I bought an apc backup power supply the other night at walmart for $38.99. Now maybe this is a dumb question, but it says 200 watt. I assume that means 200 watt during a power outage and not while it is powered up. Am I correct? or is this only capable of putting out 200 watts whether on battery or ac power? If the later is the case then its way too small for my 450 watt psu, not to mention my monitor. The booklet that came with it is rather sketchy on this as it covers all the apc backups.

What is the va or volt amp rating? Better than that, what is the model number?

Hi Oldsystem: I think the 400w is the maximum DC output for the power supply, I would guess the power needed to operate power supply is less than 60 watts AC. Your monitor should use less than 100 watts AC, that's whey you should only use APC outlets for your PC & CRT monitor & keep other devices plugged into the non battery backup outlets. If you need to run more devices you should look into a larger AGP device. Here's an example, a tube television (no transistors) from the 1960's used between 350 - 400 watts AC to operate so today's electronics should use much less. Good luck, Z

Well, I got a surprise when I got home from work. The backup was dead, and it won't turn back on. (yet anyway) I left the computer on when I left for work this morning. I was downloading a new driver for my vid card, and It wasn't done by the time I had to leave. I have my modem set to disconnect after 20 min of no activity, and my monitor and hd to shut down after a half hour. Anyway the ups is a APC 350va 200 watt.

A 350va should run a machine for like 5-10 minutes. It is important to fully charge the UPS for about 24 hours prior to using it. If it still gives you problems, I'd exchange it for another.