UPS

[RitualOfTheTrout]

Im looking at purchasing a new UPS, but im sorta confused about the power capacities listed.

This is the one im looking at APC USP

Now this UPS says it has a max power output of 450 watts, so will it get over loaded if I have a PSU of 420 Wats, a monitor and DSL router/modem running on the battery backup?

Do power supplies always run at there full output? Or only at what is needed to run the components inside the PC?

I dont really want to have a long amount of up time, just enough to get the PC through those few second power outages and if its a longer outage enough time to properly shut everything down. But I dont know if this will have enough power capacity.

 

[Malakai]

You most likely won't be using the full power of the psu. The main two times it is used would be for system startup, where it starts all of the fans, hard drives, and other drives up, and probably in graphic intense gaming, if you're running a graphics card that requires an external power connector.

The good news is that a lot of the UPS systems actually turn off your computer for you, if you set them up to do so, after loss of power. Cheaper ones may let you stay on the computer for 5 mins, more expensive ones, maybe 20, or atleast that's what I've read about them in the past. So, I don't think you'll have much of a problem. Just don't buy a used one, because the battery is most likely dead or near it lol

 

[CrazyGoon]

UPS sizing is difficult. Read through this, as it's quite a good guide to UPS's. You'll find the 'sizing' portion of the guide most helpful. And as Malakai said, you most likely won't be using the full power of the psu. Read the guide, as it's will explain in better detail (but not overkill) than I can remember.