[PSU UPS] I need to know if its gonna work

403897

Honorable
Jun 2, 2012
5
0
10,510
Hello guys, so my PSU died a couple of days ago so i swapped computers and the old computer seems to have its psu also dieing. That got me thinking about how maybe the setup is the problem. And seeing as to how i spent almost 300$ on a new PSU i really wouldnt like that one to die cuz of a bad setup.

I will start with my new PC's components:
Windows 7 64-bit (think its ultimate)
Mobo ASUS P8Z68V PRO/GEN 3
16Gb Corsair Vengeance bus 1600
560 GTX Nvidia
i5 2500k
Random cheap DVD-RW Drive
7800rpm Western Digital 500GB HDD 16MB Cache
used to have a 1200w semi crap PSU that i bought here in Venezuela (i knew it was crap but was just planning to have it 2 months tops while i could get the CMPSU-1200AX Corsair one delivered here wich is the one i recently bought and plan to install)

In the near future i want to upgrade to a 2nd 560GTX Nvidia or if budget permits an even newer one like 690 or 2x680 or 2x Ati 7970 (not 100% sure wich im gonna get depends on my budget by the end of the year) and an extra HDD and a SSD (both), probably a Blue ray unit

My old PC's Components:
Windows 7 64-Bit (think its ultimate)
Mobo Intel DH57DD
8800GTS Nvidia
8Gb Kingston bus 1333 (random cheapies)
i5 750
Random cheap DVD-RW Drive
5200rpm Western Digital 500GB HDD 16MB Cache
800w Agiler PSU AX800.N

The TV im using to display is a LED LG 32LW4500 model

So I had a UPS then a Power Surge and there i plugged in my pc + TV and after a couple of days with not that many usage (3-4hours per day) they power supply kinda died on the New PC... this i kind of expected (even thou not that fast) and then i went and returned to my old pc while the new PSU arrived and surprise... 2 days after (same ammount of usage) the PSU started to smell bad.

Both the new pc and the TV i bought around 2-3 weeks ago, the Old PC has been here for like 3 months or so (gift from my parents when i sold my laptop and they knew i had to wait a couple of months for the new pc to get here) used to run this PC with a Panasonic Viera 32 Tc32c22 Lcd iirc

As for the UPS and the Power Surge i cant seem to find the model in the web... but first of all ive read i shouldnt use both, so im currently going to go ahead and test with just one to see how the PSU on the old computer behaves.

Other thing that might be really important to know is that the power here (Venezuela) is not 115v, its 110v and its pretty unstable as of not being always at a 110v power, hence being unstable it doesnt power out completely very often, maybe once a month, twice tops and thats only on the rainy months.

The mayor question is should i get something like http://www.amazon.com/Tripp-Lite-LC1800-Conditioner-Protection/dp/B0000514G8

Should I buy a better UPS, maybe something like http://www.apc.com/resource/include/techspec_index.cfm?base_sku=BR1500

or ionno http://www.apc.com/resource/include/techspec_index.cfm?base_sku=BR1500G wich seems just a tad better as of battery life

BTW Battery life is not that important i just want to be able to save anything and turn the PC and TV off, solid 2 minutes would suffice.

Im not even plugging the Modem to the UPS right now, even thou if I do have to get a new UPS i would use the old one for the modem, printer just so i dont have to throw it away
 
Solution
APC makes some amazing UPS products, I have one under my desk right now.

Any PSU worth its salt (which excludes most of them by default) can handle steady input loads from 100V-130V without affecting DC output. All standard line voltages from 110-125 at 60hz should work just fine.

With that said, the only thing that you should put on a UPS is the tower and a monitor. Do not attach anything else with any significant draw to battery backed ports (you can use the surge-only ports to your heart's content). Most UPS are backed by lead acid batteries which gives them a nice and high peak power output that cannot be achieved by lithium batteries. However, going past the recommended max output can introduce some nasty transients into the...
APC makes some amazing UPS products, I have one under my desk right now.

Any PSU worth its salt (which excludes most of them by default) can handle steady input loads from 100V-130V without affecting DC output. All standard line voltages from 110-125 at 60hz should work just fine.

With that said, the only thing that you should put on a UPS is the tower and a monitor. Do not attach anything else with any significant draw to battery backed ports (you can use the surge-only ports to your heart's content). Most UPS are backed by lead acid batteries which gives them a nice and high peak power output that cannot be achieved by lithium batteries. However, going past the recommended max output can introduce some nasty transients into the UPS's AC output. Keep in mind that this only applies when the UPS has to provide sustained battery power. None the less, you should keep the UPS load on the one that you linked to <900 watts to be safe.

You do not need a line conditioner, any decent PSU will have APFC and AC line noise cancelling hardware. The Corsair AX1200 is manufactured by SeaSonic, and they're the best by a large margin.

The only thing that you need to do is ensure that your PSU isn't a piece of crap. Unfortunately basic power conversion is trivial which means that there are tons of cheap knockoff PSUs on the market. Many of these knockoffs are dangerous firehazards that shouldn't be allowed past customs.

PSUs are workhorses. They're designed to take a beating
 
Solution

403897

Honorable
Jun 2, 2012
5
0
10,510
OK thanks man, seems like I wont have to spend much. Here where I live i can find both of them for 200$ ish equivalent, wich is kind of the same as bringing em from the us to where I live. Im currently testing my old pc with just the ups and its running just fine, will let ya all know if anything funky happens in the next 30mins or so
 

403897

Honorable
Jun 2, 2012
5
0
10,510
Venezuela like i said in the OP and an update on the testing, i cant do the test with just the ups and no power surge attached to it cuz the PSU on the old computer died for sure, just powers up the led on the case, nothing else.
Also tryed pluging directly to the AC, same result