Desktop computer battery

[kirennia]

Someone in my house this year, being in the back room of the house is connected to the downstairs circuit. We were wondering, is there such a thing as a desktop computer battery? All that's needed really is a 10 minute battery which isn't in use while it's plugged in and working fine but if the power goes, a warning will come up to let you know it's going to shut down.

As you know, having a computer randomly switch off all the time isn't great for things such as the harddrive... if a couple of hours of work is lost, it's annoying but if the harddrive goes and you lose everything, you're screwed.

So, does this sort of a thing even exist?

Cheers in advance

 

[gunner440]

Yes, they do exist. Forgot what they were called...

The one you need to buy depends on the power consumption.

 

[gunner440]

Hah, found it. You're looking for a UPS

I remembered UPS but didn't think it was that 'cos of the courier company I had one and it was great if your power wasn't the most stable.

Have a look here: Laptops - Buy Cheap Laptops from our Laptops range at Ebuyer

It's been ~8 years since I needed mine so I'm not sure what today's models do.

 

[Kryten]

Aye, UPS's are damned handy in that sort of situation, give you a bit of security during black/brownouts, and the absolute most basic ones give you enough time to save & shut down with time to spare. I don't often recommend Belkin kit as most of it is shit, but there's not a huge amount that goes wrong with what is essentially a large battery - and those bits are generally manufactured by the same people anyway - the same people make the batteries in the silly cheap Belkins as the silly expensive APC's.
Should find an average one for circa 60 quid.

 

[Yaka]

eBay UK Shop - UPS Warehouse: APC, Uninteruptable Power Supply, Manchester

peeps from irc use this guy a alot his prices seems good. suposed to be a reguar bod from bw forums

 

[Kryten]

christ, got 3 palletfuls of those things (mostly HP/Compaq or APC) at the old place, when we're back in there I might suggest we slap them on ebay at those prices!

 

[kirennia]

You're all legends, as always (repped all)

Am presuming a 1500VA one would probably be about what we're looking for as with a maximum 800W power supply in a computer and what, 100-200W (guess) in a monitor, it'd be enough time to save and shut down? £60 ish is pretty good considering how much time and effort could be saved, along with a harddrive, heh.

Thanks again, I'll let you know what he ends up doing

 

[old.Osy]

Your computer does not eat up 1000W, unless you stress all your components to their maximum capability.

1500VA can power up 4 average computers (~300 W each) for about ~30 minutes.

In your situation, 1500VA is overkill. Unless you run very important stuff that doesn't allow you to go down, and the power is frequently going down for more than an hour's time... get a 1000VA or less.

 

[Dr_Weasel]

Becareful with the Belkin jobs. I used to have one of these (but the 800Va version)

Belkin 1200VA Universal UPS with AVR Technology (F6C120ukUNV)

but the battery isnt user replaceable and after a few years you pretty much have to chuck it out or risk taking it apart, replacing the battery and causing a short that'll blow the thing up.

Ive now got an APC unit with user replaceable batteries. Ive got the 1500VA version now as I have 3 PCs hanging off it, but you can get a 750VA unit

APC Smart-UPS 750VA USB Serial 230V + Powerchute Software

Product specs show 16 minute runtime at full load (600w) and 51 minutes at half load. You can install the software so the UPS will cause the PC to shut down at a particular level of battery remaining (eg 20%)

Product Specs - APC Smart-UPS XL 750VA USB & Serial 230V

 

[Kryten]

Fair play, I keep forgetting some of the units are sealed boxes - doesn't normally stop me!
But aye, don't have to spend much at all to keep you ticking over.