Battery Back ups (Mostly APC)

[SIRCOOKS]

How would i know what size battery back up to buy? is there some type of online calculator i can check out. Is there various things on and in my machine i can add up to figure out how much, i wanna buy two to protect my computers and i don't wanna buy one thats too big, thats a waste of money and power, and i don't wanna buy one to small that'll just hurt my computers. Holla Back

[lordsmurf]

How much will you put on it? At very least, I'd say to stick to either APC or CyberPower, and be sure to use one with AVR (automatic voltage regulation), not just battery/surge. The CyberPower has it on most all of their models, while APC only has it on the upper-end ones. For that reason, I prefer CyberPower, but I own and use both it and APC at home and at the office.

I suggest the ones in the $75-125 price range, if you have a powerful computer and value it. The cheaper ones will be fine for TV/entertainment setups, with no more than 4-5 devices total.

Pretty much everything I own, save an alarm clocks and a couple of lamps, is plugged into a UPS.

I log into the units with my laptop and disable the alarms. It's a pest when power goes off at night and the whole house beeps.

The computer can also connect to them, and the software will shut down your computer before the battery power runs out. I like the larger ones, gives you at least a half hour of power under normal strain.

Do not let the numbers on the box fool you, they are way lower in reality. That "45" minute protection is more like 10 minutes. It all depends on what's plugged into it. Those box ratings are not under full strain, just partial with 1-2 devices at most (and energy-savers at that!).

[SIRCOOKS]

i want to have enough for software to kick in, save my work, then safely shut down my machine. I have a 19" LCD screen on both computers, and will be buying two UPS'......both my comps have 600w powers supplies, and more than 5 hard drives in each, wit a bunch of add on cards, and are usually left on over night.

[lordsmurf]

Then pretty much grab what I said, one of the $100-range units (more or less). Then install the software.

I'd have to say I prefer the APC software over the CyberPower, because the Cyber software chokes with my USB2 hub, not sure why. It might just be a bad USB network cable (special cable, comes with UPS).

But I prefer the CyberPower UPS hardware.

Tough call.

[SIRCOOKS]

ive found my model using this calculator for everyone else
http://www.apc.com/tools/ups_selector/index.cfm, and this is my recommended model
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16842101125
holla back

[lordsmurf]

That exact one is sitting under my desk right now. I got it on clearance from Office Depot in December for $79.99 plus tax.

Awesome unit.

[ahhaa]

a ps... if you are really near salt water, be sure to check the battery terminals & the ground (earth) connection relatively frequently.

[Capmaster]

Depends on the PC and how much run-time you want if the lights go out

You generally should oversize it - If your PC PS is 350W and you have an LCD monitor, figure 500 - 650VA minimum. Even higher if you have a lot of hard drives and other powered things you want protected. Leave off the printer, especially if it's a laser. They usually give UPS units kniption fits