UPS Advice

I just got my PC back from the repair shop. The power supply went and the
technician said that it was probably because the machine was subjected to
many periods of low voltage. He suggested I get a UPS with automatic
voltage regulation. I'm looking for something in the $80 - $100 range. I'm
more interested in the AVR function than running my machine in a blackout
and power outages aren't as much of an issue. Can anyone recommend
something? I saw that Best Buy has their GeekSquad G875U on sale and I was
wondering if it was worth getting. Or should I look at other brands, i.e.
CyberPower, Belkin, or APC. Any thoughts?

Don wrote:
I just got my PC back from the repair shop. The power supply went and
the technician said that it was probably because the machine was
subjected to many periods of low voltage. He suggested I get a UPS with
automatic voltage regulation. I'm looking for something in the $80 -
$100 range. I'm more interested in the AVR function than running my
machine in a blackout and power outages aren't as much of an issue. Can
anyone recommend something? I saw that Best Buy has their GeekSquad
G875U on sale and I was wondering if it was worth getting. Or should I
look at other brands, i.e. CyberPower, Belkin, or APC. Any thoughts?

If you go to Newegg, look through the category section for "UPS", then
do an Advanced search with no criterion specified, you'll see
a lot of UPS listed. Then, "sort" the list by "best rating". Then
look at the units, and read the customer reviews.

Generally speaking, don't buy the lowest tier of products, because
their main feature is "price competition". It doesn't mean the
average unit lasts a long time, or is trouble free.

Here is an example of something from the list.

APC BR1500LCD 1500VA 865 Watts 8 Outlets BACK-UPS $200
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16842101067

http://www.apcmedia.com/salestools/A...7VAU_R0_EN.pdf

http://www.apcc.com/resource/include...LCD&tab=models

I paid a little bit more than that, for my UPS, and I believe it is currently
seven years old and still working (I just checked the invoice).

The runtime on that unit, isn't that long, at least near its rated
power output. It would last a lot longer, if the load were lighter.
Some other model, allows connecting an extra battery, to give a
longer runtime.

Paul

On Wed, 03 Jun 2009 22:17:56 -0400, Don rearranged some electrons to say:

I just got my PC back from the repair shop. The power supply went and
the technician said that it was probably because the machine was
subjected to many periods of low voltage. He suggested I get a UPS with
automatic voltage regulation. I'm looking for something in the $80 -
$100 range. I'm more interested in the AVR function than running my
machine in a blackout and power outages aren't as much of an issue. Can
anyone recommend something? I saw that Best Buy has their GeekSquad
G875U on sale and I was wondering if it was worth getting. Or should I
look at other brands, i.e. CyberPower, Belkin, or APC. Any thoughts?

APC

"Don" wrote:

I just got my PC back from the repair shop. The power supply went
and the technician said that it was probably because the machine
was subjected to many periods of low voltage. He suggested I get
a UPS with automatic voltage regulation. I'm looking for
something in the $80 - $100 range. I'm more interested in the AVR
function than running my machine in a blackout and power outages
aren't as much of an issue. Can anyone recommend something?

Yes, I would forget about messing with a battery and just get the
voltage regulator. I believe they are typically much more reliable.
I have a cheapo APC Line-R, but I plan to pay more for a (hopefully
better) Tripp Lite LC-1200 if there is ever an indication that it is
not doing well enough. The US price for the Tripp Lite is just over
$100.

http://computers.pricegrabber.com/li...pp-Lite-1200W-
87-140V-120V-60HZ-4OUTLET/m25249.html

The cheapo APC I have was only about $60, but it has only three LEDs
and of course is less functional. The more expensive Tripp Lite will
have real outlets instead of just bent metal pieces.

If the technician is correct, you will enjoy watching the LED voltage
indicators show you what is going on with your house power.

Good luck and have fun.





--
By the way, always keep a removable media copy of any important files
from your hard drive. How frequently and how many copies you make
depends on how important your files are to you.

