TSGL: the system of my dreams!
H Davis
hdavis1 at gmail.com
Thu Dec 20 22:59:41 EST 2007
Lum,
I'm jealous!
Ok, I'll get over it. As far as the power supply/UPS thing goes - the
power supply is inside your case and plugs into the wall normally. If
you're building your own box you'll have to select an appropriate power
supply based on the requirements of all the components in your computer.
The UPS is a separate box that contains a battery, a battery charger and
an inverter which converts the battery's DC voltage to 120 volts AC, the
same as the wall outlet. You plug your computer into the USP instead of
the wall and the UPS gets plugged into the wall. If the normal power is
on, it flows through the UPS box to your computer and you never know the
difference. Also inside the UPS box are the usual surge protection and
most have a place to route your DSL/Cable into and out of the UPS box
where there is also surge protection for those lines. Be sure to check
for these features if you want them.
If the power goes off the UPS box senses it and switches your computer
from the normal 120 volt line to the inverter where it's supplied with
120 volts from the battery/inverter combination. This happens
automatically and instantly. All you'll hear is a click (and of course
the lights will be off). The downside is that it can't run your computer
for long. A small UPS will last only a few minutes. Even a large one
will last less than about 30 minutes. This all depends on what you have
plugged into the UPS and how much power those things draw.
These units come with software that you install in your computer that
runs all the time. There is a connection from the UPS to the computer
that sends a signal to the computer when the power goes down. This
causes the computer to automatically start to shut down in an orderly
fashion. If you're not there at the time this can be good. If you are
there it may not be so good because you might have wanted to finish up
something before shutting down. Sometimes the power comes right back on
in a few seconds or a minute or two causing all kinds of new vocabulary
words to be uttered by you because the shutdown sequence is underway and
you can't stop it.
You don't need the software provided or the connecting wire if you're
going to be at the machine or reasonably close when the power goes out.
When the power goes down you can assess the situation and after a minute
or two start shutting your machine down yourself as you normally do.
APC is the king of the hill as far as UPS's go. This page
(http://www.apc.com/tools/ups_selector/index.cfm) has an estimator where
you can get some idea of what you need. I've never had a problem with my
APC UPS units but I did have a defective switch in an APC surge
protector after several years of use. I called them and they sent me an
identical replacement unit immediately and didn't even want the old one
back.
I have a BackUPS ES 750 which powers a Dell desktop system, a 19" LCD
monitor, my modem and router. I don't have my printer on a UPS because
if the power goes down I can reprint anything I loose and printers use a
lot of power. This will last about 20 minutes when the power goes out.
It starts beeping quite a bit earlier to suggest you hurry up and shut
your system down.
I have a second APC unit, a BackUPS ES 350 (about half the capacity of
the other unit) which powers another Dell desktop and a 19" LCD monitor.
This starts beeping in only a minute or two after a power outage but it
will still last probably 10 minutes; plenty of time to get things shut
down but I can't think about it too long.
As you will see when you shop around, the price goes up fast as you move
to the bigger units. You have to assess your situation and see what you
really need connected to the UPS and how long you really need to get
things shut down. In my case I got the UPS units because we get a lot of
short outages, less than a minute, in the summer from tree limbs being
blown into the power lines and causing the pole breaker to trip out.
They automatically reset in less than a minute. I therefore usually just
wait to see if the power is going to come back soon and if so I don't do
anything. If the power is still out after a few minutes I start shutting
things down.
Another consideration is that the UPS units are large and HEAVY. They
have a big battery in them after all. The more capacity (run time with
the power off) the more (bigger) battery you need. Also, the batteries
wear out after a few years and have to be replaced. You don't have to
replace the whole unit, just the battery. Mine are still going and the
older one is about 4 years old.
I assume you're in the US. Staples, Office Max, Best Buy, etc often have
some good sale prices on the smaller and mid size units. You don't need
the UPS to use your machine so once you get your computer, figure out
the capacity you need for your UPS and a couple of models you'd be happy
with and watch the ads for a while. You should be able to get something
for about $100 or so. If you buy on line the shipping costs are high
because the units are heavy unless you can find a free or flat rate
shipping deal.
H Davis
ytisonimul wrote:
> Thank y'all so much for the links. I've been reading so much lately
> that my head is swimming, and I probably know less than I knew before. LOL
>
> Here's what I've (in lieu of someone screaming "OMG NO DON'T DO THAT
> YOU'LL BLOW UP!!") decided to order.
>
> Processor: Intel Core 2 Quad 6600
> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115018
>
> Motherboard: ASUS P5K-E/WIFI
> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131196
>
> RAM: G.Skill 4GB (2x2GB) 240-pin DDR2
> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231112
>
> DVD: Pioneer DVD-212D BG
> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827129008
>
> Hard drive: WD Caviar SE16 WE5000AAKS 500GB (I'll get at least 2 of these)
> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136073
>
> Monitor: Samsung 226BW Black 22" 2ms (GTG)
> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824001096
>
> Okay, I'm still hung up on a video card and a power supply. I do a lot
> of video editing, but no gaming at all. I've been reading up at
> videoguys.com, but I'm still <strike>undecided</strike>confused. I used
> to have an MSI card. I'm looking at this one, but I'm looking at it the
> way a caveman would look at a 747.
