Uninterruptible Power Supplies

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Limp Gawd
Joined
Apr 6, 2012
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For years, I've had most of my setup (PC, monitor, speakers, printer, router, cable modem, external HDD, second monitor) plugged into a single, 8-outlet surge protector. I forget the brand, but it was around $50 so it's nothing magical.

I think it's time to step up to a UPS, so that my whole setup doesn't get rudely turned off every time the power blinks, and so that I can shut it down reasonably when the power stays off for a while. Power outages don't happen a lot, but it's annoying (and bad for my gear, I'm sure) when all of it power-cycles, just because 120 VAC dropped out for 2 seconds.

So what do you recommend? My budget is somewhat flexible, but I'd like to spend no more than $200-$300.

As for load, assume I'm running the following:
-2 PCs, neither having multiple GPUs.
-2 monitors, a 21" CRT and a 24" LED-backlit LCD.
-One laser printer/multifunction device (Brother MFC-7440N).
-One set of external speakers (Altec Lansing VS 4221).
-Wireless router.
-Cable modem.

I'd like to have 5-10 minutes to shut everything down.

So what do you suggest?
 
I would leave the laser printer out of the battery back up loop. During warm up they use a ridiculous amount of power, and can trip what would ordinarily be an adequate UPS. Only advice I can really give for your price range is to get one from a known brand, with AVR, with a high enough rating to power your gear.


For 2 PC's, four 24" lcd monitors, a 22"crt, a 42" lcd tv, a cable modem, a E4200 router, a 10 port switch, and an alarm clock, I use a pair of APC XS1300. They gave me about 15 - 20 minutes when the batteries were new. Not sure what they go for now, or if they are even still being made, but they used to sell in the $150 - $175 range, and replacement batteries can be had for around $35 - $50 each.
 
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I picked up some rebranded BestBuy Geek Squad UPS' a few years back and haven't had any problems with them. If you suffer from the second/two second hiccups I wouldn't bother getting anything really big since you're just looking for something to hold you over for a few seconds at most. Secondly, I'd consider what is "essential" to shutting down a system if you do have an extended power outage. Cable modem/router? I don't think so. Printers? Heck no, they actually recommend you don't plug them into a UPS. Speakers.. really, you need to have sound?
 
Here's the other question: Does a UPS such as those mentioned so far also provide surge protection?

Lighting strikes aren't a big problem here, and nothing short of a whole-house lightning re-director ("arrestor" is a misnomer) is going to address that anyway. But maybe surge protection doesn't matter. I'm not sure that "surges" from the power company lines are really all that big of a problem.

I guess the foregoing discussion was not clear to some. There are 2 goals here:

1) I want to plug everything listed above into the UPS so that it isn't all going to get rapidly toggled off, then on, when the power drops out for a few seconds, as it does a few times a year.

2) If power goes off for a few minutes to a few hours, I would then have time to do a proper shutdown of all equipment connected to the UPS. Hours-long blackouts are less frequent than temporary dropouts, but do happen.

In no case do I expect to keep my stuff up and running indefinitely, despite a blackout. That would require huge amounts of battery power, or a generator and transfer switch for the house. Neither is an expense I'm prepared to meet at this time.
 
Surge protection is built in as a general rule on the ones we have been talking about, and most any of them would be suitable for what you want, so long as you can live with the laser printer being plugged into it own surge protector out side of the battery backup loop.

Surge protection capabilities are generally listed in the specs for a UPS.
 
That un-used, Dell-branded UPS on eBay is starting to look good. I have terrible luck with electronics breaking on me, but I can always buy a Squaretrade warranty.
 
For your CRT, I would suggest a pure sine wave UPS, particularly if UPS power will be a regular thing. AVR boost/trim would be nice to have too.
 
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