On Wed, 03 Jun 2009 22:17:56 -0400, Don rearranged some electrons to say:

I just got my PC back from the repair shop. The power supply went and
the technician said that it was probably because the machine was
subjected to many periods of low voltage. He suggested I get a UPS with
automatic voltage regulation. I'm looking for something in the $80 -
$100 range. I'm more interested in the AVR function than running my
machine in a blackout and power outages aren't as much of an issue. Can
anyone recommend something? I saw that Best Buy has their GeekSquad
G875U on sale and I was wondering if it was worth getting. Or should I
look at other brands, i.e. CyberPower, Belkin, or APC. Any thoughts?

PS: Do NOT use a voltage regulator (ferroresonant transformer) in
combination with any type of active power factor correction, either in a
UPS front end, or a power supply; they will not play nice together.
Have seen the damage that can be done on a poorly designed 15 kVA UPS
with a ferroresonant transformer in front of it (it caught on fire).

david wrote:

Don rearranged some electrons to say:

I just got my PC back from the repair shop. The power supply
went and the technician said that it was probably because the
machine was subjected to many periods of low voltage. He
suggested I get a UPS with automatic voltage regulation. I'm
looking for something in the $80 - $100 range. I'm more
interested in the AVR function than running my machine in a
blackout and power outages aren't as much of an issue. Can
anyone recommend something? I saw that Best Buy has their
GeekSquad G875U on sale and I was wondering if it was worth
getting. Or should I look at other brands, i.e. CyberPower,
Belkin, or APC. Any thoughts?

PS: Do NOT use a voltage regulator (ferroresonant transformer) in
combination with any type of active power factor correction,
either in a UPS front end,

Are you seriously suggesting that the original poster is supposed to
know whether the regulator is on the front or the back end of a UPS?
Should that be specified in Tripp Lite's UPS/AVR documentation,
David?

or a power supply; they will not play nice together. Have seen
the damage that can be done on a poorly designed 15 kVA UPS with a
ferroresonant transformer in front of it (it caught on fire).

Huh? Are you suggesting that UPS/AVR combinations are a poor design?
You must be making millions on your own dazzling designs, David,
considering the fact that Tripp Lite makes many different UPS/AVR
combinations (and does very well selling them).

Please provide more clues about what you are trying to say, David.

"Don" wrote in message
...
I just got my PC back from the repair shop. The power supply went and the
technician said that it was probably because the machine was subjected to
many periods of low voltage. He suggested I get a UPS with automatic
voltage regulation. I'm looking for something in the $80 - $100 range.
I'm
more interested in the AVR function than running my machine in a blackout
and power outages aren't as much of an issue. Can anyone recommend
something? I saw that Best Buy has their GeekSquad G875U on sale and I
was
wondering if it was worth getting. Or should I look at other brands, i.e.
CyberPower, Belkin, or APC. Any thoughts?


You'd be better off just buying a good surge suppressor. Trying to extend
the life of a power supply with a UPS system is like buying a new house just
to store your motorcycle in, because the garage you already own isn't
heated. It's a huge waste of money with no measurable benefit.

First problem, you won't find anything decent for less than $200. You could
buy two or three decent power supplies for that price, if you shop
carefully. Second problem is, the batteries won't last as long as a decent
power supply will.

You'll probably end up spending many hundreds of dollars on UPS units over
the next decade. (because it will be cheaper to buy new than replace
batteries) Or, you can buy a power supply or two. Your choice, I know
where I'd spend my money though. -Dave

"Dave" wrote in message
...

"Don" wrote in message
...
I just got my PC back from the repair shop. The power supply went and
the
technician said that it was probably because the machine was subjected to
many periods of low voltage. He suggested I get a UPS with automatic
voltage regulation. I'm looking for something in the $80 - $100 range.
I'm
more interested in the AVR function than running my machine in a blackout
and power outages aren't as much of an issue. Can anyone recommend
something? I saw that Best Buy has their GeekSquad G875U on sale and I
was
wondering if it was worth getting. Or should I look at other brands,
i.e.
CyberPower, Belkin, or APC. Any thoughts?


You'd be better off just buying a good surge suppressor. Trying to extend
the life of a power supply with a UPS system is like buying a new house
just
to store your motorcycle in, because the garage you already own isn't
heated. It's a huge waste of money with no measurable benefit.

