UPS For desktops. I am clueless.

[Rudge]

Does anybody know anything about UPS units for desktops? I have two desktops that I don't want to crash during a t-storm type power outtage but I have no idea what I am looking for. They both run off of "US" 110v. I would only need a few mins of "shutdown" time but I don't want them to crash hard.

Lots of "specs" at Newegg leaves me in complete confusion. What in the crap am I looking for?

Thanks in advance.  

[djohnston]

Are the two computers in close proximity to each other? If so, you can pick a larger capacity UPS and plug both computers in. If they're not, you'll want two smaller units. You can buy a meter for about $18 from Amazon that will help you measure exactly how much current each computer and monitor draws here: http://www.amazon.com/P3-International-Kill-Electricity-Monitor/dp/B00009MDBU. There's kind of a rough UPS "helper" from APC here: http://www.apc.com/tools/ups_selector/index.cfm.

I'm using two UPSes at home for three computers. For the single computer, just the computer and power supply for wireless antenna amplifier is plugged into the UPS. Everything else is on surge protector. For the two computers, both computers, monitor, router and modem are plugged into the UPS. Everything else is on surge protector. The smaller UPS connects to the computer with a USB cable and is set up using PCC. The other UPS uses the older COM port connector. I had to set it up using the Linux drivers that came with the unit on a CD.

[Just18]

I recommend APC units .....  have been using them for many years .....  two still in use are more than 10 years old I reckon, one of them on the original battery.

All I can say is do not scrimp on this purchase .....  get as much functionality as you can afford ..... it is likely to last many years.

I have an multi-socket extension plugged into one of the UPSs so that all my peripherals remain powered in the event of a power failure ......  external HDDs, BT k/b & mouse, usb hub x 2, even my phone charger ...  all of them use very little power, but need to be plugged in somewhere and need to be protected.

Yeah ....  the desk is a mess of wires 

[moniac]

I recommend APC units .....  have been using them for many years .....  two still in use are more than 10 years old I reckon, one of them on the original battery.

All I can say is do not scrimp on this purchase .....  get as much functionality as you can afford ..... it is likely to last many years.

I have an multi-socket extension plugged into one of the UPSs so that all my peripherals remain powered in the event of a power failure ......  external HDDs, BT k/b & mouse, usb hub x 2, even my phone charger ...  all of them use very little power, but need to be plugged in somewhere and need to be protected.

Yeah ....  the desk is a mess of wires 

I agree with going with APC backups also. One thing I have found out is when getting a replacement batter you will see some cheaper than others. Before buying check the amp hours capacity to make sure you get what you are paying for.

[T6]

depending on the type of the pcs you have, your ups should be between 600 and 1000 watts

your psu(on those desktops) could be bigger but rarely you use all the capacity of a psu so normally a pc uses from 170 to 350 watts(not counting monitor)

i have seen cases where a 500 watts ups can handle two crt monitors and two towers for up to 3 minutes

common brands of ups are apc, tripplite, and blazer, apc is the most popular for quality but blazer is very decent too, qpcom does some decent ups too

some models will come with 4 outlets or less, check tht before buying

some models will come with a usb or a serial port to connect them to the pc and have a app letting you verify information of the battery on the ups and also install a app to tell the system that the battery is in use(the the power outage occurs) and order the system to close apps and shut down

not sure how that works in linux

have in mind that a ups is basically power regulator, a spike suppressor and a multioutlet with something similar to a motorcycle battery that is used when the power from the electric grid is not present

the bigger the ups is, the more time you will get, as i said you could be ok with a 600 watt ups but if you can, get a 1000 watt unit, if the 600 if detects that the two pcs is excessive load for it, it will do a really annoying noise and the unit can get damaged so to be sure a 1000 watt unit

other specs as you see are similar between brands

after 2 or 3 years the battery will stop working as expected and instead of 5 minutes will give you 2 or less, the batteries on some models can be changed easily, others won't let you change the battery, afik, apc is the most user friendly in this aspect

[Just18]

some models will come with a usb or a serial port to connect them to the pc and have a app letting you verify information of the battery on the ups and also install a app to tell the system that the battery is in use(the the power outage occurs) and order the system to close apps and shut down

not sure how that works in linux

It works well .....  there are apps in the repository ....

[Rudge]

That is what I was looking for.. basic info.

Thanks for all the help guys. I think I have enough info to make a purchase now.   

[Xenaflux]

It works well .....  there are apps in the repository ..

Do you have a name for them.

Mains outages are a major headache here, especially when you want to leave the PC on at night

[djohnston]

It works well .....  there are apps in the repository ..

Do you have a name for them.

Mains outages are a major headache here, especially when you want to leave the PC on at night

apcupsd - Power management software for APC UPS hardware
nut - Network UPS Tools Client Utilities

drakups is the program that runs from PCC. Go to Hardware > Set up a UPS

[Xenaflux]

apcupsd - Power management software for APC UPS hardware
nut - Network UPS Tools Client Utilities

drakups is the program that runs from PCC. Go to Hardware > Set up a UPS

Thanks a lot
(( as usual lately, wasn't thinking ))

[Just18]

Do you have a name for them.

Mains outages are a major headache here, especially when you want to leave the PC on at night

I see the answer was provided while I slept 

Something I must try soon is to set up the auto-shutdown procedure to use S2D/Hibernate instead of closing out running apps & doing a shutdown.