Looking into a UPS

[schocker]

Since the power goes out so often in Sage Hill, I have been looking at getting a UPS, mainly to protect my PC and NAS. I have been looking around and I figure I would be OK with 650+ Watts. Costco has an APC Back UPS Pro 1300va for $160 in store (Memx is about $20 more iirc). I was figuring that 780W would be more than enough.

I am not sure what to look for in a UPS though feature wise. From the dimensions it sounds massive also but I am guessing you don't really have a choice as it has a large battery hence the 30lbs weight.

Anyone have any ideas or input?
Thanks!

[BrknFngrs]

When I was shopping for mine I specifically looked for ones that would communicate with my NAS (Qnap) to tell it to shutdown if the power was out for an extended period of time and the UPS was also going to run out of juice.

[Cos]

.

[eblend]

what kind of PC are you running and how many drives in a NAS? You really don't need anything that big if its just a basic computer and a 4-5 drive NAS.

[schocker]

Originally posted by eblend
what kind of PC are you running and how many drives in a NAS? You really don't need anything that big if its just a basic computer and a 4-5 drive NAS.

PC (2500k, gtx670, 4 internal hdd, 1 ssd)
23" ips monitor
router
modem
2 bay nas

[fajita123]

Originally posted by BrknFngrs
When I was shopping for mine I specifically looked for ones that would communicate with my NAS (Qnap) to tell it to shutdown if the power was out for an extended period of time and the UPS was also going to run out of juice.

What did you end up getting? Sounds like a neat feature.

[Vagabond142]

CyberPower is a very good brand for UPS's.

http://www.memoryexpress.com/Products/MX25573 is the one I personally use, I have my beast of a system on it and when power goes poof, I get 10 minutes if I'm not gaming, and 5 minutes if I am, for shutdown, etc.

Also, don't forget MemEx will price beat Costco. So if you find a good UPS at Costco, and MemEx has it, just print out the Costco page, take it into MemEx, boom, price beat

[DeeK]

In my experiences:

I have found that dirty power, or power that does not maintain a consistent voltage, whether due to bad wiring in a house, minor fluctuations in the power grid, storms, or whatever the factor may be. They are the most damaging thing for electronics. Not the actual power outage itself (unless it's like a power outage that slowly dies, instead of instantaneously). Instant power loss should never hurt a PC.

Vancouver is notoriously bad for it's dirty power. I went through 4 PC's in a year. Try holding the power company responsible for you having to replace your PC components (LOL).

I chose to get a power conditioner instead and haven't had any problems since.

While a UPS does have a built in power conditioner, they are usually expensive (especially when you get up into the higher wattage). So if all you need is the electrical protection instead of the ability to keep the computer going after the power has gone out I recommend a power conditioner. Also, some lower model UPS's actually tend to cause more harm than good, as the battery slowly dies out it's just as bad as having a brown out, instant death for PCs. Do your research.

As far as power conditioners go this is the model I have:
http://products.ncix.com/detail/apc-...t-60-41410.htm

It's cheap, gets the job done, and has a battery inside it that adds power to the current when it detects low current, or stores excess power in the battery in times of high current. Also, when a power outage is detected it performs a clean power off.

Best money I have spent. Here in Vancouver many people run these in front all of their electronics.

[codetrap]

http://www.costco.ca/APC%C2%AE-Back-....10353656.html


http://www.costco.ca/APC%C2%AE-Back-....10353657.html

Then, when/if you have issues, you just take it into costco and swap it. No questions asked.

[schocker]

Deek, I don't believe my issue is dirty power as it just randomly goes out about once a week. It is more so annoying more than anything and I just wanted to make sure the PC and NAS are safe.

Codetrap, the bottom is the one I saw, but in store it is $159 which seems like a good deal. I don't think I could price match memx except with the online price which is higher by $20 than the store.

[DeeK]

Originally posted by schocker
Deek, I don't believe my issue is dirty power as it just randomly goes out about once a week. It is more so annoying more than anything and I just wanted to make sure the PC and NAS are safe.

If you re-read my post, when the power goes out electronics should not be harmed at all unless it's actually a quick decline in power to nothing, rather than a sharp cutoff.

Quick decline = bad
Sharp cutoff = good

Some lower end UPS's will give a quick decline, you could be worse off, so do your research.

[megavolt]

Originally posted by DeeK


If you re-read my post, when the power goes out electronics should not be harmed at all unless it's actually a quick decline in power to nothing, rather than a sharp cutoff.

Quick decline = bad
Sharp cutoff = good

Some lower end UPS's will give a quick decline, you could be worse off, so do your research.

I'm thinking OP is more worried about data loss or corruption (or just inconvenience) from power loss than equipment damage from dirty power.

[schocker]

Now I get you deek. Yes, it is always a sharp cutoff, just black out. Usually only for 10-30s but sometimes for like 10-20 mins. UPS would be nice for the convenience as megavolt said along with data protection. Would be able to shutdown my nas properly and also keep the PC on to protect that also.

[firebane]

A UPS will prevent the general quick shut offs and give you the few minutes you need to properly power down equipment to reduce any harm done to that.

For most needs a good 650-700w UPS will be just fine and can find them for $120 or less by various manufacturers such as APC or CyberPower.

Don't expect to run your equipment for prolonged periods of time with these units as they'll give most things about 20 minutes of run time unless you go industrial sized UPS

[DeeK]

Originally posted by schocker
Now I get you deek. Yes, it is always a sharp cutoff, just black out. Usually only for 10-30s but sometimes for like 10-20 mins. UPS would be nice for the convenience as megavolt said along with data protection. Would be able to shutdown my nas properly and also keep the PC on to protect that also.

Ahh ok,

Well, APC and Cyberpower are your go to options in this.

http://www.memoryexpress.com/Products/MX26906

That should do the trick

However the higher priced ones will do a better job, have longer battery backup, and come with other features for protecting your PC.