In comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware.misc Doc wrote:
Recently I asked about suggestions regarding a UPS. I ended up
getting an 875 VA 525 Watt "Geek Squad" model from Best Buy - yeah,
yeah, everyone says Geek Squad stuff is overhyped junk, but at $69 on
sale, the price seemed right.

The price is all wrong. Nobody can build a decent product with
these specs for that price. You cannot even buy the components
needed in decent quality for that price.

It seems to handle my 2 computers fine - a PIV 2.4 gig and a PIII 933
mhz sharing a monitor. With both machines and the monitor on, the
onboard readout shows them well below the unit's max capacity, drawing
about .250 - .260 kw (which I assume translates to 250 - 260 watts) ,
with an estimated run time of 9 minutes with both computers. More than
enough to get me through short hit outages with both machines running.

And with the el-cheapo battery in there, that figure will be down to
1 minute in no time. And you would be well advised to test the
claim. Software can be made to lie to you, you know.

Interesting to note how much of a difference the monitor makes.
Without the monitor - a 17" MAG CRT, the draw for both computers
drops under 200 watts and the estimate run time for the 2 computers
goes from 9 mins to 15mins. Over 20 mins with just one computer
running but no monitor.

Since this thing has a built-in watt usage meter, any reason I
couldn't hook it up to say a refrigerator or TV to check how much
wattage they're using?

A) the watt-meter is likely very crappy, given that a good AC
watt-meter costs more than this whole thing. They likely do a
current average and then some magic correction. Can be 50% off
or more even when used as intended. B) this device is
not intended to support motors.

Arno