APC UPS Question?

[systemlord]

Hi, I am looking for some protection for my high-end computer and have a few questions. First I can't seem to find an APC UPS that has both surge protection + battery backup on the same outlet. What in the world are UPS makers thinking by only putting battery backup without surge protection on the same outlet? The picture below shows that you can either choose battery backup or surge protection but not both, whats the deal here I need both in one outlet. Thanks you

By systemlord at 2008-01-16

By systemlord at 2008-01-16

 

[g-paw]

The battery ensures an equal flow of electricity not allowing or at least enough to affect the system. Of course you get 3 surge protectors as well as battery supported connections. Let someone better versed in electronics give you a more technical explanation

 

[systemlord]

The battery ensures an equal flow of electricity not allowing or at least enough to affect the system. Of course you get 3 surge protectors as well as battery supported connections. Let someone better versed in electronics give you a more technical explanation

Yes can someone go into detail about this please? Confused I am.

 

[g-paw]

I can tell you that as long as I've been using a UPS, couldn't even tell you, I've never had a computer affected by a power surge or outage, which will hopefully help put your mind at ease.

 

[systemlord]

I can tell you that as long as I've been using a UPS, couldn't even tell you, I've never had a computer affected by a power surge or outage, which will hopefully help put your mind at ease.

I got many small surges today when I was in the garage the lights kept dimming down getting dimmer then brighter over and over again. I guess thats what I get for living in a very heavy populated state, Southern California. Thank god for Active Power Factor Correction in our PSU's.

 

[g-paw]

Curious, was the computer affected when it was plugged into the UPS?

 

[kolix]

if you are very paranoid, then plug the UPS to a surge protector (a ~$10 Belkin single outlet will do)
it will ensure you that the surge protector will take the place of your UPS in case a very large lightning strike hits the power lines near your home (thus increasing the chance of saving the life of your UPS)

edit:
wise choice in investing in a UPS BTW as I believe they help prolong the life of a PSU

 

[StevieD]

The entire unit is a surge protector. Thus the outlets with battery backup also include surge protection.

The other outlets do not have battery backup, thus those outlets have surge protection only.

 

[StevieD]

PS: I own the XS 900, the bigger brother to the unit that you are evaluating.

 

[systemlord]

So with the system in my signature I should have at least ten minutes to power down my system before the battery wares down? I used a PSU calculator and my computer uses 350 watts @ 30amps, with this kind of power draw how long should I expect to run my computer with the UPS in the picture on my first post? Thanks.

 

[systemlord]

Curious, was the computer affected when it was plugged into the UPS?

I don't have a UPS yet, and after time these surges will wear down the reliability of all my computer components. I'm not paranoid I just want to protect my computer because these surges have already killed my 42" Toshiba LCD HDTV.

 

[nukemaster]

I am willing to bet half the "Blown PSUs" are spiked and surged that way(Not talking about cheap ass ones....but good ones...)...

The entire surge UPS is protected from surges. Just that half the outlets are not battery backed up....

Normally the rated surge is lower on the UPS then a power bar(Good ones again...not cheap ones...). In my case i have a Belkin PureAV surge protector.... 2655 joules sounds better then the 900 or what ever the UPS can take is....double protection for me

My UPS is a BX1200 from APC....But i wish i got the BX1500 for its external battery option.

Make sure you get the latest power chute software if its not included....

Also do not expect it to run you through long power outs...its protection and safe shut down....and as always its good for those little intermittent outages....

 

[datmantran]

The entire unit is a surge protector. Thus the outlets with battery backup also include surge protection.

The other outlets do not have battery backup, thus those outlets have surge protection only.

+1 This is stated in the manual.

The outlets with no battery backup are there so you can plug in non-essential things in there and not drain the battery during a black-out, such as printer, desk lamps, etc.

Also, with any expensive equipment in my house, I at least put surge supression on it. APC makes some nice power bars with surge supression for your cable input as well. All my TVs are plugged into one of these. These power bars are very cheap and are often on sale for about $20.

 

[Mugz]

Surge protection built into the battery outlets = TRUE.

In fact, if it's an online UPS then the battery outputs have an extra surge suppressor that the protected-only outputs don't have, i.e. the battery.

 

[systemlord]

Wow thats a lot of helpful information there, I will be getting a UPS on Feb 1st because my place (lights) surge when there are high winds. Do you guys think that this UPS I have selected has enough power so that I may have a few minutes to power my computer down or do I need more power battery backup for my system in my signature?

I would like to thank all for the helpful valuable information and suggestions. Systemlord


http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16842101004

 

[nukemaster]

I recommend going a bit bigger(500 watts as opposed to 300)...

Reason 1 - Your power flickers allot so you want a bigger reserve of power...
Reason 2 - With your rather over clocked video card your power consumption climbs by quite a bit....I can not guess your power also due to the fact that i am not sure what the efficiency of your psu is at a given load....

