Help Picking out a UPS

Discussion in 'Discussions' started by Haldurson, Sep 6, 2013.

  1. Haldurson

    Haldurson Member

    I'm considering getting a UPS for my computer. I've experienced several power outages over the summer, and I know that hurricane/storm season is nearly here, and I expect more problems. Unfortunately, I'm kind of baffled as to what I actually need.

    I have a relatively high-end tower computer (at least it would have been considered high-end a year and a half ago), and I suppose I'd want to include my router and an external hard drive. Obviously, I'd only need it to power things for a very brief time. We're also having a standby generator installed for the house, and that should take about 20 seconds or so to get to nearly full power from when the lights go out. so I just need to close that gap, I suppose.

    I've read some posts elsewhere about it and then I look at the various UPSs for sale at Newegg, and my head starts to spin lol.
     
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  2. LionsDen

    LionsDen Member

    I have a computer that is around 5 years old or so. It has a dual core 2.2 GHz Intel chip with a NVidia video card and a 600 or 650 Watt power supply and I am using a APC Back-Ups ES 750 UPS and before that I had a 350 or 500 Watt APC on my VCRs and Television before it died after around 10 years. I purchased it so long ago that I can't remember exactly. My APC brand UPS's have tended to last a fairly good amount of time. I do not own stock or work for APC (or anyone else) but I think they make some good UPS's. I haven't owned any other brands so APC is all I can attest to. Hope this helps you with your decision.

    EDIT: I forgot to mention that my 750 Watt APC can keep my computer running for at least 10 minutes. I haven't tried to take it further because I also have a DVR connected to it and I prefer that it lasts as long as possible.
     
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  3. Haldurson

    Haldurson Member

    Thanks. It probably won't need to last that long, but it's good to know that it will.

    Hmm... reading the Newegg comments, there's a lot of negativity about APC (someone said that they've gone downhill since they were purchased by 'Scheiner' (?). Supposedly they deny all claims, have horrible customer service, you can't find the software for the device on their website, etc. etc.
     
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  4. LionsDen

    LionsDen Member

    Well, it's been a few years ago since I purchased my newest one. I have never had to contact APC for any service or warranty so I don't have any experience with that part of it. Also, I am always at my computer when it is turned on so I have never installed the monitoring software because I shut my computer down when I am done with it and away from it. I did get a small optical disk that had the software on it but I don't know if they are still shipping their UPS's with those or not. Plus I tend to discount the warranty claims of every company because I have only ever had one company provide it's warranty service and that was Maxtor and they did all right by me a long time ago. Other items that I have purchased and tried to get warranty service on have been denied.

    I purchased an office chair from office max and they said the warranty covered everything but when I called in because the chair arms broke (they were only plastic, no metal in them at all) I was told only the wheels, the pressure cylinder and the chair material were covered. When I contacted office max they said that was wrong and when I mentioned that my claim was denied they said that was strange. I did get a replacement chair arm from my local office max but I wont ever trust a companies warranty claims ever again.
     
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  5. Haldurson

    Haldurson Member

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  6. OmniaNigrum

    OmniaNigrum Member

    That looks like a nice multi-cell UPS. You should search the feedback for "Memory Leak" to avoid a known issue with the software for this model. Also, if it cannot charge fully to nearly 100% then it has a bad cell and should be RMA'ed.

    The last UPS I bought was from Newegg as well, but was Rosewill brand. It weighed about 40 pounds. The first two were bad, but Newegg paid for shipping it back and forth until they got me a working unit. So even if it costs more to buy from Newegg, it can save you a fortune in shipping costs if you get a bad unit.
     
  7. Haldurson

    Haldurson Member

    I've always had good experiences dealing with Newegg when I've had problems. I don't think there's ever been an issue that I've contacted them about where I didn't wind up with a quick replacement or refund. Amazon is not bad, but generally speaking, if something that I want to purchase is available from both places for close enough to the same price, I generally prefer Newegg -- they just have a perfect record with me.

    I even remember several years ago on my last PC build (one that was a nightmare because nothing went right). I had to exchange a motherboard, and a power supply (something bad had happened when I plugged it in for the first time, and lets leave it at that). And I started to explain to the Customer Service person that I wasn't sure if I had caused the problem, and she interrupted me and said 'nevermind that, here's your RMA #s". In other words, not only didn't she ask questions, she didn't want to know. She just allowed the returns.
     
    Last edited: Sep 16, 2013
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  8. Haldurson

    Haldurson Member

    I just installed it today, and my main thought is when the f**k will they stop making those huge transformer/plugs that fit absolutely nothing or that shoot off in a sideways direction covering 3 outlets instead of just 1? Anyway, I couldn't plug my external hard drive into a battery-powered outlet.

    The good news is that the power meter software says that it should keep things running on battery for 36 minutes, which is far more than I need right now. Everything seems to be working just fine, but it hasn't been battle-tested yet, so we'll see.
     
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  9. LionsDen

    LionsDen Member

    If you want to battle test it under controlled conditions, just pull the plug sometime after it has fully charged and see what happens. Of course you will need your computer and whatever else you have plugged into it on for it to be more appropriate. That will at least let you test blackout conditions. Brownouts and surges only time will tell unless you have access to some expensive and sophisticated equipment.
     
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  10. Haldurson

    Haldurson Member

    Tomorrow morning, a standby generator will be installed and the power will be out for 3 to 4 hours, so that ought to do it :cool:.
     
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  11. Haldurson

    Haldurson Member

    Well, the UPS worked as well as it could have, considering that I discovered I made a dumb mistake... I plugged the USB cable into a USB hub which was not powered when the electricity went off. I realized my mistake upon seeing the 'lost communication with UPS, shutting down in 5 seconds'.

    Well it's all straightened out now.
     
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