>
> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814134010
>
> Power supply. I may have this all confused, but we've been talking
> about getting a UPS, and isn't the power supply *part* of that? I want
> the sort of PS that is way more than a surge protector. One that will,
> if I have a power failure, allow me to save/shut down normally. This is
> what I've been reading about that makes me feel really stupid. :)
>
> So, my questions are: Am I forgetting anything really important? Does
> this stuff actually work together? I'm just... as bad as I was when my
> husband and I built our first system. Scared to death.
>
> Thanks y'all, and happy holidays!
>
> Lum
>
>
>
>
> Bo Maurin wrote:
>
>> My suggestion would be to use one of the guides on internet and tweak
>> your system from there.
>> Here is a good start http://www.anandtech.com/guides/showdoc.aspx?i=3125
>>
>> Regards / Bo
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: list-bounces at tsgserver.com [mailto:list-bounces at tsgserver.com] On
>> Behalf Of Russell W. Coover
>> Sent: den 13 december 2007 07:41
>> To: 'Tech Support Guy Mailing List'
>> Subject: Re: TSGL: the system of my dreams!
>>
>> Sorry Lum,
>>
>> You're way past me! When I look for a computer or build one, my budget
>> is usually less than a $1000. Way less!! So I'd love to help you spend
>> the money.
>>
>> My computers are fast enough for my needs. I use a 5000+ X2 AMD. My
>> wife's computer is a 4200+ X2, and my primary laptop is one of the
>> slower Core2 Duo models (1.5 MHz) and I feel lucky to have that. But I
>> know that the Quadcores are the latest and the greatest. Unfortunately
>> I'll probably not be able to afford one myself to test until Octcores or
>> maybe 16 cores are available.
>>
>> But I do have one piece of advice. You need memory, memory, and even
>> more memory. I run 3 GB in all of my machines. While each of the
>> machines can take 4 GB, 32 Bit Vista cannot use much more than 3, so why
>> add the 4th GB?
>> However, a 64 Bit machine can run a lot more than 4. I'm not sure how
>> much, though you can find that out through a quick Google, but whatever
>> it is, it may be worth it with the apps you run.
>>
>> So consider going to a 64 Bit machine which can take a lot of memory.
>> That may be just what you need.
>>
>> Russ Coover
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: list-bounces at tsgserver.com [mailto:list-bounces at tsgserver.com] On
>> Behalf Of ytisonimul
>> Sent: Wednesday, December 12, 2007 9:57 PM
>> To: Tech Support Guy Mailing List
>> Subject: TSGL: the system of my dreams!
>>
>> When we last saw Lum, she was pondering the sudden shutting down of her
>> computer. Sadly, in mid-back up, she discovered that her PSU committed
>> suicide, taking everything with it. Oy.
>>
>> [two weeks go by]
>>
>> So, I've been ordered to spend $2300 at newegg to get the computer of my
>> dreams. (Happy Holidays to me from a plethora of online friends. Wow!
>> and thank you so much if you lurk here!) Even though I can't diagnose
>> worth a hill of beans, I'm not afraid of the inside of the box, and my
>> husband and I built the last computer. So... anyway.
>>
>> I repeat: Obviously, since I couldn't even diagnose a power supply
>> death correctly, I'm looking for help.
>>
>> I have already started a list of what I think I want, based on what I do
>> with the computer. I have decided not to pursue a Mac for no other
>> reasons than $2300 won't get me what I want--or something that I could
>> upgrade to what I want. That I know of. I love the idea of Boot Camp
>> and the Time Machine. And I already know my way around a PC and the
>> programs I'm going to use.
>>
>> Does anyone on this list make a living or spend a lot of hobby time
>> creating/editing/exporting/converting/distributing/authoring video?
>> This is what I do with my computer when I'm not doing the medical
>> documentation job that I do to feed my video habit.
>>
>> I analogize my computer use like this: My computer is a 64-square
>> chessboard. Two spaces are my job, in which I use MS Word almost
>> exclusively, with occasional forays into Excel. 55 of the other spaces
>> on the chessboard are vidding and video editing and DVD
>> compiling/imaging/authoring/burning. I use Adobe Premiere and After
>> Effects and Particle Illusion for editing. I use DVD Maestro for
>> authoring. I use LlamaEnc (a specialized encoding program developed
>> specifically [by some of my buddies, for them and me] for converting
>> just about any format of video into m2v/wav formats using Avisynth
>> scripting). And I use VirtualDubMod, DGIndex, Avisynth, DIVX, XVID,
>> Adobe Audition, etc. The other seven spaces on the chessboard are for
>> surfing, browsing, chatting and boggle.
>>
>> Are any of y'all here up for helping me figure out what I need? I'm
>> looking at quadcore CPUs and Intel P35 chipsets and Antech power
>> supplies and various UPS's. And the more I look, the less I know.
>>
>> If not, that's cool too. It felt good just to write it all out and feel
>> consolation. :) Thanks either way.
>>
>> Lum
>>
>>
>>
>
>
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--
H Davis hdavis1 at gmail.com
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