UPS Information Please.

[neiljung]

Am I right in thinking that for a system with a large PSU (say 600W) this product would be no good when actually drawing anything near that?

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=UP-022-AP&groupid=702&catid=55&subcat=

I thought that the VA rating was to do with the back-up time that the battery gives, but after reading around I'm still a little confused. Some people seem to be claiming to run 450W PSU systems on 500VA UPS boxes.

Is it actually the fact that I'll need to get a box with a higher VA such as this one?

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=UP-015-BE&groupid=702&catid=55&subcat=

Don't want to spend the extra cash only to find out that VA just affects how long the battery runs for.

Thanks for any clarifications.

EDIT: Would the box with the lower VA rating run ok up till the power went off? I thought off-line UPS units only really passed through mains power unless the power goes out? Thanks again for any help on this.

 

[neiljung]

Hm. I was intending to connect up a gaming rig and monitor. So if I actually started gaming and my system tries to pull more than 450W from that UPS then basically it will trip it out?

I'll need something that can throughput more watts then I guess. Seems they are more than just a big battery back-up then. Oh well.

One more UPS question; are these things much heavier on power consumption than just plugging into the mains/a surge protector? I mean if you've got a high efficiency PSU, and "green" components would running through a UPS kind of negate that power efficiency?

 

[neiljung]

Thanks for the info. So would this model with 800VA/540W be any good?

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=UP-012-AP&groupid=702&catid=55&subcat=

My problem is that the electricity supply here seems to be prone to brownouts often several times an hour in the evenings (the light slightly dims for a half-second) so I'm pretty sure it's doing my pc no good. It also trips out now and again, about once a month, some months are fine but then it will happen several times in another.

I'd be running the UPS pretty much all the time, or that's the idea. I guess my system draws around 300W at maximum when gaming, but want to factor in for future upgrades.

Having done a little more reading it seems like an on-line UPS would be a possible solution, but these are pricier and it appears not very efficient as they're converting the input to battery power and running you off that constantly.

My psu is passive pfc unfortunately. If you could elaborate further on how this effects the ups then I'll have a better idea whether to prioritize a PSU upgrade first. I'm using the coolermaster eXtreme Power Plus 460W. Specs seemed ok from what I could tell and seemed to have ok reviews as well as being ATX 2.3 which I needed....

1. Compliance with the newest Intel standard ATX 12V V2.3
2. More than 70% efficiency at typical load operation
3. High reliability (MTBF > 100,000 hrs)
4. Green power design to meet Energy Star and Blue Angel requirements
5. Silent operation with intelligent fan speed control
6. Multiple protection design(OVP/OCP/OPP/SCP)
7. Support dual +12V1 and +12V2 outputs for higher power usage
8. Two-year warranty

Model RS-460-PCAP-A3
Type Intel Form Factor ATX 12V V2.3
Dimension (W / H / D) Intel Form Factor ATX 12V V2.3
Input Voltage 180~264 V
Input Current 10 A @ 115Vac / 6 A @ 230Vac
Input Frequency Range 47 ~ 63 Hz
PFC Passive PFC
Power Good Signal 100 ~ 500 ms
Hold Up Time > 17 ms
Efficiency >70% Typically
MTBF >100,000 hrs
Protection OVP / OCP / OPP / SCP
Max. Output Capacity 460 Watts
Operation Temperature 0~40 Nominal Input Voltage

+ 3.3v ::: 22A
+5v ::: 25A
+12v(1) ::: 18A
+12v(2) ::: 18A
-12V ::: 0.5A
+5vSB ::: 2.5A

Max Output for 3.3v and 5v is 165 watts combined*
Max Output for 12v(1) and 12v(2) is 36A combined*
* Assuming normal operation temperature of 0-40c

20+4pin Motherboard Connector x1
4+4pin+12V CPU Connector x1
6 Pin PCI-e Connector x1
S-ATA Connector x4
4 pin Peripheral Connector x5

Also, to clarify, if I go for a higher VA UPS then it's not going to actually use more electricity in general use once charged than a lower one. Is that right? Does this apply to PSU's as well, as in a 600W unit can be as economical as a 450W depending on what power is actually drawn from it?

Sorry if that seems like a dumb question. I can see that it might.

Thanks for the help so far. Any further advice or info much appreciated.

 

[neiljung]

If you want to correct for brown outs, you'll need the "smart" line which constantly monitor and correct for surges and brown outs. The back ups and other "dumb" ups's don't, just kick in during a total power failure.

800VA should be enought.

Are those the "line-interactive" models, or something else like a particular product range or whatever? I've seen off-line models that claim to have automatic voltage regulation and surge protection but I guess these aren't really very good?

I know the "on-line" ones are meant to be the best, but seem a bit overkill for home use as well as converting AC-DC-AC constantly so not very energy efficient as well as being pretty expensive.

Line-interactive are a decent mid-ground solution then? Man, this just get's more expensive the more I find out...heh. That always seems to be the way.

EDIT: When I was googling "smart line ups" I found this article. http://www.pcguide.com/ref/power/ext/ups/index.htm
I did GTFG earlier before posting, but didn't know what to search for and this article was a lucky find! Seriously comprehensive. Thanks to everyone who chipped in some info and helped me get off in the right direction. Hopefully this thread will be of use to the next person in need of help regarding UPS advice.