Electrical issues ?
Electrical issues ?
Sorry if I wasn't clear, the highest wattage I noticed from the wattmeter was 200, and I only saw it once.
It usually draws between 65 to 140 watts.
I use a smart charger to charge the battery bank because I want to keep it full.
It’s connected to five small solar panels, but I haven’t seen the total wattage from all of them exceed 250 watts, so sometimes I dual charge using both the solar panels and the smart charger.
Yes, I’m aware that charging a battery bank from two different sources isn’t recommended, but I’ve talked to solar power experts on a separate forum who say it’s okay.
Could it be that the maximum wattage listed is incorrect?
I ordered it online for $20 (no UPS battery included), and I’ve seen UPS chargers in computer stores for $100–120.
Are you suggesting I should spend extra money on that?
It was evident from your first message that the peak power you measured reached 200W. Yet, most meters (wattmeters) only provide an average value and fail to show the instantaneous high levels. Devices that consume a lot of power—such as high-end graphics cards—require very brief current bursts (milliseconds) that surpass the average by about 1.5 times or even double. You don’t own any of these power-hungry components (for example, an RTX 4090), so the strain your system places will be significantly lower. Nevertheless, I was worried you might not have sufficient capacity if your UPS output is below 300W. Remember, I was also checking whether you have a 350VA UPS or a 350W UPS.
Reviewing the 'APC Back-UPS CS 350VA' details, I see that the "Rated Power in VA" is 350 and the "kW Rating" stands at 210W. Although this isn’t your UPS and it operates at 120V rather than 230V, it highlights how often the VA rating and wattage differ—a fact that can surprise many.
In this specific 350VA APC UPS, a 210W rating wouldn’t suffice for your setup. With only a small margin of 10W, I’d anticipate difficulties with such a configuration. It’s important to verify your UPS specifications and confirm whether it’s rated at 350VA or 350W.
Charging batteries from two different sources shouldn’t be an issue. My point was simply that efficiency losses are unavoidable. Solar charging can help balance the cost of mains power during off-peak hours.
No, UPS power ratings aren’t arbitrary. The key is understanding that AC and DC power behave differently. If the AC load includes reactive elements—like old tungsten bulbs with inductors or capacitors—the voltage and current waveforms won’t align perfectly. This difference is measured by the Power Factor (PF). High-quality ATX PSUs include Power Factor Correction to approach unity PF, but they aren’t flawless. Consequently, manufacturers list VA and W ratings, which can be misleading.
This explanation might help clarify things, even if you’re not an electronics expert. Just accept it’s one of life’s small mysteries.
You should also note that $100 marks the lower end for a quality sine wave UPS suited to computers. I’m using an APC 1500VA unit with multiple PCs, but my device runs on 230V and has extra controls. At $549 for 1500VA, it’s overkill for your needs, though it serves as a reference for pricing.
If you’re considering upgrading, a more robust sine wave UPS could be worth the investment. However, if other factors are already causing unreliability, it might not be worth the expense.
Troubleshooting can be time-consuming, especially with older hardware. For instance, removing one stick of RAM from an old system sometimes resolves issues, but in some cases—like the AMD Phenom 965 I mentioned—problems persist even after changes. Testing your entire system at someone else’s location can reveal whether the fault lies within your equipment or in the power supply itself.
Good luck with your setup!
Thank you, I understand.
Yes, the wattmeter indicates an average reading, but the values on the screen keep shifting.
APU means the GPU is connected to the CPU...
So far, I don’t have any friends who can test this PC, and I’m in the Philippines—over 7000 islands, with one powered by a geothermal plant three hours away. I’m not sure what causes static in the electrical lines here; it seems common in this country. Still, no matter how far I travel, the results stay the same unless I move to another island...
But if I start using my MSI laptop—costing me around 1500 dollars back then—will that big power brick prevent any of this from affecting the laptop’s main parts?
Thank you very much for your help so far.
Additional considerations:
If your UPS is comparable to the 'APC Back-UPS CS 350VA' I referenced before, with a modest 210W output (even though its part number claims 350VA), then it's only sufficient to run a computer system that draws up to 200W at its peak.
More crucially, your UPS anticipates receiving a fairly pure sine wave input from the AC mains. If the UPS picks up an inferior "stepped approximation" waveform from the Chinese DC to AC inverter, both the UPS and connected devices could face issues.
I recommend performing some tests when the mains is stable. Should you notice intermittent problems when operating the computer using the Chinese inverter together with the UPS, but not when running directly from the mains alone with the UPS and inverter disconnected, then the fault likely lies with the UPS or the inverter itself.
The "poor quality" condition of your mains supply is what EMC specialists refer to as "Conducted Emissions," produced by nearby devices such as fridge motors or air conditioner compressors switching on and off. In simple terms, industrial equipment close by can disrupt the mains signal. This is entirely normal, but it can become bothersome if it impacts your gear.
Some suggest using a filtered mains extension strip. Inexpensive options often contain only an MOV to handle high voltage spikes. More costly filters combine inductors and capacitors (see Schaffner filter below).
The power brick for your laptop is likely designed to operate across the full AC range of 100V to 240V at 50/60Hz. As long as the mains voltage stays between 85V and 255V, you should be fine from a voltage standpoint.
