Back-UPS

[Chaoslux]

So, recently there was a blackout over here, thanks god it wasnt over a power surge, so it didnt fry anything i had, but it was sudden, and i couldnt say anything to my guildmates or anything about missing that day's raid, and i only got power back near the next day's raid so i almost missed that one too...
So i was wondering about those backups / surge protection things,

What should i be checking?
Does the number of Watt on the backup has to be higher than my power supply wattage? (I'm using a OCZ ModXStream Modular 700W PSU)
How do you calculate how long it'll last? They sometimes are VERY vague about it like "From 5 to 30 mins" or "From 20 to 130 minutes"... is the only way to find out by actually waiting that long after a blackout? o.0
I heard you gotta change the batteries on these things sometimes. What kind of battery, how expensive, and how often do you need to change it?

What's a decent one, i cant go above $200 Canadian, and that's stretching it already.

[op3l]

I think if your power supply is a 700 watts, that means it will go up to a maximum of 700 watts. If you don't have everything running it will just give whatever is needed up to a max of 700 watts.

However, I think for a UPS system, or any kind of converter, it's best to get something that is rated beyond your maximum wattage use to avoid damaging the UPS or possibly the system itself.

As far as the time goes it depends on how hard you're using the computer. If you're just word processing then it will most likely last longer than playing Crysis on max settings ya know.

Last note, if you're getting this as a way to warn your guildmates of the impending disconnect... then it's kind of a moot point. Even if you plug the modem/router into the UPS the local i guess telephone/cable box will still be out of power so the connection will still drop.

Edit: http://www.tripplite.com/en/buying-g...w-it-works.cfm
this company sells UPS systems... and they have a guide to help you choose the right one for you...

[Chaoslux]

Last note, if you're getting this as a way to warn your guildmates of the impending disconnect... then it's kind of a moot point. Even if you plug the modem/router into the UPS the local i guess telephone/cable box will still be out of power so the connection will still drop.

Edit: http://www.tripplite.com/en/buying-g...w-it-works.cfm
this company sells UPS systems... and they have a guide to help you choose the right one for you...

..right, didnt think about that. Still i would prefer to have one to prevent all those surge spikes that may occur for any reasons, especially my new computer.

I checked your website, and then i checked their UPS systems, grabbed myself one that was at 750 VA because its over 700... all over their website they just mention that number, so i'm like alright, click to go check about purchasing, but not doing it yet. When i get to Tigerdirect, it goes like "Oh hey, By the way, we forgot to tell ya on our website, its just 400 Watts"

...I was sure that VA = Watts, and even checked wikipedia and it said that, then i see a note: "Oh UPS might have different numbers, yeah, dont go over those numbers"

Even their "best" in those i checked just went to 480Watts, any higher are all in price ranges i cant afford.

Right now, i'm thinking http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...82E16842102070 , with Shipping and all included, it fits right into the 200. But personally, ordering from newegg is tricky since it doesnt take my paypal, and i wish i could shave of 50 out of it or something, but it seems to be the cheapest 700+ watt i found

[vesseblah]

Cheaper $1-200 UPS'es can keep modern gaming computer up for 5-10 minutes tops and the 20min promises are complete sham, so those are usable for mainly surge protectors and for blackouts lasting seconds. If you want to keep playing for an hour without power (I doubt your ISP's router has battery for much longer than that) you need to go up in price by order of magnitude. It really depends on what kinds of power problems there are in your area. Surge protectors are never a bad idea, and give additional insurance against power spikes frying your PC.

Batteries in UPS devices are lead acid type, and meant to be replaced about every 2-3 years, and those cost around 1/3 to 1/2 of new UPS's price. All major UPS manufacturers have some kind of power calculators on their website and those throw recommendations on what to buy, but for gaming purposes the times are very optimistic, and might meet reality if you're using all possible power saving modes by default.

[Enola]

Good luck, I was kind in the same situation some time ago so without a lot of research I looked at a couple and was expecting that the xxx-va number would mainly indicate the time it would last, unfortunaly it isnt. I bought a 800-VA because looking at the lower ones 800 seemed plenty...bad, at 800-VA the UPS had only 360W, this in my old system that had a 400w psu simply wasnt enough and the ups, even with monitor unplugged wouldnt hold, not during a power failure and even less during the start up, has soon has power failed it trigered the ups self protection system and would turn it self off. Worked fine with only the monitor or a old 260w system I had working has in house serv though.....
Again good luck.