Choosing an UPS

[stenest]

Hi.

I'm planning to buy an UPS for my home computer.
To be honest I know nothing about UPS's. Maybe someone does and is willing to help me out.

PC has 650W PSU, Acer H235H monitor which should be 40W and 2.1 speakers (around 30W).

How powerful should the UPS be and maybe some recommendations?


Thanks in advance!

Sten

 

[soflanetworking]

I recommend the APC brand to all of my clients, and for more most desktop applications a 500VA+ UPS should be sufficient. Really depends on how much time you want it to run after the power is out.

The higher the VA, the longer the devices will stay on after the power goes out.

I use 350VA on my TV and satellite receiver, 550VA on my desktop, and 1500VA when I install servers.

 

[tremmor]

Belkin makes em too. they work well. I think most will only buy you minutes or at least enough time to shut down properly.

 

[stenest]

Thank you for you answers.

 

[strollin]

The primary goal of a UPS is to provide ample time after the main power is interrupted for you to do an orderly shutdown. Usually 5-10 minutes of running time. APC has a calculator on their website to help you determine what size UPS you need: UPS Selector

 

[DCIScouts]

One thing I invested in with my APC UPS was a Automatic Voltage Regulator. (That's at least what APC calls it...) If you are in an area that has brownouts or in a house/apartment that's older, it's definitely something to consider as those type of things that don't kill your valuable electronics quickly, but definitely will damage them over time.