What Size/Brand UPS do I need.....?

I

Ingonuts13

[H]ard|Gawd
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Jun 9, 2003
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I have a high end gaming system with a Turbocool 850 PSU and a Dell 2405 FPW plus a Logitech 5.1 Speaker system.

What should I be looking for in a UPS for my set-up so it has about 15mins of up time in case of power outage?

Is the VA rating all that matters or is this kind of like wattage on cheap PSU's these days.

Also, what brands are good and where should I purchase this item? I know they are heavy, so Shipping can be expensive.

Not looking to spend an arm and a leg if possible.
 
APC's webside ( www.apc.com ) has a UPS selector section. You tell it what kind of computer you have and how long you need it to run on batter and it will tell you what model you need. APC is the brand to go with, IMO.
Then, once you get a model number, type it into froogle or pricegrabber.
Done and done.
 
Hmm....it does not seem there are a ton of options in that configurator though. Somehow I do no see a 700VA UPS holding me for 20 mins like the site says.
 
Get a kill-a-watt and see how much power you are drawing and what the power factor is. Armed with that information you should be able to make a more informed decision
 
i bought one of these
and it keeps my sig rig running for 20+ minutes with a Sony 24" FW900 CRT hooked up to it also. i didnt test for any longer than that though.
great UPS. i have my power options set to shutdown after 5 minutes though because i see no need running off a UPS for that long neway.
 
Look into CyberPower UPS, Ive had good luck with them. They have very long runtimes for the price. System in my sig will go for around 18Min on their 1100AVR.
 
not all UPS systems are equal...

I've had a smart APC 1400 VA,


and a powerware 9120 1500VA UPS
http://www.powerware.com/UPS/9120_UPS.asp

...the PowerWare was infinitly better (but probably cost 5x's more).

I had both hooked up to my home theatre system....I saw the Powerware LCD display over 2,200 watts being drawn sometimes before it would trip(reciever, amp, dvd playe, projector, xbox/whatever). The SmartAPC 1400VA is only 100VA less but it would trip at volume -15 on the Denon AVR5700 reciever as compared to -5 on the Denon AVR5700 reciever with the Powerware.

That will only help you if you own Denon products(Denon's Volume starts at -60 and goes to 0 and then goes to postive 18 on my AVR 5700)...

let me try to describe it this way.

With my Panasonic PTL500u projector I never saw any refresh rate/image shake/brightness hits with the PowerWare...with my Smart APC 1400VA UPS it isn't much better than the quality of plugging directly into the wall outlet.

How about a third way. I replaced both UPS systems with a Monster Power HTS 3500 MKII power filter - rated at 2775 joules (approximately 1800 watts from what I can find).

http://www.monstercable.com/power/productPagePower.asp?pin=1021&LastPage=Reference Power

The Monster Power HTS3500 trips at about -10 on the Denon reciever. (meaning it holds more draw than the Smart APC, but much less than the PowerWare)



Conclusion. Powerware is the UPS to get. Just like Powersupplys these UPS systems have line regulation and filtering(the good UPS systems convert AC to DC and then convert the DC back to AC in order to eliminate any bad power fluctuations. You basically run off the battery constantly and the UPS is constantly charging the battery.

The more expensive UPS systems regulate your power better. That being said, an APC is probably fine for a computer system. I know my Smart APC 1400 VA system can run my system in my sig and 2 other similar computers for at least five minutes in a power outage because I've done it before at LAN parties.
 
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