Is it worth it getting a UPS?

[Locut0s]

Well sort of, the memory died anyways. What's the likelihood of that just as I'm assembling the parts for my new computer my old one decides to bite the dust. Or byte the dust, boooo It started when my computer just froze up solid a few days ago. When I went to reboot I got a whole bunch of strange video problems, vertical blue lines etc and the computer failed to properly boot. At first I thought it was a graphics card problem but after playing around with things a while I started to notice that the computer was behaving too inconsistently for it to be the video card. It would sometimes boot up fine then run slow as molasses and sometimes wouldn't even show the windows login screen. Other times programs just kept crashing. So I ran memtest86 and sure enough the memory's fried at one location. 22 failures at the same location in 7 tests. Well in a week or so I should have my new comp up and running. Strange timing though.

I'm also wondering if a spat of recent power outages had something to do with it. I keep my computer on 24/7 and we've had 2 or 3 short power outages in the last week. Another possible culprit is heat. Our house is south facing and in the summers here the computer room can easily reach 30-32 C (86-92 F). The past few days have been especially bad.

My computer actually cost me about $150 Cdn less than I had planed so I'm mulling over whether a UPS would be a wise purchase or not? Considering I spend about $3000 on it, it would be a small investment to extend it's life but I don't want to if it's not worth it either.

Here's the article on my new comp if you're interested in the specs:

http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview.aspx?catid=27&threadid=1662954

 

[Locut0s]

Basicaly I'm wondering if people think that getting a UPS is worth the money or not.

 

[Darien]

32 C room temperature isn't all that bad. A system should be designed to take more than that for an ambient temperature.

Depending on how critical the things you're working on are, it might be worth it to buy a UPS. It could save you lots of man hours in the future if you're doing something critical and you get a surge.

 

[ElTorrente]

I have a nice UPS that I'm very happy with. Not only does it have surge protection, and battery backup, but filters the power entering your PSU - delivering stable and "clean" power. Sounds good to me.

I don't care if lighting strikes nearby, or power goes out, or surges, or whatever. My system is expensive as heck and I think 100bucks or so for a decent UPS is worth the insurance. In fact, I even have a battery backup unit for my Raid card so I don't lose something in write-back mode in it's 128megs of cache.

 

[crimson117]

I would certainly recommend getting one.

I use the APC Back-UPS ES 725 Broadband Backup Power Supply (Part Number BE725BB) instead of a regular power strip, and it works great.

 

[birdpup]

Yes, A UPS is definitely worth the money. Get a UPS with undervoltage protection to counteract power fluctuations due to over and under voltage. Our current electrical distribution infrastructure is not designed for the precise requirements of modern computers so it is best to protect that expensive gear at home. What sold me on a UPS is when I saw each computer in my local PC shop having its own UPS.

 

[dabuddha]

UPS are not that expensive anymore so I would definitely recommend getting one

 

[wkinney]

Originally posted by: crimson117
I would certainly recommend getting one.

I use the APC Back-UPS ES 725 Broadband Backup Power Supply (Part Number BE725BB) instead of a regular power strip, and it works great.

I have a poweredge 1800 (650w psu) and a regular tower (400w psu), is that thing ok to use for both?

The APC specs say its rated for 450w output max...

I really dont think the poweredge is averaging even close to 650, there are however two xeon 3.0GHz in there tho...(only like 35w each if i remember correctly).

 

[Coherence]

For a UPS to be truly useful, however, you have to install software for it which will put your PC into hibernation and shut down while you are away from it. The problem, however, is that I've never owned a desktop system (home-built or otherwise) that wasn't buggy when going into hibernation, or even just powering down the hard drives after a couple hours of idle.

I don't know if this is a bug with Windows power management, or the make/model of hard drives, or what.

As far as just turning off drives in power management after an hour or so (monitor after 30 mins, HD after an hour, you get the idea) on my older systems, my drives would never come back on, and I'd have to reboot. Because of that, I never shut off my drives anymore.

On my current rig, when I had the software for my UPS set up to hibernate my PC due to a power outage, my drive was totally dead the next time I booted up. The system POSTed, but said no hard drive was found. I had to disconnect it, reconnect it, and have the BIOS redetect it before I could boot again. Even then, Windows said it couldn't restore the hibernation state anyway. This happened twice.

So, in my experience, a UPS is great when you are there to shut things down safely, but I don't trust hibernation to work when I'm not there to shut it down myself.

If anyone has tips on getting it to work right, let me know!

