Uninterruptible Power Supply inquiry

[Beto Garcia]

Greetings folks,


I’m currently searching the hardware market for my next Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) for my 2013 new Performance PC build. During my research I’ve identified 2 possible candidates and I need your expert advice in order to make an informed decision.

The candidates are:

1. APC BR1500G BACK-UPS Pro 1500 10-Outlet 1500VA/865W UPS;
2. APC SMC1500 Smart-UPS 1440 VA/900 Watts UPS.

There’s a third model but it’s not available for purchase in my region:

3. CyberPower CP1500PFCLCD 1500VA / 900W PFC UPS.

All of them have received positive online sites & customer reviews.

The Power Supply Unit (PSU) I chose and bought is:

· CORSAIR Professional Series AX1200i 1200 Watt 80 PLUS Platinum Certified Digital ATX Active PFC [CP-9020008-NA].

The requirements for the UPS are:

a. Completely compatible with the chosen Power Supply Unit;
b. Enough run time to safely shut down the PC (approximately 3 to 5 minutes);
c. Topology: Line Interactive;
d. Waveform Type: Sine wave;
e. Automatic Voltage Regulation (AVR);
f. Surge Protection;
g. Budget: approximately $400 USD.

Here are some PC components of the built for reference:

· CPU: Intel Core i7 3930K. TDP: 130 W;
· X79 Desktop Board: ASUS Sabertooth X79;
· X79 Desktop Memory: G.SKILL Ripjaws Z Series 16GB [F3-17000CL9Q-16GBZH];
· GPU: EVGA GeForce GTX 670 FTW Edition [02G-P4-2678-KR]. TDP: 170w;
· SSD: Intel SSD 520 Series 240GB [SSDSC2CW240A3K5];
· HDD: Western Digital VelociRaptor 1TB [WD1000DHTZ];
· Monitor: Acer HN274Hbmiiid 27" 1080p Full HD LED 120Hz 3D [HN274H BMIIID]. TDP: 45.5W.

I’ve calculated, according to an online PSU calculator, a starting continuously available power of approximately 750 Watts (800 Watts with an overclocked CPU). Know that I’ll be adding more hardware in the future.

Therefore, what I need to know is:

• Which of the listed UPS is the best one for protecting my new Performance PC build?

Your advice, suggestions and comments will be appreciated. Thanks in advance.


Regards,

[KaptCrunch]

APC Smart-UPS C 1500VA LCD 120V lots of room for future add-ons you can get a smaller smart-up unit to save a little if your only power computer

[JD]

I recently picked up the Cyberpower CP1350PFCLCD 1350VA 810W for my PC which seems adequate. Assuming I'm not in the middle of gaming when the power goes out, it has ample time to shutdown as my PC idles around 250W, which is similar to your build:

i7 3930k @ 4.7GHz
GTX690
2x 7200rpm HDD
3x SSD
AX850W PSU

Even when gaming, I think I only approach about 600W.

[Soultribunal]

The two candiates that you have choosen for yourself don't fit your criteria on two factors.

They are both On-Line vs Line interactive and use stepped approximations to sine waves.
That being said neither of those should be a deciding factor for you.

Online vs Line Interactive on a PC is really only something you should consider if you have a lot of dirty power on the mains. Or the device you have wired is super sensitive to power issues. For your computer, its a non issue really unless you want to spend the extra Coin.

The sine wave form 2 years back was a problem. With Enermax in particular and some versions of the older Seasonic platform. If they got stepped sine wave they just stopped working which rendered the UPS null and void really.

Nowadays however that is a non issue as most PSU's can take the stepped sinewave without an issue.
I've done this with the APC's on all the Flextronics Corsair PSU's (of which you have one).

Now if you want an Online Pure Sinewave there is a cheaper Version then grabbing the SMT1500 that Kapt linked.

PFC Sinewave Series - CP1500PFCLCD

THat is a good option.

Or if you trust in what I Say just get a BR1500 + a BR24BPG and you'll get 20min of Run with a feature rich and trustworthy UPS System. Its what I trust all my components to right now. They have not let me down, as it stands I have 200+ events a month that they stop from getting to my PC.

-ST

[Perineum]

I ended up getting a double online conversion rack mountable setup for free. It's alarm was going off and the location that had it wanted it gone. It was simply telling them that the batteries were no longer any good.

