need basic UPS recomendations

[deathstar13]

the issue im having is brown outs at my house.i have them several times every thunderstorm we have.
basicly the power just cuts out a second or 2 but is scary es hell to me anyhow and i almost lost a mobo with a bios flash that was saved within milli seconds of one also.

its for the rig in sig. it is being upgraded a bit more but nothing too major.
i dont feel i need anything to last more than 5-10 minutes just enough to save me from the pc powering down during these power lapses.

i have an order going out to newegg on friday but can also buy local from microcenter,compussr and staples and officemax.

do all have voltage regulation and line filtering?

[deathstar13]

http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0174612
http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0113558
http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0170835

thats 3 im looking at,any suggestions?

[Contra]

i have the first one(link)
the Conext
it works great when we have a power outage i have my monitor,cpu and modem all connected to the backup side so when power goes down i still stay online and gaming!

[deathstar13]

i have the first one(link)
the Conext
it works great when we have a power outage i have my monitor,cpu and modem all connected to the backup side so when power goes down i still stay online and gaming!
im mainly interested in that btw
it says its made by apc wich is the best ive read.

[Contra]

i have had mine for about 3~4 years and it is still working great
it also comes with software to shut down your comp if you get a power out...
i never used it but some people will like this feature


i recommend it alot

[deathstar13]

my big concern is line regulation feeding my psu which i think this should do well.
as well as smooth out my brown outs.

i was reading a review of the belkin line ones i linked and they mention they use an odd sine wave on the power line during battery operation.not such a big deal as long as it works i guess.

<ninja> you slice like i do.
anyhow i will use software to tell me my total rig power usage as im guessing it does that also?

btw im trying to stay under $75 here folks so this leaves few options with good companys.

[Susquehannock]

Definitely consider the two UPS with AVR (auto voltage regulation) if you have brown out troubles - seriously.

[NsOmNiA91130]

Any good ones out there that have Coaxial surge protection, that blew one of my modems once.

[{PMS}fishy]

i was reading a review of the belkin line ones i linked and they mention they use an odd sine wave on the power line during battery operation.not such a big deal as long as it works i guess.


Its called a step approximated sign wave.

[{PMS}fishy]

Any good ones out there that have Coaxial surge protection, that blew one of my modems once.

No, but you can get an inline, add in, coax surge supressor.

[Dell_Axim]

Any good ones out there that have Coaxial surge protection, that blew one of my modems once.
Virtually any good unit (APC, Belkin, etc.) will work for a 56k modem. To find out if it will work with a broadband modem, use a capacitance meter to measure between the inner two pins of the RJ11 jack and the ground pin of the plug (unplugged). If it's more than a few tens of pF, it won't work.
BTW, the ones that measure more than a few pF use some small capacitors to divert the surge, which would also ground out the broadband signal. The ones that measure less than a few tens of pF use special high power zener diodes (they look like transistors with two leads), which won't interfere with broadband and also provide better protection. However, the capacitor-based protectors can be installed after the filter (and a zener based one between the wall jack and the modem) to cut down on noise from the modem (if your phone has constant background noise when it's in use, that's your problem).

[deathstar13]

i guess my ups was 2 days too late.
i may be wrong here but we had another storm yesterday and about 2 or 3 brown outs.by the end of the night my hdd was spastic and i lost both OS's on my partitions.mbr gone and both os's unusable.
i wasnt doing any major ocing execpt i kept my normal maxed out stable oc going and put in another agp card and it was a new install of xp pro.

can brown outs have bad conciquences on a hdd?
it took me half the day just do diagnose what was going on.i thought the hdd was smoked or the ide channels on the mobo went out.but seems fixed now.

im buying the conext made by apc tomorow.http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0174612
i just wish i would have bought it quiker :(

[laynlow]

I am a big fan of OPTI-UPS. Normally a bit less expensive than APC, and you normally get more information on the front of the unit. I prefer the software with the OPTI-UPS over APC's as well.

[skotti]

i guess my ups was 2 days too late.


That always happens. I had 2 minor blackouts, bought a UPS and since then perfect sine wave out the wall.

I have the Belkin F6C800 and not had a problem. It does have a stepped mod sine wave output, but remember the PSU turns that in DC asap, so unless you have an device that NEEDS pure sine wave it is great.

[deathstar13]

well i live in a small town with spastic electric line.even a spark can play havoc with the elec going out.
well i dont think the sine wave is to much an factor and will consider the belkin second if they dont have the apc one.i run the pc p&c and its one fine unit and i feel i didnt skimp thier i better not here also since its feeding it.

[{PMS}fishy]

btw im trying to stay under $75 here folks so this leaves few options with good companys.

$75 is a little cheap for the amount of equipment that you are looking to protect.

Typically I told customers to spend about 10% of the total cost of the equipment they are looking to protect on a UPS. Example - $2000 worth of equipemnt and a $200 UPS. That estimate is at the low side of things.

If you are looking to protect the computer, its best not to skimp here either. Why spend $75 for the most basic unit with no boost/trim, a small battery, and limited line filtertration, when you will spend $200 on DDR with out even thinking about it?

Personally, if you are looking for a good budget UPS, take a look at the BR/BX/RS 1000. They are all the same, its just a different name that the units where given depending on where they were sold. Actually come to think of it, there might be some stupid feature that is different on one of the units, but internally they are identical.

http://apcc.com/resource/include/techspec_index.cfm?base_sku=BR1000

Looks like they only list the BR1000 now. They must have gotten rid of the other two, since I last worked for them.

[laynlow]

I agree with fishy. 75 is too cheap. For 40 bucks more you can get this Opti-Ups with boost/buck and other hallmarks of a good UPS. Check it out:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16842107113

[{PMS}fishy]

I agree with fishy. 75 is too cheap. For 40 bucks more you can get this Opti-Ups with boost/buck and other hallmarks of a good UPS. Check it out:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16842107113

Never heard of them. Don't go with some off brand either.

Stick with APC, Belkin and Triplite.

In that order too.

[laynlow]

They have been around along time and I have been using them for over 10 years.

[deathstar13]

$75 is a little cheap for the amount of equipment that you are looking to protect.

Typically I told customers to spend about 10% of the total cost of the equipment they are looking to protect on a UPS. Example - $2000 worth of equipemnt and a $200 UPS. That estimate is at the low side of things.

If you are looking to protect the computer, its best not to skimp here either. Why spend $75 for the most basic unit with no boost/trim, a small battery, and limited line filtertration, when you will spend $200 on DDR with out even thinking about it?

Personally, if you are looking for a good budget UPS, take a look at the BR/BX/RS 1000. They are all the same, its just a different name that the units where given depending on where they were sold. Actually come to think of it, there might be some stupid feature that is different on one of the units, but internally they are identical.

http://apcc.com/resource/include/techspec_index.cfm?base_sku=BR1000

Looks like they only list the BR1000 now. They must have gotten rid of the other two, since I last worked for them.
i cant say i dissagree but this an add on option and not a manditory item imo.
so i see it as $75 in extra protection i normally wouldnt buy.

i did buy one today.
http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0174612
seems fine and im somewhat happy but the software sucks major things we cant say here.sometimes it works somtimes it dont even detect the ups.
i didnt have much time to fool with it yet.
its all APC made ups but half the price. uses the power chute plus software also btw.