300 should work...but with lots of fluctuations the batter may never get a full charge(if its real bad and transferring to the battery allot).....Also note that small flickers are taken care of by capacitors in the surge protection portion...so maybe you will not be constantly transferring to battery....I do not know your power conditions...

Do you also plan to add your screen another other equipment to the battery unit?

Alright I did some testing....

In my case.

Modem
Router
Switch
Speakers
Phone Base(Charging)
78 Watts

Add my computer Idle
296 Watts

Start Folding @ home(2 SMP Clients 2 cpus each)
358 Watts

Start up ATI Tools Spinning Cube(This takes allot more power then ANY game i have seen, But i am going worse case) and Defrag 2 hard drives
452 Watts (374 without all the other stuff.....this is a new test for me(used to never be able to get it over 350)...so my power use has gone up....not in real world day to day, but in max testing...)

Either way....you system should take about 40-80(maybe more) watts less than mine(Dual core saves power, as does 1 hard drive vs 6....Your VGA over clock will take some of that away.)

Thats the general reason i suggest a 500 or more. If you load it real good you may(There are variations from system to system) start to hit the limit....

 

[grieve]

I was looking into getting a UPS myself.. But i have a 1000W power supply..

Any suggestion which unit to buy that doesnt cost literally $1000's and can back up....1000W

 

[Onus]

I agree with Nukemaster in that you might want to consider a bigger one, especially if you want extended run time.

I have what I think is the predescessor of this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16842101006
(no cooling fan, just a vent; not sure it has LAN protection)
It works well, and has plenty of run time for my .sig rig, and I also have a 5W CFL desk lamp plugged into it.

For use during an extended outage, I've got a 104AH battery on a cart with a 350W inverter mounted on its box cover .

 

[Onus]

Grieve, you don't need to size the UPS to the PSU, but to what it pulls from the wall. Looking at your configuration, the one I linked in my previous post should be fine for you as well; 1200VA or 780W.

 

[grieve]

awesome thank you

 

[nukemaster]

I agree with Nukemaster in that you might want to consider a bigger one, especially if you want extended run time.

I have what I think is the predescessor of this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16842101006
(no cooling fan, just a vent; not sure it has LAN protection)
It works well, and has plenty of run time for my .sig rig, and I also have a 5W CFL desk lamp plugged into it.

For use during an extended outage, I've got a 104AH battery on a cart with a 350W inverter mounted on its box cover .

Awww thats mine 483 watts(all thats stuff above + another computer) is only 8 min of backup according to the software....

Please explain this inverter setup you have? you just turn it on in a power out while the ups holds?

@ grieve - Your power should be similar to mine(see above)...

 

[Onus]

I got the inverter setup primarily for camping trips and lighting on extended power outages (had some really long ones a few years ago). I would probably not plug my UPS into it, as I don't know how well it would like the waveform, but I wouldn't hesitate to plug my laptop and DSL modem/router into it.
It consists of the 104AH AGM battery (size of a large car battery) that I put in a heavy plastic battery box (available in auto parts stores). I bolted a 350W inverter to the top of it, and connected it to the battery through a 30A circuit breaker. I usually plug a single 13W CFL bulb into it, but one time I wheeled it out when a power failure occurred just before one of my wife's favorite shows. It ran the lamp, cable box, and my 27" TV for the next hour or so without breaking a sweat and maybe losing only a couple of percent S.O.C. I will probably get a bigger inverter soon, as it apparently isn't quite enough for my refrigerator.

 

[systemlord]

I agree, I should get a bigger UPS, because I might go SLI in the future and having to buy another one later...
500 watts it will be, there not that much more and I can spend upto $500 next month for a bigger unit. I am using 350 watts based on Tom's PSU listings so getting a 300W is just under my normal system draw, so yea it wouldn't be enough.

 

[nukemaster]

We have something similar 1000 watt inverter(Canadian tire power box with battery) and a large battery from some mining equipment. But by the time we ever use thing thing it's battery had been sitting for over year and a half....so it was not much good....

In your case i guess its charged enough for camping and stuff.....for us...long power outs are just to far apart...

 

[croc]

I agree, I should get a bigger UPS, because I might go SLI in the future and having to buy another one later...
500 watts it will be, there not that much more and I can spend upto $500 next month for a bigger unit. I am using 350 watts based on Tom's PSU listings so getting a 300W is just under my normal system draw, so yea it wouldn't be enough.

Keep in mind that the wattage / amperage rating on your PSU is based on your DC output, not your AC amperage usage at the wall.

My APC Smart-ups 1000 will run my PC, 24" LCD, firewall, DSL modem, several phone chargers, plus a laptop for about 35 / 45 minutes of outage before it goes into shutdown mode. The whole UPS draw is about 1.25 A @ 240 VAC with the PC running a moderate to heavy load.