UPS Sizing

[D1gger]

I have:

Asus A8V-Deluxe
AMD64-FX53
1GB Corsair XMS Pro4000
2 x 74GB Raptor Sata Drive
1 x Seagate 160GB Sata Drive
1 x Pioneer A07 DVD/RW
1 x Liteon 48x CD/RW
BFG 6800U-OC
Soundblaster Audigy 2 ZS Platinum Pro
Powered by Antec Silence Tru550W Power Supply

Dell 2005FPW LCD
Generic 17" CRT as second display

My question is how big a UPS do I need to power this setup in the event of a power failure. I don't want to be able to run it for any extended lenght of time in a now power event, just enought time to do an orderly shutdown.

I've never had a UPS so have no previous experience.

Any recommendations?

 

[hemiram]

You and I have a very similar system, and I would get a 500 watt of larger. When I had my CRT monitor, I was pulling 230+ watts and the runtime was very short and if I turned off the monitor and turned it back on while I was booted up, the UPS said it was overloaded, so I was pretty close to maxing it out. I can't climb under the table to tell you what model it is, but it's output is 410 watts, I think it's a "750" or "800" in APC speak. My draw on it now with a 17" LCD is only 135 watts, not bad. Yours would be a little higher so I would go for a "1000 or 1200" WV size. Sam's club near me has an 1100WV APC that looks fine for you (or me, bigger is always better). Here it is, might be cheaper somewhere else, might not...

http://www.samsclub.com/eclub/main_shop...9:-43881:-44025:-44027:687288&fid=2S10

If I needed one right now, it would be it, since I could have it in 20 minutes..

 

[D1gger]

Thanks for the input.

I think I might go with This one.

 

[hemiram]

That should work ok. Not too big, which is good.

 

[imported_Kensai]

That should work out for you.

 

[Navid]

It helps a lot if you have the power consumption of your PC.

The unit you have chosen is an excellent unit.

The battery dies after 2 to 3 years. Then, you can replace the battery. Alternatively, you can replace the whole unit. That is why I get cheaper units so that I don't mind replacing the whole thing in 3 years.
Three years ago, if you bought a UPS unit, it would have a serial data port connector. If you buy one now, it will have a USB data port.
In 3 years, there may be other additions to the available UPS units that I wouldn't mind having.

I don't know how you set up your two monitors. But, if you can survive with just one in case of a power loss, I would only plug the PC and the LCD into the battery-backed outlets of the UPS. I would plug the CRT into a surge-protected outlet.
This increases your run time and decreases the power drawn from the UPS.

There are two parameters that you have to consider when choosing a UPS.

One is the maximum power capability of the unit in comparison to the power you need. If the UPS is rated as 300W, you should not load it with 500W. It may work. But, it may not behave as expected or it may die sooner.

The second is the run time. When you lose power, how long the UPS provides power and can keep the PC and monitor going. This has to do with the capacity of the battery inside the UPS. Often people confuse this with the other. But, you can place different batteries with different capacities into two identical UPS units. Then, one will have a longer run time even though the power capabilities of the two units are identical.