UPS - Suggestions?

[Srek]

The Tech and Hardware forum is better suited for requests like this
http://forums.cgsociety.org/forumdisplay.php?f=23

The VA value should be at least 20-30 % higher than the maximum wattage your system uses to prevent the UPS from shutting down due to overload.
Personaly i have made very good experiences with APC units, but in your case the 500 VA unit seems to be underpowered. It's designed for a small office PC, not a rendering rig.
Cheers
Björn

[dancgfx]

Thank you so much. It helps. So do you think 600Watt UPS would be fine or should I go higher? I'm asking this just to confirm because some of the UPS are bit expensive.
By the way, I'm sorry Srek; I've posted here by mistake.

[Srek]

600 sounds a bit small for me, but maybe just use an online calculator to add up the power consumption of your components.
Personaly i would gor for a 750 or 1000, that way i could keep my monitor and external drives running as well. I'm not sure what your reason for using a UPS is, for me it is to save work and shut down the system safely when a power outage occurs. You need to put your monitor on the UPS for this to work.
Cheers
Björn

[Quadart]

I upgraded from the APC Back-UPS LS 500 (315 watt ups capacity) to the APC Back-UPS RS 1500 LCD (865 watt ups) when I got my MacPro 8core/3 ghz, with dual 30” and 23” monitors (they add a little to the load). The LS 500 continually beeped, obviously, with the macpro/monitors basic load requirement of around 340 watts, which ramps up to 500 watts while rendering a ‘heavy’ file (AO, GI, caustics, etc.).

[evanfotis]

... been using the APC SMART-UPS 1000VA Line Interactive (SUA1000I) for over 10 years now, and (knock on wood!), it has served me very well, with a multitude of hardware. In the CRT era it was supporting 3 21'ers and 2 pc on it, as well as many peripherals.
Every 3 to 4 years you got to change the batteries.

[olson]

Look at 1000 VA or higher for a multiple monitor workstation to be on the safe side. APC is the only way to go as far as I'm concerned.

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