Need help choosing a UPS

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mikethenewb

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Jun 2, 2012
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Hey guys.

As I have only recently built a new PC, I am quite worried about it's safety.
Recently quite a few power surges and brownouts were taking place in my area, and hence I decided to get a UPS.

I'd like to know what are the minimum specs of the UPS would be enough to be able to work with my PC.
Like what VA rating is enough(V*A = Watts right?) ?
I guess I need a 650VA supporting UPS as my PSu is 650 Wt?

The specs of my PC are the following:
PSU : 650W Corrsair VS650
CPU : Xeon e3-1231 v3
GPU : Zotac GTX 960 Non Amp
Mobo: Asus h81m-k
RAM : 16GB Kingston Ram
 
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InvalidError
The APC unit is 325W. I guess your fingers were off one key to the left.
http://www.apc.com/shop/my/en/products/APC-Back-UPS-650VA-230V-AVR-Universal-Sockets/P-BX650LI-MS

The GemBird model appears to use the same battery size as the APC one (12V 7.2AH, 75Wh) which means you aren't going to much extra usable performance by choosing the more generic brand assuming the Gembird unit has similar or better efficiency as the APC unit and uses a similar or better quality battery.

APC's UPS typically use CSB Batteries' batteries which are among the best VRLAs on the market. Gembird uses house-brand batteries and based on the minimalist discharge data they provide, they appear to be generic junk.

The APC unit may have lower ratings but its...
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Luminary

Luminary

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The CyberPower CP1000PFCLCD PFC Sinewave UPS 1000VA 600W PFC would probably suffice ($140). Not quite the total wattage coverage of your PSU, but you are very unlikely to be drawing 100% off of your PSU. This is a great UPS and provides pure signwave, which ensures no damage will be done to your PSU while on the battery.

http://www.amazon.com/CyberPower-CP1000PFCLCD-Sinewave-Compatible-Mini-Tower/dp/B00429N192/

If you want to get a UPS that will fully cover the total potential draw of your system (ideal) the $180 model of the unit above would be perfect if you can afford the extra $40:

http://www.amazon.com/CyberPower-CP1350PFCLCD-Sinewave-Compatible-Mini-Tower/dp/B00429N19M
 
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InvalidError

InvalidError

Titan
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May 18, 2007
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The Volt*Amp or Apparent Power rating of an UPS is not the same thing as the Watts or Real Power rating. If you look at most UPS' datasheets, the real power rating is usually 60% of the apparent power rating. In other words, the UPS is rated based on a load with a power factor of 0.6, mainly computers and other office equipment using switching power supplies without power factor correction.

If you want more than 4-5 minutes of battery time, you will end up selecting a unit with much higher VA/W rating simply because they have bigger batteries to handle the extra power draw: a 650VA UPS will usually have a 12V 12Ah battery (144Wh) while a 1500VA UPS will have 2x12V 8-8.5Ah batteries (~200Wh), giving you about 50% more battery runtime.
 
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mikethenewb

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Jun 2, 2012
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Hmm the 600Wt models cost around 250$ where I live (Eastern Europe :/).
That's a little bit more than I can spend at the moment sadly.

If I were to buy a 350Wt UPS, will it be a problem?
Say I am maxing out my system which would draw around 350Wt on full load and a brown out happens, will it be the same as having no UPS?
What about power surges?

Ty in advance ;)

Edit: P.S. I don't mind the battery life, all I need is time to normally shut down the pc.
 
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06yfz450ridr

06yfz450ridr

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Nov 28, 2012
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grab a smart ups from apc, they come pre built with a management card to send you alerts on what is happening etc depending on what you want to notify you.


1000va or higher is needed, my pc at full load maxes out my 1500 by about 10% but you shouldn't be anywhere near that.

you should really just grab a 1500w especially if you are planning on powering your monitors etc

1500va is 865w


they are a bit expensive at around 300 but they are much better than the cheaper alternatives

http://www.amazon.com/APC-Smart-UPS-Battery-Backup-SMC1500/dp/B007ZT2KKM/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1449503216&sr=8-2&keywords=smart+ups+1500


or if you dont care really you can grab the 1500w back-ups apc for like $140 depending on sales

http://www.amazon.com/APC-BR1500G-Back-UPS-10-outlet-Uninterruptible/dp/B003Y24DEU/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1449503216&sr=8-6&keywords=smart+ups+1500
 
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InvalidError

InvalidError

Titan
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May 18, 2007
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If you exceed the UPS' power rating by a small amount, it should beep angrily at you for a few seconds to let you know about it, possibly give you some time to exit a game, stop a power-hungry process or turn off some devices to reduce the load to within limits, and shut down to avoid overheating. In case of gross overload, it should shut down immediately.

If you buy a 350VA unit, that's going to provide you with 200W, possibly not enough to power your PC if you are in the middle of playing a game: 100W for the CPU/MoBo/RAM, 100W for the GPU, 15% losses on the PSU, 30W for the LCD, you are at ~250W total while gaming. You need to aim for 450VA absolute minimum.
 
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mikethenewb

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Alright
In that case I'll probably get either
1. Gembird EG UPS 002 (850 VA 510Wt) 85$
or
2. APC BX650LI-GI (650VA 214WT) 80$

I guess quality wise APC is better, but Gembird provides 510Wt for pretty much the same price.
Is it worth getting the Gembird over the APC?

Thanks all for your answers
 
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InvalidError

InvalidError

Titan
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May 18, 2007
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The APC unit is 325W. I guess your fingers were off one key to the left.
http://www.apc.com/shop/my/en/products/APC-Back-UPS-650VA-230V-AVR-Universal-Sockets/P-BX650LI-MS

The GemBird model appears to use the same battery size as the APC one (12V 7.2AH, 75Wh) which means you aren't going to much extra usable performance by choosing the more generic brand assuming the Gembird unit has similar or better efficiency as the APC unit and uses a similar or better quality battery.

APC's UPS typically use CSB Batteries' batteries which are among the best VRLAs on the market. Gembird uses house-brand batteries and based on the minimalist discharge data they provide, they appear to be generic junk.

The APC unit may have lower ratings but its higher quality battery will probably give you 50% more runtime.
 
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