I replaced 4 of the batteries in the main unit and the second rack had all 12 working fine. It's only good for about 500W load, but it'll hold that for hours

[Beto Garcia]

Thanks for your replies and advice.

Originally Posted by KaptCrunch

APC Smart-UPS C 1500VA LCD 120V lots of room for future add-ons you can get a smaller smart-up unit to save a little if your only power computer

Originally Posted by JD

I recently picked up the Cyberpower CP1350PFCLCD 1350VA 810W for my PC which seems adequate. Assuming I'm not in the middle of gaming when the power goes out, it has ample time to shutdown as my PC idles around 250W, which is similar to your build:

i7 3930k @ 4.7GHz
GTX690
2x 7200rpm HDD
3x SSD
AX850W PSU

Even when gaming, I think I only approach about 600W.

I need an UPS to protect not only my performance build but also a 27” monitor and other network equipment.

Actually, I own a Cyberpower CP1500AVRLCD and has served me for almost 5 years now. Great quality product! When I recently did my UPS research, the CyberPower CP1500PFCLCD 1500VA / 900W PFC UPS won 1st place. It has ample power for future upgrades and surge protection, the reviews were positive and the price is right. I really like that UPS. Unfortunately, none of CyberPower’s models are available for purchase in my region. I might try just once more to find a local retailer that does have them in stock.

Any thoughts on the other candidate: APC BR1500G BACK-UPS Pro 1500 10-Outlet 1500VA/865W UPS?

Originally Posted by Soultribunal

They are both On-Line vs Line interactive and use stepped approximations to sine waves.
That being said neither of those should be a deciding factor for you.

Online vs Line Interactive on a PC is really only something you should consider if you have a lot of dirty power on the mains. Or the device you have wired is super sensitive to power issues. For your computer, its a non issue really unless you want to spend the extra Coin.

Nowadays however that is a non issue as most PSU's can take the stepped sinewave without an issue.
I've done this with the APC's on all the Flextronics Corsair PSU's (of which you have one).

Now if you want an Online Pure Sinewave there is a cheaper Version then grabbing the SMT1500 that Kapt linked.

PFC Sinewave Series - CP1500PFCLCD

-ST

That is some very interesting and useful information.

I do plan on adding more hardware in the near future, like another GTX 670 for SLI fun, HDDs (RAID), etc., and upgrading components down the road. A 900 Watts / 1500VA UPS seems adequate since I would like to stay under 800 Watts for higher Energy Use/Efficiency. When I researched Power Supplies I learned about PSUs reaching their max efficiency @ 50% load (92% efficiency @ 600 Watt for the CORSAIR AX1200i), saving you money on the long run, which it's positive.

I’ve read about the Sine wave topic and the modern PSUs being Active PFC, it seems more important than ever for UPSs to include that spec in their design for compatibility and energy efficiency.

It’s good to know that nowadays most PSU's can take a stepped sinewave approximation without an issue, including the one I chose.

Any thoughts, comments and suggestions are welcome.

[Beto Garcia]

Regarding surge protection, how much would one really need?

Any thoughts, comments and suggestions are welcome.

[Soultribunal]

Originally Posted by Beto Garcia

Regarding surge protection, how much would one really need?

Any thoughts, comments and suggestions are welcome.

At this point don't worry about getting seperate suppression. 500-800 Joules provided by a quality UPS is sufficent. The cheap strips have the MOV's set to such a high V , you can still get sneak by Overvoltage.

My thoughts, YMMV.

-ST

[Beto Garcia]

Hello folks!


Alright then, lets wrap up this topic by briefing some of the provided information:

* Simulated vs. pure sine wave: The Corsair AX1200 is a very good power supply and it would not care about what kind of AC would receive.
* UPS with AVR will help shape (regulate) the sine wave into something more easily used by the devices plugged into it. They help with undervoltage and overvoltage events.
* The best protection from power anomalies comes when the UPS or protector is plugged into a properly wired and grounded wall outlet.
* So, you can buy a good UPS with a quick cut-over that provides a "stepped approximation to a sinewave" for your computer system with no worries.

I’ve decided to purchase the better UPS considering all of your valuable comments and advices.

Thank you all for your participation and kind help on this topic.


Best regards,