 

[KoolDrew]

Originally posted by: dabuddha
UPS are not that expensive anymore so I would definitely recommend getting one

 

[Navid]

Originally posted by: wkinney

I have a poweredge 1800 (650w psu) and a regular tower (400w psu), is that thing ok to use for both?

The APC specs say its rated for 450w output max...

I really dont think the poweredge is averaging even close to 650, there are however two xeon 3.0GHz in there tho...(only like 35w each if i remember correctly).

That would not be a good idea. You will need to connect your monitor(s) to the UPS also.

 

[Willie11b]

This is not scientifically based but it seems to me that the vast majority of the time that someone calls me for a fix they do NOT have a UPS. I have seen brand new high end systems die in short order with a strong case for power issues.

Why take the chance?

 

[stuman74]

UPS question...

I just got a APC BX800 UPS the other day from CC. I am plugging in my cable modem, wireless router, Vonage box, and phone base.

The cable modem and wireless router have those huge surge blocks integrated into the plug and the UPS only gives spacing for one, not two of them.

Is there any reason that I can't plug all of those items into my previous "non-UPS" surge protector and then simply plug the surge protector into one of the UPS recepticles?

Thanks!

 

[deathwalker]

It is always worth getting a UPS. I propose a new computer buying rule!! Thou shalt not be able to buy a putter without buying a UPS. Its like safe sex with a stranger...use the umbrella baby.

 

[Blain]

I always run my PCs off a USP. Not especially for the backup time, but for "clean power". :laugh:

 

[Fox5]

I had my PC at college running on a UPS...within the first 2 days my UPS was completely fried. Strangely, now my computer is hooked into a normal surge protector and just fine.

 

[WackyDan]

Originally posted by: Locut0s
Basicaly I'm wondering if people think that getting a UPS is worth the money or not.

The biggest thing I noticed when adding UPS's to my setups years ago, is the near absolute elimination of blue screens and lockups. Clean power means a lot to any electronic device.

 

[wanderer27]

http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview...atid=29&threadid=1707467&enterthread=y

 

[Unkno]

would a 725VA rated for max 400W be able to handle a system with like X2 3800+, 7800GT, 20" LCD monitor, 450W antec psu??

 

[Unkno]

bump

 

[evilharp]

Originally posted by: Unkno
would a 725VA rated for max 400W be able to handle a system with like X2 3800+, 7800GT, 20" LCD monitor, 450W antec psu??

I'm using an APC Backups-ES 650va with my rig (x2 4200+, X800XT AIW, 550w Antec TruePower, 3 drives, 19 inch CRT) and I get around 8-9 minutes during a blackout. Your LCD will draw less power than my CRT, so you should be able to stay up longer. 725va should be great.

 

[GalvanizedYankee]

Originally posted by: Unkno
would a 725VA rated for max 400W be able to handle a system with like X2 3800+, 7800GT, 20" LCD monitor, 450W antec psu??

Both Belkin and APC have calculaters at thier sites. I use a Belkin 1200 and with a 22" CRT
and my midrange PC, it will keep me on for 12 minuets. With no CRT,40 minuets.
Lightning strikes are uncommon in SoCal but it has saved me twice.

The smart thing i did was will-call it at M-Wave, as shipping is over the top on a monster
UPS.


Galvanized

 

[evilharp]

Originally posted by: Fox5
I had my PC at college running on a UPS...within the first 2 days my UPS was completely fried. Strangely, now my computer is hooked into a normal surge protector and just fine.

Sounds like dirty power to me. Your UPS was probably switching like mad to compensate for voltage spikes/sags and "electrical noise". I worked in a Call Centre that was located in an industrial area, and we had huge problems due to dirty power. The company had to shell out a huge lump of cash to buy a Power Conditioner large enough to protect the IT framework (desktops/servers/lan/PBX/IVR/etc..).

I wouldn't feel so secure about you PC being safe hooked up to that circuit. When the UPS was running, what did the Power Log (record of interruptions/UPS activity) indicate?

 

[reader850]

I really like my APC XS 1000, from CompUSA on sale for $129 a couple of months ago. I have 2 computers and a monitor plugged into it. It tracks power interuptions. I didn't realize how often the power blinks out for a couple of seconds. My old computer developed strange motherboard problems that I now blame on many repeated power failures and "unclean" power. Wish I had bought the UPS years ago.

 

[jjsbasmt]

I run the same UPS as reader850, and couldn't be more pleased with its performance. I have run UPSs for about 5 years now and never have had power issues to worry about. Oh yes, I leave my 2 systems on 24/7 (not to start another thread about whether to leave a system on all the time or not).