goes out, or to keep things going if there's a brownout/surge.

So the only thing you're going to be plugging into the UPS is the computer. Then you use the software/USB hookup on the UPS to make it automatically shut down.

I'm not even sure you can run an LCD on a UPS.

Of course you can. Why wouldn't you be able to?

And having a monitor in it is nice for those times when you lose power while working on something, and you're in a program that doesn't save/quit gracefully when the UPS tells the system to shut down.

wunderbar

my UPS can run my computer for 15 min, computer and monitor for 10 min or my desk lamp forever. Don't under-estimate it's ability for that.

Last time we had a power outage, I shut my computer shut down in under 5 min, which was perfect. the UPS then powered my desk lamp for the remainder of the 3 hour power outage allowing me to actually have light so I could do things.

What I actually do is keep my tower, desk lamp, and wifi router plugged into the outlets that provide power. The wifi router not so much for internet, since I dont' have the modem on battery, but so I can use my laptop to remote desktop into the PC to close/save everything, and then turn off. I can then unplug the wifi router and just use the UPS as a giant battery for my desk lamp.

victor_c26

I'm getting ready to buy a UPS because ComEd (Power company in Chicago) hasn't been all that reliable lately; 5 power outages in a span of 24 hours. Yeah.

Now due to the influx of ISPs starting to enforce data caps, I need my router's Bandwidth Monitor log to always stay on. If the power goes out, bye bye log. Backing up and restoring that log at the rate the power goes out here can really get tiring.