Best UPS for ~$50 on newegg.

[dguy6789]

Title says it, what is the best ups for around $50.

 

[Zepper]

I don't know of a good UPS for under $100. You can get a battery backup for around $50, but not a real UPS... I don't even know what brands they sell. Look for a good input voltage range (the range of voltages it can compensate for w/o switching to battery). And a 450-550Volt-Amp unit should cover most systems for a few minutes.
. I wonder why newegg doesn't carry PowerWare units. Historically they've had some of the best units. Worth checking into as well as the ones newegg carries. Lots of engineers that spec major installations won't use less than their Ferrups units. PowerWare is a merger of Best Power, Exide/Deltec, Sola, etc. Now a division of Eaton.

.bh.

 

[DaveSimmons]

A local office supply store might be a better choice, a good UPS is _heavy_ because of the battery.

My Belkin 1,xxx model works well, APC and Tripp-Lite are other good brands.

 

[dguy6789]

Does circuit city or office depot carry them? They are the only computer stores in my area. Also, I only need a UPS that will allow my system to remain on if like a storm shuts off the house power for a few seconds. I dont need some 30 minute thing, maybe a 1 minute backup setup that will automatically kick in when the power goes out.

 

[Zepper]

Office Depot usually stocks a couple - perhaps you can check inventory online. Look at APC, TrippLite, Opti, or CyberPower - skip Belkin (whose sole reason for existing is to provide add-on sales with jewelry store margins for the big box stores)

.bh.
.

 

[dguy6789]

alright, ill check the depot soon.

 

[Blain]

Tripp Lite 350VA with 1170 joules of surge protection @ $43.25 shipped

 

[SuperFreaky]

Originally posted by: Blain
Tripp Lite 350VA with 1170 joules of surge protection @ $43.25 shipped

Ugh, serial connection.

This One has USB. Only 365 Joules... how important is that, if you are running an LCD?

 

[Navid]

It is a common misconception to associate the VA figure of a UPS with the amount of time it can power the system.

In reality, the VA figure has nothing to do with the run time. The UPS must be able to provide enough power to your system. This, you can check by looking at the power rating of the UPS. It is given in Watts.

Another misconception is to think that the VA figure is the same as the power rating. In reality, there is no UPS in the market with identical VA and W ratings. The W rating (power) is always lower than the VA rating.

The amount of time the UPS will power your system has to do with the capacity of the battery unit that it has. I am not saying that is not important; it is.
I am saying that the power rating of a UPS is more important!

For example a 350VA unit, hardly can provide 200W of power. You also need to power your monitor. Let's say your monitor needs 50W. That leaves only 150W for your PC.

Edit:
http://bugclub.org/beginners/miscellaneous/upscalc.html

 

[Zepper]

Like I said, you want at least 450-550 VA (300W minimum). That way you will have a little margin in case you want to power a cordless phone system, answering machine, etc. too. If your PSU has active Power Factor Correction, you should get a bit more run time out of your battery backup.

.bh.

 

[Blain]

Originally posted by: Zepper
Like I said, you want at least 450-550 VA (300W minimum). That way you will have a little margin in case you want to power a cordless phone system, answering machine, etc. too. If your PSU has active Power Factor Correction, you should get a bit more run time out of your battery backup.

.bh.

I've got one on my VCR.

 

[Lovehandles]

Originally posted by: Navid
It is a common misconception to associate the VA figure of a UPS with the amount of time it can power the system.

In reality, the VA figure has nothing to do with the run time.[/L]

I was told by an electrical engineer that with UPSs, the higher the VA, the more run time you'll get when the electricity goes out. What you're saying seems to be the exact opposite. Do you have anything to backup your claim??

 

[Navid]

Originally posted by: Lovehandles

Originally posted by: Navid
It is a common misconception to associate the VA figure of a UPS with the amount of time it can power the system.

In reality, the VA figure has nothing to do with the run time.[/L]

I was told by an electrical engineer that with UPSs, the higher the VA, the more run time you'll get when the electricity goes out. What you're saying seems to be the exact opposite. Do you have anything to backup your claim??

You got me wrong if you think that I said the exact opposite of that!

It just happens that manufacturers place larger batteries in units that have higher VA ratings. So, you may experience that one with a higher VA rating runs for a longer period of time when there is no power. But, I am saying that just because the VA rating is higher does not guarantee that the unit will run longer.

How long the unit will run is a function of the capacity of the battery. You can use the same unit (same VA) with different batteries and get different run times.

The VA rating tells you how much power the unit can deliver to you. Power is energy in unit time. It is different from energy.
It has to do with the efficiency of the unit. If you load the unit more than it can handle, it will heat up too much. Even before its battery runs out, you may have problems. Its output voltage may drop below acceptable level.

So, you need to get a unit that has a large enough battery to run your system long enough, and an output power rating that can provide as much power as you need.

This is a confusion that often comes up when someone mistakes power with energy. Power is how fast energy is delivered.
The power company charges you based on kWh or kilo Watt hour. kilo Watt is a unit for power. But, kilo Watt hour is a unit for energy. You pay for energy, not for power.

The amount of energy stored in the UPS (battery) tells you how long it will last when the power is gone. The power rating of the UPS tells you how fast you can use that energy without compromising the performance, and output voltage.

 

[Ike0069]

How do you know if a particular UPS offers voltage regulation while running? I don't see that mentioned in any of the descriptions. That should be a purchase consideration, right?

 

[Zepper]

If you see an input voltage range in the specs (like 90-130), then within that range it will provide some degree of regulation w/o resorting to the battery. If you upgrade to the better series of units, then you will get a finer degree and/or a wider range of regulation (more steps = more taps on the transformer) - the cheap ones usually provide only one step of boost or cut. The only way to find out is to read the complete specs on the unit you're interested in.

.bh.