Suggestions for new PSU and UPS

[Burdman27911]

So my OCZ PowerStream 520 died a couple of days ago. Just came home from work and the PC had been turned off and wouldn't come on. I want to get a new PSU and maybe even a UPS to rule out the possibility of brownouts and power surges killing my PCs.

For the PSU, I want something that will work with my sig system, but still have room for the quad core I'm putting in there and maybe even an i7 upgrade in the future. I'm really liking the models from corsair right now, but I'm open to anything. I'm really torn between the TX850 (link) and the HX650 (link). Both are about the same price, but the HX650 is modular, which would be nice if I decided to eventually use it in my future HTPC build. Once again, I'm open to whatever you guys have to suggest, but I don't think I want to spend much more than $150 (unless it's really worth it). EDIT: Thought I'd add the suggestion of the Antec Signature 650 (link)... incredibly low ripple!

I'm totally new to UPSs. I know that there are "true sine wave" UPS and step output ones. I'm an engineer so I think I do understand the physical differences, but I really have no idea if it's worth paying the extra for the true sine ones. I'm primarily going to be powering my computer with this, and I don't really care about the battery run time.... It would be nice to have more than 2 minutes to save documents and shutdown. I'm looking at a 750VA model from APC (link), but I'm not sure if I'll need more than that.

Also, I'll eventually be buying another UPS for my Home Theater (TV, surround, etc) but until then, I wouldn't mind being able to have it on the same UPS as the PC... is that possible, or is there a hard set wattage limit? Keep in mind, I'd only really be using it for the power conditioning and surge protection (don't care about battery life).

Thanks in advance!

 

[DoubleB]

Definitely stick with Corsair. Personally I would go with the 850...gives you room for the future.

 

[Burdman27911]

That was what my original thought was, but I know OW is currently having a love affair with the antec signature series... and that's a good indication of amazing quality. So, I'm still somewhat torn on the PSU decision.

Anyone have input on the UPS? That's the one I really feel lost on.

 

[DarkFury]

just make sure your UPS can support at least 5 minutes at your wattage, to be safe.

 

[Burdman27911]

So far I think I'm leaning towards getting the Antec Signature 650W. I really do like the performance and the hybrid system of cables (some are hardwired and the extras are modular). It's currently $160 at NewEgg, which seems decent. I think I'll like the antec, though I would like to hear some feedback on it.

As far as the PSU, I'm leaning towards the APC 800VA model (link) now for my PC. It seems like it will be adequate for my system with room for upgrades.

I'll probably wait a few more days before I order, so if you have any more advice/thoughts I'd love to hear them. Thanks again.

 

[RollingThunder]

So far I think I'm leaning towards getting the Antec Signature 650W. I really do like the performance and the hybrid system of cables (some are hardwired and the extras are modular). It's currently $160 at NewEgg, which seems decent. I think I'll like the antec, though I would like to hear some feedback on it.

As far as the PSU, I'm leaning towards the APC 800VA model (link) now for my PC. It seems like it will be adequate for my system with room for upgrades.

I'll probably wait a few more days before I order, so if you have any more advice/thoughts I'd love to hear them. Thanks again.

Burdman,

The Signature series is the best of the best right now according to our own Oklahoma Wolf and Paul Johnson at Hardop, it's partially modular and as long as you don't plan on a hot SLI setup later (650w model), you can't miss with it.

 

[Douken]

Get the signature series, btw 850W is over kill. I've run an X2 amd system with a 8800gt in an antec 380W PSU. Got it running GRID for hours without issues. Mine is a PC P&C 470W, runs everything, pretty solid, already has been 1 year & 5 months, not a single problem.

 

[Burdman27911]

I actually have the signature series and a UPS coming (via UPS) tomorrow. It's been sitting at the local branch since friday (stupid that they don't deliver on saturdays). I ended up getting the 750 VA APC UPS because it had free shipping, which made it nearly $100 cheaper than the 800VA... I'll end up getting something better for my PC down the road and this one will be for the Home Theater system.

Since there seems to be almost no info on the forums about UPS's I'll post back and let everyone know what I think of this cheap one.