Best Buy - 550VA (330W) UPS $39.95

[Pinky]

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=7033417&type=product&productCategoryId=cat08029&id=1099395267085

For $40 B&M this a luke warm deal (I had $10 reward points to redeem as well). It will power most standard desktop PCs with LCD monitor for several minutes. I picked one up. With some strong storms possible today I may get some time to see how good battery life really is.

At this price, get (2) for all your PC gear. Would still be cheaper than buying a 1000VA at retail prices and you get more overall backup power with 2 units.

[rabiddawgs]

I was just looking at this. I wonder how good it is.

I need it to power my cable modem since i have digital phone now through my cable company. wonder how long it would last for that.

[Pinky]

For a cable modem you would get the full hour (max rating) of discharge :).

[ShadowPho]

Just FYI, plugging them in series will not be good.

[Pinky]

Just FYI, plugging them in series will not be good.

Sorry, that's not what I meant :p.

I was suggesting using one for PC, another for monitor and accessories.

_______________

Tested mine - last 5 minutes before discharging. That's with a 19" WS LCD, PC, USB hub running.

[g0dM@n]

i understood pinky the 1st time... but i wonder what would happen in series? :D

[sJetski]

While definitely a decent deal on a UPS, for around this price you can often find units with AVR (auto-voltage-regulation) which would boost power when needed and trim power when there's too much of it.

Just did a quick google search and found this (http://www.techonweb.com/products/productdetail.aspx?id=A38075), with a little patience you can often find even better units for just a few dollars more. Geeks.com had a sale last year on 650va units with AVR for around $25-$30 shipped. Of course the cheapest way to get the larger sized units would be to buy a dead one on ebay and purchase a replacement battery for it.

The key phrases to look for are: AVR, Auto Voltage Regulation, or Line interactive.

[g0dM@n]

hmm...
i can pickup 2 at my local BB for
Order Total: $86.68

hmmm....