First problem, you won't find anything decent for less than $200. You
could
buy two or three decent power supplies for that price, if you shop
carefully. Second problem is, the batteries won't last as long as a
decent
power supply will.

You'll probably end up spending many hundreds of dollars on UPS units over
the next decade. (because it will be cheaper to buy new than replace
batteries) Or, you can buy a power supply or two. Your choice, I know
where I'd spend my money though. -Dave


I was wondering about that. I now have a good quality 550 watt power supply
whereas the one that failed was 350 watts. But despite it's lower power
output, it was no Wal-Mart special. Would having a larger capacity power
supply last longer under the conditions described in this post? I don't
think this voltage issue is going to last for ever. This community has
undergone a lot of growth in the past couple of years and the electric
utility probably hasn't been able to keep up with needed infrastructure
improvements.

I was wondering about that. I now have a good quality 550 watt power
supply
whereas the one that failed was 350 watts. But despite it's lower power
output, it was no Wal-Mart special.
Would having a larger capacity power
supply last longer under the conditions described in this post? I don't
think this voltage issue is going to last for ever. This community has
undergone a lot of growth in the past couple of years and the electric
utility probably hasn't been able to keep up with needed infrastructure
improvements.


OK, IMHO, your power supply failure was probably unrelated to your
electrical utility issues. Power supplies fail. GOOD quality, brand name
power supplies fail. Having input A/C be rock-solid stable at a certain
voltage and frequency is no guarantee that your power supply is going to
last a long time.

Could brown-outs have caused your power supply to fail EARLIER? Possibly.

But capacity (550 vs. 350) is not going to make a difference. Both will run
at the same output level, when driving YOUR hardware. Efficiency will make
a difference, though. That is, if your 350W was unrated for efficiency, but
the new one is 85% efficient, that means that it will be running cooler.
That not only saves electricity, but is likely to extend the life of the
power supply, regardless of input voltage "issues".

Bad news is, last I checked anyway, there were no really good power supplies
being made in the ~550W range. Just average quality to slightly better than
average but still not too exciting quality. Power supply manufactures seem
to be focusing quality improvements in units rated at 650W or more (usually
much more).

OK, I'm rambling. I think the best you can do is, exactly what you've done.
But do NOT leave your computer running 24/7 as some people do. There is
nothing wrong with that necessarily. But in your case, it will expose the
computer to more brownouts. OH, and make sure that the computer is running
off a power strip or (preferably) surge suppressor with a power switch.
When the computer is not in use, turn power off at the surge suppressor so
that the power supply is not getting A/C current at all, even if the power
supply is "OFF". Modern power supplies are never off unless they have no
input current. So killing power to the power supply when not in use will
(in your case anyway) probably extend the life of it a bit. -Dave

On Jun 3, 10:17 pm, "Don" wrote:
I just got my PC back from the repair shop. The power supply went and the
technician said that it was probably because the machine was subjected to
many periods of low voltage. He suggested I get a UPS with automatic
voltage regulation. I'm looking for something in the $80 - $100 range. I'm
more interested in the AVR function than running my machine in a blackout
and power outages aren't as much of an issue. Can anyone recommend
something? I saw that Best Buy has their GeekSquad G875U on sale and I was
wondering if it was worth getting. Or should I look at other brands, i.e.
CyberPower, Belkin, or APC. Any thoughts?

I get brownouts a lot, lightning flashes that slamdunk the computer,
or seven hurricanes in a summer that leave me with nothing more than a
waterbed to keep cool, near the equator, while utilities are
restored. I know people who have watched great balls of lightning,
call "fireballs", come through the door to visit and roll across the
floor. When people have asked me to replace a PS, I try to get the top
of the pile for their money. Local stores, such Walmart I'd
practically consider at the bottom. $100 is about what I paid for my
personal PS. The very best reviewed PS I could subject myself to. I
bought it in a box from the very cheapest provider with assurances the
factory seal wasn't broken or the warranty invalidated. I also
insisted they first check inventory stock first, covering every angle,
whereupon they told me there was one left in the bathtub. Guess that
was meant to be, so I bought it 5 years ago: SPARKLE. Average-sized,
except it's extremely packed and dense and weighs in like a brick. I
should nickname it Uriah Faber.