I've been having blackouts a lot recently which kills my desktop so thinking I should buy a UPS specifically APC UPS Battery Backup & Surge Protector with USB Charger, 600VA, APC Back-UPS (BE600M1) https://amazon.com/dp/B01FWAZEIU/...

But not sure how I would maintain it/use it.

Basically it would replace the current per strip I'm using for PC and monitor?

I don't know though how long it would last for my gaming PC though. What is the 625? I need it to last at least 5 minutes so it can shutdown properly but it's a gaming desktop... So will it be enough. I don't know what the VA means... Also I have a 4K 27in monitor...

That and I'm a bit worried this thing blows up and starts a fire...

get a power meter and check how much your rig uses, a quick search about e.g. "UPS calculator" will give you a estimation of how long an UPS can last for with given watts.

I think VA is ~watt, so sum up how bug the computer power supply is and the monitor.

A gaming rig could have a power supply of at least 500w but could also go to 750 or 1000.

Either way you should be good, found this explaining it

https://forums.tomshardware.com/thr...

@Voxera hm... According to the manufacturer it's seems the desktop uses 600W.... Or is that just the max? https://newegg.com/abs-computer-tec...

But just based on that you need one of those huge car battery sized UPSs?

@billgates I think 600 is the max while VA counts the sustained effect.

Many things draw more during startup or peeks and thats what fuses have to handle, but the UPS is about effect over time and can probably handle a larger load momentarily, but lesser over a minute average.

I know this is true for most computers as if you turn on all computers in a rack cabinet at once you often blow the fu e, but turn them on one by one and you get all running.

So they have to have a higher drain up front but then dropping.

And if you are close to max you just get a bit shorter time.

But also, as soon as the game closes, power-drain should drop when the graphic card no longer have to work all out.

@Voxera so seems I may go with this one... The 600VA I don't think is enough. I used PCPartsPicker... estimated Watts for monitor + desktop b is 370 so rounded it to 400 some not an exact match.... So that comes out to be > 600VA. Find one for 850 costs 50$ more.... Then there's another for 1000VA... it costs $2 more...

Looks like it's gonna be one of these...

They showed us this picture in school to understand the concept of VA to Watts

@ThermalCube what is reactive?

Most commonly it's the power that get's shifted out of sync from the "regular" sine-wave. This can be do to capacitors or coils as these have a delayed response to the sine-wave.
The point of highest voltage no longer is the same als the point of highest amperage so the actual power is lower than it could be under optimal circumstances

In an ideal circuit with no capacitors or coils you active power would be equal to the apparent power and you wouldn't have any reactive power

Get one with 1100 VA. The power factor is 0.6 so you'll only get 660W of capacity. the 600VA one will get you 360W. Not enough for a proper gaming rig.

@ThermalCube That image seems to be a bit optimistic.

There is one problem with an APC 1100VA unit though: it has a fan for cooling(600VA one doesn't) which is said to be loud.

@cst1992 What do beers in India look like? That's a pretty standard German beer for me

@ThermalCube No I mean that glass gives an impression of ~0.8 power factor. That's too high.

@Voxera I'm reading the reviews for different units and am looking at the one particularly after going through a lot of them.... And they all seem sort of mixed. Lots of failures, burning smell, Sparks, and not honoring damages or that they can actually destroy the PC rather than helping it....

And now another issues is AVR vs PFC... But just don't know anymore, sorta like I'm screwed if I do and screwed if I don't...

CyberPower CP1000AVRLCD Intelligent LCD UPS System, 1000VA/600W, 9 Outlets, AVR, Mini-Tower https://amazon.com/dp/B000QZ3UG0/...