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A customer wants a reasonably high-end computer build (I intend to use a Corsair 550W PSU in it, to give you an idea - the customer has a large LCD monitor already, I think about 24 - 28 inch), and a UPS to go with it to allow say 5 minutes to save work and shut it down in the event of power loss.

Any recommendations? I don't know much about what brands to go for, etc.

For that you will need one of the larger ones in BestBuy. All brands will work well enough, but look at the recommendations on the box for load. Match your power supply rating plus monitor(s) summed to the overall rating of the UPS. BestBuy is a good choice since you don't have to pay for shipping a block of lead via UPS.

BestBuy is fine if that's your only local option, but if there's a Frys in the area it's bound to be cheaper. Of course if there isn't you could just order from Frys.com, since it appears they don't charge for shipping even on heavy items like UPS.

Take a look at the APC UPS selector.
Pick the workstation option and select the appropriate options.
You will most likely end up with the APC BACK-UPS 900VA 120V.
The '900VA' is the key part to compare against other brands/models.

A customer wants a reasonably high-end computer build (I intend to use a Corsair 550W PSU in it, to give you an idea - the customer has a large LCD monitor already, I think about 24 - 28 inch), and a UPS to go with it to allow say 5 minutes to save work and shut it down in the event of power loss.

Any recommendations? I don't know much about what brands to go for, etc.

The APC UPS Selector is a good place to start, even if you don't buy APC you can use it as a guide.

APC is hard to beat... they're reliable and very easy to configure; their software is simple but does the job.

I'd recommend shooting for 10-20 minutes runtime unless the costs become an issue, especially if your user is doing a lot of intensive work or anything that requires a lot of time to save. Five minutes go by pretty fast.

http://www.tripplite.com/

I believe they have a power usage selector thing, too.

Decent brand. I believe APC switches from line to battery when a failure is detected. I believe Tripplite always runs through battery.

Battery life is about 3 to 5 years on either, about the same as a car battery, so whatever fits your budget. It's all about the same anymore with UPSs.

The APC picker site suggested a 1500VA UPS. Any idea whether the "IBM-branded R1500i" is any good?

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/IBM-bran ... e-Software

Not sure... one thing I did notice on the page is that it only has a two year warranty and doesn't mention any coverage of your hardware (so, for example, if the UPS fails and a surge wipes out your workstation, it's covered) nor did I notice anything about protection for your network connection.