UPS

Hi, i just read a article about ups in a pc mag.
i was wondering whihc one you would choose?
i would just want my monitor,pc and router to be backed up by battery and the other plugs just surge protected.
it seems ive got 7 things plugged in.
Ive got these plugged in,
PC (wanted battery backup)
monitor (want battery backup)
router (want battery backup)
printer(just surge protected)
Maxtor one touch usb drive (just surge protected)
speakers (just surge protected)
the 7th thing is just Christmas lights so i just need a 6 plug thing because i can plug them in elsewhere
I have seen some Belkin ones but i dont know what people recommend.
10-15 minute battery backup is fine.
but if you know some with longer and not to much more provide links anyway
i found one a Belkin one at maplin for £129 which has 4 plugs but its not really enough.
thanks in advance
lodore

 

Hi lodore,
I have a APC 500 CS for three years now and it has been running trouble free.In case of Power failure you have 30 mn of autonomy.
It has I think 6x Outlet to plug different Hardware plus one for the Telephone line.

Protection up to 1020 Joules which is enough normally

http://www.apcc.com/products/family/index.cfm?id=17

 

lodore, look at the stuff from APC. They have been around for quite a while. I use the RS-1500?? I forget which, but in any case I have a power strip plugged into it and it covers my main box (Dell XPS 600), NASserver (Dell Deminsion 8200), router, modem, monitor and 2 external HDD.
hth,

...screamer

 

thanks for all your replys.
any links for uk sites that i can purchase a APC ups?
lodore

 

Take a look at the link I provide you. You can then choose the Country at the top.

 

thanks i used the wizard and they about £130 for what i want.
its a shame for £130 i only get a com port and not a usb port thou.

wait i get one with 6 ports and usb prot at scan for £130
this anygood?
its only 5minutes backup time at top end of usage.
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/ProductInfo.asp?WebProductID=378791

anyone heard of trip lite?
http://www.advizia.com/tripplite/
lodore

 

triplite is also a well regarded name in power products. PC Mag or PC World did a review a while back and APC came out on top of several others including triplite, belkin... Might be worth a shot though if you are getting all the protection you require.

...screamer

 

lodore - Just a note. My APC also has a port for a broadband cable, besides the phone jack. It's good for about 35 minutes on the battery. The model is ES650

 

Hi Guys,

I think your supposed to size the UPS to the load. Add up the power consumption, of all intended battery backed up appliances. Normally you just protect the computer & monitor. If the battery is undersized for the load, it will be perpetually drained, leading to pre-mature battery failure. Too big a battery for your load is just a waste of bucks. Owners manuals are a good place to find out about current draw. I kinda remember some of this stuff from way back. Any electricians here?

Take Care
Rico

PS Size matters

 

A general rule of thumb is to load the UPS to half load. ie. half its rated capacity. The APC unit warns if you're exceeding its limit. With my monitor added I teeter over and under.

...screamer

 

A great source for user opinions is on newegg.com, even if you don't/can't buy from them.

APC's are definitely the way to go when you can. They've got a great reputation and Windows has native support for them (and them alone), so you don't have to install their software to get the automatic shutdown features. They are, however, a bit more expensive than others.

 

I bought my APC ES650 UPS from Amazon UK. Previously I have bought a UPS direct from APC (UK), but Amazon's service was fine.

Amazon are good for cables for the UPS to enable UK 3 pin plus to be connected to the UPS, and much cheaper than buying from APC.

Living in the country, we do suffer sudden outages which the PowerChute software supplied by APC with their UPS handles well.

 

Hello,
One thing you have not mentioned is the power.
You want the UPS to actually be able to power up your system.
Mrk

 

For offline its APC and for online its Toshiba, look no further.

 

http://i16.tinypic.com/2yzbjv7.jpg

normal operation is in black with failover in grey
(SPS Standby Power Supply, generally refered to as Uninterputible Power Supplies by slight of hand)
which explains my preference for Liebert GTX2 series
which can be found for a reasonable amount on ebay (practice patience for the KVA you need)
(complete double inversion with 0% possibility of surge, far better inverters ect.)


APC's calculator is very opaque
but figuring it yourself requires adding up your actual real world worse case power senerio in a custom computer

Calculator w\ amps per rail
Proceedure
then hunt down your PSU's effciency for your worse case
(Silent Mike does a damn good job working up efficiency) then add in peripherals
factor in PFC and convert to KVA
which of course is why few ever actually do it and just over estimate


(If possible you want active Power Factor Correction for your PSU)

Eaton\Powerware\Liebert are more enterprise level UPS manufacturers
(where say you need a small building for your UPS down to rackmount and workstation sized )
whereas APC and Tripp Lite are both enduser & Enterprise
and say Belkin is enduser

APC shades a bit more enterprise but with a strong endiser name recognition and line
Tripp-Lite a bit more enduser lacking the massive data center UPS lineup
Liebert\Eaton\Powerware are almost exclusively Enterprise

 

the problem is the belkin ones provide more battery backup for the cash 15minute compared to 5-8minutes for the apc ones.
but i guess if the apc ones are better it might be worth getting that one instead.
atm ive just got a normal surge protected mains lead.
other than battery backup what else does ups provide that my surge protected 8 socket extension lead doesnt?
do ups have better surge protection?
and do you recommend home users paying for a ups over a normal surge protected extension lead?
lodore

 

almost all surge suppressors and SPS employ Metal Oxide Varistors MOV
and those can wear out, yet seem to be working in many cases
and of course a surge suppressor does nothing for you when it comes to brownouts

true online UPS totally isolate the AC by first using it to charge DC batteries, which are then inverted to bone stable AC
only to have the PSU convert it back to DC again

I say its directly proportional to what you've spent on your box
its also an infrastructure investment that has a far longer useful life than most of your computer components, its cheap insurance
same goes for a high quality PSU

alot depends on what your utility is supplying you, what else is on your house circuit (big motors or compressors in appliances are a no no)
and how good your PSU is dealing with surges and brownout,
a serious brownout will kill a cheap PSU, shutdown most midrange PSU and effect a very high quality PSU not at all (to a point of course)

SPS serve the purpose for most people quite well, but few realize that onlines are available at a competitive pricepoint considering what your actually getting

 

lodore - A battery surge protector gives you time to shut down safely in the event of a blackout. I never had the problem until after I bought my APC. I was sitting at my pc and became aware that I was sitting in the dark, with the exception of my pc. I just closed my work, and did a normal shut down. A regular surge protector is just that. It hopefully protects the pc should there be a surge when the lights come back on. As I said earlier, I have a 650 APC which has 35 minutes of battery power as of now. I just checked.

 

As mentioned, a UPS will also compensate for brownouts or otherwise "dirty" power, which can sometimes be even worse for your system. They generally condition the power, keeping it working efficiently as possible for as long as possible. As far as the price goes, the more expensive ones are worth it whenever possible. I had a cheapy that died prematurely, sending a jolt that killed my computer's power supply along with it. I don't trust Belkin for much of anything outside cheap external cables, everything else I've had made by them was shoddy at best. You might at least see if you can find features about self-testing and failure notification, now that I think of it. APCs are almost always good about this. Again, you also don't have to install any 3rd party software with an APC, the functionality is available in Windows XP without installing their software. Those apps tend to be too bulky for my tastes for what they do.