UPS for home, how to shop for one?

TheGlow

Distinguished
Feb 23, 2011
193
0
18,710
In my apartment if you turn the microwave on and the AC is on, tripped breaker.
Sadly this is in the basement which the landlord has yet to give me a key. So we either knock on his Uncle's door to flip it, if he's home.
Or I stand there for 5-10 minutes picking the lock. Landlord is aware and congratulated me on it. Still no key.
So I could experience this sometimes 5-10 times a week in the summer.
I'm almost certain this is why my 2tb WD Green hdd died.
So I think it's time to get a UPS before the Summer kicks in and I play this game all over again.
I have an i5 2500k, slight OC, gt660 card, about 4 hdds, 1 ssd on it.
I'm looking for 5-30 minutes maybe. Depending if it's a big price point. 5-10 to shut down safely if needed, or if price is still affordable, 30 mins to survive the whole ordeal and not worry about it.
How can I really gauge my power usage? I don't expect to continue gaming or some ridiculousness if it occurred at those times.
 
I would suggest something in the range of 1300VA. APC makes a decent one. I have 1300VA and if my computer isn't doing anything it'll last somewhere around 20-28 minutes. I've had it awhile (6-7 years) now and had to replace the batteries in it once. I think at Costco where I live they are selling a 1300VA APC BackUPS for $180.

P.S. One of these will give you an idea of what you are pulling from the socket Kill-A-Watt