Author Topic: Battery Backup question (Read 541 times)

Glasses · « **on:** July 12, 2005, 04:37:10 PM »

I've recently purchased my new system and it's on its way . The following question arises as to what wattage I should buy for a system that has a 480W power supply . For now that's the only thing I would be pluggin in to the battery backup. I've read some thigns about continous power and apparently it's the way to go as far as having a continous throughput of electricity to the PC so it doesn't spike.

So what would be recommended for protection and price range for a battery backup/surge protection, at no more than $100.

New system
Asus A8v DLX
1gB Corsair RAM
AMD 3500 64 939 Pin
250GB WD IDE HD
ATI 9500 Pro
Antec 480W True Blue PSU

Eagler · « **Reply #1 on:** July 12, 2005, 05:14:56 PM »

I have about ur setup with 5 more hard drives, 9800 pro, a firewire scanner and printer and use one of these:

ps: think you need to double ur budget on this item

Easyscor · « **Reply #2 on:** July 12, 2005, 08:21:39 PM »

Yep, your budget is a little thin. For $100 you'll have a few minutes, say 15 if you're lucky, in which to do a controlled shut down. 30 minutes to an hour for more money is the best you'd expect anyway without a standby generator. Don't forget to figure the draw for the monitor as well as printer, modem, router etc.

Edit:
I almost forgot. If this isn't a critical business application, you may have outlets on the back designed for circuit protection only. Use these for your printer and scaner so they don't draw on the battery when the house power goes dead.

Even more important, never use a lazer printer on a cheap UPS system.

Glasses · « **Reply #3 on:** July 12, 2005, 09:48:14 PM »

So what may I ask would be for that amount the UPS to hold and protect this system.

Schutt · « **Reply #4 on:** July 13, 2005, 03:01:44 AM »

I wouldnt trust a 100 dollar UPS.

Consider plugging in your display device too.

I would guess your PS draws about 500 Watts if it has to deliver 300, so calculate 500 plus whatever your monitor/display gives.

Then get one that grants you 20 mins of power in the list and enough output for the powersupply+ monitor+ a bit extra for security.

Since the battery in the UPS degrades over time you ll end up having 10 mins or so.

Easyscor · « **Reply #5 on:** July 13, 2005, 08:56:34 AM »

When the line power goes out, the UPS begins to beep. In both of mine, it begins beeping faster at a point a couple of minutes before it finally goes dead allowing you to continue running until you hear the final warning.

Many years ago I bought an APC 400 on sale at Frys Electronics for around a hundred dollars and expected it to be a piece of junk but it's done surprisingly well. I have to replace the battery every couple of years but that's only $35-45. Provides around 10 min. for a 350w box with a 19" monitor and modem.

Glasses · « **Reply #6 on:** July 13, 2005, 12:44:13 PM »

Alright but what model may I ask cordially for say 150 to 200 dollars specifically would be best for this system.

Cus I know jack about UPSs,so that's why I ask thee

eagl · « **Reply #7 on:** July 13, 2005, 04:30:04 PM »

I tend to buy APC UPS devices. They seem to work well and have decent quality. Remember to test it occasionally, because most of the consumer level ones do not report the healthy of the battery and the battery WILL need replacing eventually. I get at least 2 years out of my batteries although I had one that completely died after just 1 year. APC has a battery swap program that can save you some $$$ over just buying a new UPS when the battery dies.

Any capacity over 500 should give you plenty of time to shut down your system when the power cuts out unless you're running multiple CRT monitors on the UPS. 550-650 should be reasonably priced.

llama · « **Reply #8 on:** July 13, 2005, 06:19:56 PM »

I agree with Eagle here.

What are you people talking about, "$100 being a little thin?" I think you're nuts.

I have APC brand UPS units on ALL of my computers, and most of my clients. If you have a computer that starts to mysteriously get bad hard drives, bad CD drives, or bad PC cards, an APC brand UPS can magically solve those pesky power problems.

The REAL reason most people want a UPS is NOT to run a computer for 30 minutes or more during a blackout. Usually their house wiring or neighborhood power supply drops out for a second (or two, or ten) and they don't want their computer to lose everything they've been working on, or get zapped by a surge. Alternatively, a large electrical appliance (such as an air conditioner) may suck up a lot of electricity from the house whenever it starts up, creating a momentary brownout for everything else in the house. This may be OK for lamps, TVs, or refridgerators, but this is MURDER on a PC.

A $50 NAME-BRAND UPS is perfect for taking care of these problems.

Such a UPS may power your computer for all of 4 or 5 minutes, but you problably only need it to boost a low-power condition for just a few seconds each day. Great.

In the event of a real blackout, most of these things now have USB cables that can tell the PC to shut down cleanly when the battery is running out. Great!

So anyway, back to Glasses.

DO NOT spend more than $100 on an APC brand UPS. Just get a unit that is rated for at least 500 or 650, and has a USB cable connection for powering down the PC for extended no-power situations. If the only APC brand unit you can find is just rated at 400, then get it over some other brand's 600.

-Llama

Tarmac · « **Reply #9 on:** July 14, 2005, 11:12:11 AM »

A lot of the higher-end UPS have some form of voltage regulation. Is this something that you'd want in a UPS, or will a simple (ie cheap) one be enough?

llama · « **Reply #10 on:** July 14, 2005, 02:26:41 PM »

Even the low-end APC brand UPS devices have voltage regulation.

-Llama

Glasses · « **Reply #11 on:** July 15, 2005, 12:07:35 PM »

Good thanks for the reading I suspect though I'm not sure the problems I might be having in the new pc is that the wall jack might not be delivering the appropriate voltage to my PC so perhaps that should be it but before I spend any more money I'd like to know what i can do to configure the mother.

Tarmac · « **Reply #12 on:** July 15, 2005, 12:31:27 PM »

Quote

Originally posted by llama
Even the low-end APC brand UPS devices have voltage regulation.

-Llama

According to their website, the sub-$100 units don't all have their AVR (automatic voltage regulation) technology, but do have "Power conditioning (their description makes it sound like regular surge protection)," "Adjustable voltage sensitivity," and "Adjustable voltage-transfer points." (dunno what those mean).

What do those mean, and which do I want?

llama · « **Reply #13 on:** July 15, 2005, 05:12:31 PM »

Well, then I guess I don;t know either. I didn't think "Voltage Regulation" was a proper noun.

On the other hand, when a UPS is adding volts when needed, and eliminating them when not, it is regulating voltage.

Anyway, I wouldn't think twice of plugging a $4000 computer into a $50 APC UPS.

-Llama

Glasses · « **Reply #14 on:** July 16, 2005, 01:25:35 AM »

Well mine isn't 4k but it's almost 800 buckos