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Choosing a UPS

L

LostInRehab

Limp Gawd
Joined
Mar 1, 2007
Messages
430
Currently and over the next few months I will be upgrading/building a new computer so I figure its now is a good time to invest in a ups to help protect said computer. Its hard to tell but I'll estimate that the system when finished would probably use in excess of 700w due to possibly upgrading to dual gtx 480's. So that said I need help choosing a ups. Budget wise the max I'd spend would be $400 though tbh I have no idea what ups offer in that price range so yeah I need a little help choosing.
 
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drescherjm said:
APC SmartUPS 1400 or 1500 on ebay refirb + new batteries. I got mine 2 years ago for $185 and it works great. These are server grade UPSs and with the dual 18AH batteries (most consumer grade use 9AH) it has double the power of most consumer grade UPSs. These weigh over 45lb.

Here is one link to what I am talking about:
http://cgi.ebay.com/APC-SMART-UPS-1...ltDomain_0&hash=item3eef163205#ht_2086wt_1165
Click to expand...

DAMN! I paid $400 for my 750VA Smart-UPS a few years ago. Great investment. Case in point: a fuse blew and cut off power to my room. I was playing BC2 at the time. By the time I had found out I had been playing for around 10 minutes and the battery was still at like 50% remaining or maybe a bit more. That UPS will get you through anything.
 
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My biggest problem with ebay is I like warranties. So despite being a ridiculous deal I'd rather buy new and get a manufacture warranty.
 
Well if you like warranties and are going to be drawing that much power you are going to be hard pressed to find a server UPS, for the power your going to consume. The best I would recommend is the APC Back-UPS XS-1500

I have the 1300 at home and have been using it for 3 years without a problem so far.

But like drescherjm said before, the server grade UPS are built better but you won't get what you need for under $400 with a warranty.
 
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One thing with UPS, you need to make sure it has an active simulated sine wave, or something like that. Basically, what that means is that the UPS has to mimic the output of an actual wall socket, a lot of the cheaper ones do not do that. That plays havoc with the active PFC of many modern power supplies, and has lead to trouble with the UPS being completely unusable for the computer.
 
I have both sine wave and "simulated sine wave" which is actually a square wave. Anyways I have not had a single problem using either with any computer. And we had a big test two weeks ago when the power was out for 4 hours. On most dual core desktops systems the UPSs had 30 minutes. With some older workstations only lasting 10 minutes. I have a 800VA or 1000VA UPSs on every desktop system (larger more expensive models on the servers). Most of the desktop UPSs are $130 PowerComm King Pro models we bought 3 to 5 years back.

That is not to say I do no prefer true sine wave. I do have those on the servers and my home machine being that the SmartUPS models are true sine wave.
 
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Would this be a good backup? And does anyone have an idea which company's have good cs?
 
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Just curious any reason I shouldn't just go for the jugular and get this true UPS?
 
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LostInRehab said:
Currently and over the next few months I will be upgrading/building a new computer so I figure its now is a good time to invest in a ups to help protect said computer. Its hard to tell but I'll estimate that the system when finished would probably use in excess of 700w due to possibly upgrading to dual gtx 480's. So that said I need help choosing a ups. Budget wise the max I'd spend would be $400 though tbh I have no idea what ups offer in that price range so yeah I need a little help choosing.
Click to expand...
You need to get yourself a Smart-UPS 1400 or a Smart-UPS 1500. They're pretty much the best units on the market. They're also the biggest units you can put on a regular outlet, anything bigger than this you'll need to wire in a dedicated 20 or 30a plug.


If you want serious protection, stay away from the square/simulated sine wave units. Bottom line, they're not as good, they don't offer as many features and definitely don't offer as much protection. Spend the extra few bucks and get yourself a decent unit that will protect your equipment.
 
LostInRehab said:
My biggest problem with ebay is I like warranties. So despite being a ridiculous deal I'd rather buy new and get a manufacture warranty.
Click to expand...
If you're going to buy on eBay than you definitely want to buy from a vendor that offers warranty. Don't get stuck buying a boat anchor that you have to hundreds to return. Check on the return policy, check on the type of batteries and make sure you're buying what's described.


I've bought several boat anchors in the last few years, it's not that much fun!
 
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