please suggest a good UPS for my rig.

[maxdesolate]

i have had an apc es 500 for the last six years which had to be replaced once and had its battery changed once too. its not turning on anymore. when i start it, the orange light blinks about a dozen times and the red light comes on and it turns off.
the problem is, i think it has caused 2 of my power supplies to fail in the past one year. because we have frequent power surges/fluctuations and since last week power cuts too every 1 or 2 hours. i live in bangalore, india. i am assuming the fluctuations caused my power supplies to fail. coz the second one failed to after a couple of months. makes horrible noises while gaming or when using flash player. had the same problem with the first one.
my specs are

amd fx 6300
970 a d s3p mobo
8 gb ram ddr3
ati hd 7770 graphic card ddr5

please suggest a good ups unit that will withstand the power surges and cuts.

 

[InvalidError]

The ES500 might be under-sized for your PC: your CPU+MoBo can draw over 100W, the GPU can draw ~100W, fans and miscellaneous components another 50W and your LCD yet another 50W. Add the PSU's efficiency and that puts you potentially over the ES500's 300W output rating. That might explain why the UPS died. For your next one, you should look for a model rated for at least 400W output, which will likely translate into 700VA. If power at your location is as bad as you make it sound, you may want to aim for a model with higher capacity batteries to reduce wear on batteries and improve their lifespan, which will likely mean having to step up to 1000VA.

As for why and how your PSUs failed, you did not say what PSU models they were. If they were low quality units, it is quite possible they would have been beyond any UPS' ability to save: it can take about 10ms for the UPS' relays to switch the load from line to battery power and the PSU needs to be able to withstand whatever happens during those milliseconds. If you have cheap PSUs that lack built-in EMI and surge suppression to soften these switch-over transients, they may have malfunctioned and self-destructed.

If you want to stick with APC, I would step up to something like an RS/BX1000 or whatever equivalent is available to you and if you have a low quality PSU, you might want to consider getting something better there too.

 

[maxdesolate]

hi man, thanks for the reply.
ya, i forgot to mention my psu. its mercury 650w. the previous one i had was cosair cs500. i also have 2 extra fans on the side of the cabinet. and yes, the power situation here is unbelievable. i mean, its really ridiculous. fluctuations throughout most of the day and random power cuts at least 4 times a day.
i dont necessarily want to stick to apc. whats exactly the wattage that you think might me more than safe for my computer? 600 or 700? and if you oculd suggest one, that would be great. thanks again.

 

[maxdesolate]

The ES500 might be under-sized for your PC: your CPU+MoBo can draw over 100W, the GPU can draw ~100W, fans and miscellaneous components another 50W and your LCD yet another 50W. Add the PSU's efficiency and that puts you potentially over the ES500's 300W output rating. That might explain why the UPS died. For your next one, you should look for a model rated for at least 400W output, which will likely translate into 700VA. If power at your location is as bad as you make it sound, you may want to aim for a model with higher capacity batteries to reduce wear on batteries and improve their lifespan, which will likely mean having to step up to 1000VA.

As for why and how your PSUs failed, you did not say what PSU models they were. If they were low quality units, it is quite possible they would have been beyond any UPS' ability to save: it can take about 10ms for the UPS' relays to switch the load from line to battery power and the PSU needs to be able to withstand whatever happens during those milliseconds. If you have cheap PSUs that lack built-in EMI and surge suppression to soften these switch-over transients, they may have malfunctioned and self-destructed.

If you want to stick with APC, I would step up to something like an RS/BX1000 or whatever equivalent is available to you and if you have a low quality PSU, you might want to consider getting something better there too.

hi man, thanks for the reply.
ya, i forgot to mention my psu. its mercury 650w. the previous one i had was cosair cs500. i also have 2 extra fans on the side of the cabinet. and yes, the power situation here is unbelievable. i mean, its really ridiculous. fluctuations throughout most of the day and random power cuts at least 4 times a day.
i dont necessarily want to stick to apc. whats exactly the wattage that you think might me more than safe for my computer? 600 or 700? the apc i have right now says the capacity is 300 watts. and if you could suggest a ups, that would be great. thanks again.

 

[InvalidError]

For line voltage fluctuations, you might want to consider a line voltage conditioner and regulator like this:
http://www.tripplite.com/1200W-120V-Power-Conditioner-Automatic-Voltage-Regulation-AVR-AC-Surge-Protection~LC1200

Depending on how bad power is though, this might not be enough.

On the UPS sizing side, I already told you to aim for an UPS rated for at least 400W if you want something that is less likely to die on you or 1000VA (600-700W) if you want a unit with larger batteries which should give it more endurance before you need to change the batteries. I cannot make specific recommendations since I have no idea what is available in your market. The main reason I suggested APC is because you already have one, which implies other models up the product tree should be available.

As for your "Mercury" PSU, a quick glance at images of Mercury-branded supplies and seeing them listed at bargain basement prices similar to Zebronics and Diablotek tells me it is most likely a very low quality unit, possibly one of those 60-70% efficient atrocities. If you end up on the UPS as much as what you wrote implies, getting a better quality PSU with 80+ Bronze or better efficiency would reduce the strain on the UPS and spare the batteries some more.

 

[maxdesolate]

For line voltage fluctuations, you might want to consider a line voltage conditioner and regulator like this:
http://www.tripplite.com/1200W-120V-Power-Conditioner-Automatic-Voltage-Regulation-AVR-AC-Surge-Protection~LC1200

Depending on how bad power is though, this might not be enough.

On the UPS sizing side, I already told you to aim for an UPS rated for at least 400W if you want something that is less likely to die on you or 1000VA (600-700W) if you want a unit with larger batteries which should give it more endurance before you need to change the batteries. I cannot make specific recommendations since I have no idea what is available in your market. The main reason I suggested APC is because you already have one, which implies other models up the product tree should be available.

As for your "Mercury" PSU, a quick glance at images of Mercury-branded supplies and seeing them listed at bargain basement prices similar to Zebronics and Diablotek tells me it is most likely a very low quality unit, possibly one of those 60-70% efficient atrocities. If you end up on the UPS as much as what you wrote implies, getting a better quality PSU with 80+ Bronze or better efficiency would reduce the strain on the UPS and spare the batteries some more.

ok bro. thanks for your help.