UPS for my rig

exhaler

Hello,
i'm having some UPS problems for my rig. i had a BEST ONE UPS 1200VA (served me for 3 years) which a month ago got fried, then i got another UPS Mercury 1500VA which got fried about 10 days ago :@

what is a good UPS for my rig:
Gigabyte 800W PSU
ATI HD 5570
Gigabyte UDX-7 mb

got fried as in flames started coming out of the UPS, also the were connected to a voltage regulator.
I only need the UPS for 5-10 mins before the generator kicks in

Beej

Gigabyte UD7 of what chipset? x58?

Anywho, the current best ups, other than apc and whats not, is Santac. You can get a 1000va, but you have to search for it as it disappears quickly.

exhaler

the UD7 is x58, and where can i find a shop that sells santac? as for APC its too expensive i was thinking about the MGE 1400VA

MrClass

The MGE is perfect. Highly recommended. I have MGE at home and at work; it is simply reliable without the need of changing the batteries for several years (The one I have home is 3 years old and still works like a charm)

exhaler

i found this on pcandparts MGE Eaton E-Series NV 1400H 1400VA UPS for $165, which is quite expensive.
i don't want to bring a UPS only to find it up in flames when the electricity goes off

Beej

do u live in Beirut? If so i think nino has 1 or 2 of them. And they are around 90$ i think.

exhaler

i live in Beirut and i know nino :D however are you referring to santac or MGE?

Flakk

A PCE 1400VA would be good.

Rubz

For a split second, where power was switched from generator to grid; my ups would fail 20% of the time (APC 800va) i tried another Mercury and had the same problem- my new rig would just switch off in mid action

So i went out to Katranji, and bought myself an 1000va "online" ups where power is constantly supplied from changable external batteries instead of a switch to battery upon power cut. Sure I did pay 300$, but the ups will last many years, and the batteries are cheap to replace.

Although i payed probably twice what i would have for a good offline UPS, nevertheless I feel better with increased reliability.

Just thought I would share my experience that may be benificial to someone.

Cheers

exhaler

thanks for the info Rubz and i'll keep that in mind, if all else fails

shant

well, before you buy a new one, i recommend researching why your old one got in flames?
was it in an air tight situation ?

exhaler

well the first UPS got fried because of old age (had it for 3 years), but when the new one did the same that raised some eyebrows, maybe its because a fault in the UPS board??

the UPS is on a wooden table plenty of air and its connected to a voltage regulator and only the CPU is connected to it nothing else

Rubz

Well, I dont think you need above 1kva UPS for 10 mins, Indeed you have a 800w PSU but it's way more than What power your system is pulling (considering you have a HD 5570 and also that only the case is connected to UPS) - you can use http://www.thermaltake.outervision.com/ to help you get an idea of your actual consumption

I can easily last 10 -15 mins with my system + 23" monitor on a 1kva ups

So if you were to buy a new UPS, get a better more reliable brand for a lower va (lower than 1400va u stated above) ... I mean flames out of UPS sends chills down my spine, especialy if its set on a wooden table, and your not home!

exhaler

thanks for info Rubz. I filled the form in that website and it turns out that my consumption is 325W, but that is if the system is idle and i think that this increase when i'm gaming or using a heavy application.

In the mean time i placed the new UPS's batteries in the old UPS hoping that this will fix the issue and so far so good :)

xterm

My generator subscription cannot handle my 1100VA APC and sadly I cannot get any less for my system.

Rubz

exhaler wrotethanks for info Rubz. I filled the form in that website and it turns out that my consumption is 325W, but that is if the system is idle and i think that this increase when i'm gaming or using a heavy application.

In the mean time i placed the new UPS's batteries in the old UPS hoping that this will fix the issue and so far so good :)

Just FYI: There is a "System Load" tab just before the end - you can choose from idle up to 100% load

exhaler

as an update replacing the batteries didn't do sh!t, this so frustrating to have the PC restart so randomly :@ (it restarted as i way typing this post)
anyways i called nino he doesn't have any Santac 1200VA in stock for at least 10 days, so my question is this between MGE, APC (quite expensive) and Santac (cheapest) which one would you advise me to get? or any other equally good brand

ballad

xterm wroteMy generator subscription cannot handle my 1100VA APC and sadly I cannot get any less for my system.

if you're not gaming your system will consume about 20% of its peak power
If you were gaming, it will consume about 80%

Rubz

exhaler wroteas an update replacing the batteries didn't do sh!t, this so frustrating to have the PC restart so randomly :@ (it restarted as i way typing this post)
anyways i called nino he doesn't have any Santac 1200VA in stock for at least 10 days, so my question is this between MGE, APC (quite expensive) and Santac (cheapest) which one would you advise me to get? or any other equally good brand

MGE Eaton E-Series NV 1000H 1000VA UPS w/ Power Management USB Port $130.00 seems like a sensible choice

MGE Eaton Nova 1250VA UPS w/ Power Management USB Port $145.00 incase you want more than 15 mins

Those would be my choices from PCandParts's available offline UPSes

xterm

ballad wroteif you're not gaming your system will consume about 20% of its peak power
If you were gaming, it will consume about 80%

Problem is, I have 5A for the entire house and as soon as the electricity drops and the generator turns on (sorry for the next term, i don't know the meaning in english) the "Disjoncteur" splits.

Now if i knew how much the UPS drains from the electricity, I could take some measures in terms of getting a timer for other devices so the split wouldnt heat up the "Disjoncteur" instantly.