In my opinion, I would exercise caution when running the laptop PSU (and computer) from the inverter/UPS pair, especially if neither device produces a clean sine wave. A laptop PSU is similar to an ATX unit, but it has only one DC output for the laptop (rather than separate rails like +12V, +5V, +3.3V, etc.) needed by the computer.
If your laptop requires up to 130W and your inverter is rated at 210W (or 350VA) while your PSU peaks at 180W, it should generally suffice.
Having fewer faulty components in the chain feeding your computer, monitor or laptop is always preferable.
If you have any questions, investigate your UPS and inverter further, then share the specifics with us.
I think the SSD stopped working because of a corrupt Windows 11. I’m currently using Linux (popOS) and really want to switch. I’ll check if an APC UPS would help—do you think a 500-watt AVR should work? Also, my monitor sometimes turns off and on without signal, and it’s not connected to the UPS, just the tower.
I just found out the AMD 7680 is likely an A8-7680 FM2 graphics card.
I own several older FM2 boards that have been acting up lately. After running MemTest86 on four Corsair DDR3 RAM sticks in another machine, I realized the issue probably lies with the motherboard—something I acquired secondhand on eBay years ago.
Once I replaced the motherboard and swapped in an A4-series APU for $7 on eBay (a lucky find), the server PC stopped working. The motherboard itself was fine, but the original CPU had failed, likely from static damage left by the previous buyer (a Chinese seller on eBay).
The lesson here is that with older gear, problems often arise unexpectedly. It’s easy to jump from one fix to another without realizing what you’re replacing.
Regarding your current concern, the stability of the power supply seems unrelated to the flickering screen. So far, I’ve only experimented with a single machine. I’m sorry if you don’t have other devices to test—besides the high-end laptop in Canada.
Laptop power supplies are quite reliable when it comes to inconsistent mains, so I’d suggest sending your laptop to the Philippines for a comparison with the desktop. If your monitor has an HDMI port, you can connect it to the laptop.
If power issues like brownouts or cuts affect the monitor when attached to the laptop, then the problem is likely in the mains. Although the laptop includes its own battery to stabilize power, it might still be worth checking.
In any case, you’ll need to test or replace components in your desktop setup: RAM, APU/CPU, motherboard, ATX PSU (if older than 5–7 years), and the boot disk (SSD or hard drive).
This process is manageable if you have a large collection of spare parts—either as junk in a box or through affordable eBay listings.
As I mentioned earlier, I bought a micro-ATX FM2 motherboard with an A4-series APU for just $7 plus shipping. It wasn’t as powerful as the full ATX model and the high-end AMD 760K CPU, but it was enough to help me identify the faulty parts.
Testing RAM is straightforward using MemTest86 or MemTest86+ on a bootable USB drive. The other components are usually best replaced with verified units, though it can be challenging.
You might also consider purchasing a used motherboard/CPU/RAM bundle on eBay. I’ve had success with Intel 1150, 1151, or 1155 boards if you prefer DDR3 RAM. Socket 939 AMD Phenom systems (like the 955/965 models) aren’t as fast as an Intel 1150 CPU, for example the i7-4770K.
I was fortunate to have received over 100 DDR3 DIMMs and 50 DDR4 DIMMs from old desktops and servers. After cleaning up with MemTest86, I installed 4x4GB DDR3 Kingston or Corsair RAM across all compatible systems and 8x8GB DDR4 DIMMs in a compatible Intel Xeon quad-channel server motherboard.
There’s likely a thriving second-hand market for old computer parts on the island—where you can find components at lower prices. If they don’t work, feel free to return them and be polite to the seller.
I understand Windows 11 can cause trouble on FM2 systems. Personally, I’ve only used Windows 10 on machines over 10 years old. Linux could be a good alternative if you don’t need Windows for specific software. While it’s possible to modify Windows 11 using Rufus to bypass Secure Boot and TPM v2.0, it’s generally not recommended for older processors.
there is a sticker on the top part of the ups. actually, the pc ran very smoothly on windows 11, though the malware was bothersome. the psu is the only one i trust, it’s 550 watts, brand new. i replaced the old one (though there was a strong smell of chernobyl), and the original ssd died completely at that time (mctech replaced it with a possibly genuine Kingston 240gb ssd). it had one hdd failing, but it partially came back to life and stopped showing up in my pc on windows 11. worth noting, i initially used a Chinese avr because this wasn’t my first experience in the archipelago, and i thought Philippine electricity might need more time before it was fully clean. while using that avr, i felt a slight buzz whenever i touched the tower casing or any usb cable connected to it. at that moment, the mobo and other components needed a tower, but since the pc was placed on a cardboard box or wooden tabletop, everything seemed fine.
i’m trying to gather more details about the ups. seeing as how i cut a square open to fit a fan for cooling, i partially opened the sticker, but i took a photo of it. i promise to share it after my religious coffee when i get up—my word.
It seems to be around 390 watts, so now it's just a matter of checking if that's genuine or if the brand is poor. We do have Intex in Quebec at those locations before they close, and Best Buy and Future Shop are also options.