Noob question about buying a UPS

S

SmoothJK

Geek Trainee
Hi all,

Currently, my computer is running off of a 550W Antec PSU. It has things like an AMD X2 6000+ and a 9600 GT GPU. My computer, monitor, printer, and a couple of other minor things are plugged into a simple surge protector. However, I'm looking to use my Staples gift card and buy myself a UPS.

Here's one that I'm looking at (cheapest one, and my gift card will cover it):
CyberPower 425VA 6-Outlet UPS at Staples®

It has a 425VA rating, whatever that means, and 230W. This seems well below my computer's current specs, but I figure that since it's on a plain old surge protector right now, it's still worth buying. "Better than nothing," sort of.

Question is, how do the power ratings work relative to the computer? I'm guessing there's no way the UPS has to match the computer's PSU, because I'm looking at the prices and specs of various models, and it takes a LOT of dough to match up.

Please educate me on the subject, or send a link my way to read.

Thanks! :)
 
Your PC probably uses a less than 230watts while its running, especially if you're actually using the AMD "PowerNOW!!1" tech. ;) That model of PSU is actually not bad; I've worked with them before. They have UPS'ed plugs, and some that are just surge protected. More than likely you just want to plug the PC (and maybe the monitor) into the UPS side, and everything else into the surge protector side. It's probably not enough to keep everything up, but can most likely keep the PC up for a few minutes.
 
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