suggestion for UPS
suggestion for UPS
Hello
my computer suddenly displayed a blue screen and shut down abruptly (without even having time to see the message). When I turned it back on, it didn’t show any image, but after a brief power cycle (leaving it unplugged for a while), everything functioned properly again.
To be extra cautious, I replaced my RAM, checked the power cables connected to my GPU, and ran some CPU and GPU stress tests. I also played a few games for a couple of hours without any issues.
Since this happened early in the morning, I suspect someone in my building used too many hairdryers, causing a brief power drop that my PSU didn’t handle well. I considered purchasing a UPS, but I don’t have much budget. I found this link: https://amzn.eu/d/7Fmi1YY – it claims to provide stable power with a simulated sine wave, though I read it might not be ideal.
I rarely experience blackouts, so I only need it to ensure my PC gets consistent clean power. Since I’m new to this, I’d appreciate your advice!
Should I invest in a better model with a pure sine wave, or is the cheap option acceptable? Could using this low-cost UPS damage my PSU during a blackout?
Thanks!
hardware: CPU 4790k
GPU gigabyte RTX 3070
PSU: https://amzn.eu/d/0h0hD0j
Corsair 750cx Mod
When searching for an UPS, consider these key aspects:
Output waveform (square wave, simulated sine wave and true/pure sine wave)
Design options (stand-by, line-interactive and online)
Further details can be found at the provided links:
https://www.kstar.com/indexproblem/17355.jhtml
And here are explanations about UPS design:
https://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1272971
Regarding waveform and design:
For PCs, a line-interactive UPS is sufficient because PSUs manage the 2ms to 5ms transfer time easily.
Concerning output waveform, a true/pure sine wave UPS is recommended. Simulated sine wave UPSes are more affordable than true/pure sine wave models...
When looking for an UPS, there are 2 things to look out:
Output waveform (square wave, simulated sine wave and true/pure sine wave)
Design (stand-by, line-interactive and online)
From here you can read about the differences between output waveform,
link:
https://www.kstar.com/indexproblem/17355.jhtml
And here are explanations about the UPS design,
link:
https://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1272971
Waveform and design
For PCs, line-interactive UPS would be more than enough since PSUs can easily handle the 2ms to 5ms transfer time of line-interactive UPS.
As far as output waveform goes, true/pure sine wave UPS is best used. While simulated sine wave UPSes are cheaper than true/pure sine wave UPSes, PSUs with Active PFC aren't compatible with simulated sine wave. You might get simulated sine wave UPS running with Active PFC PSU but there can be some major issues. Here's what, how and why.
How do you know which PSUs have Active PFC and which ones don't?
Simple, every PSU that has 80+ certification (e.g 80+ Bronze or 80+ Gold) has Active PFC.
What is Active PFC?
Further reading:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Power_fact...near_loads
What can happen when using simulated sine wave UPS with Active PFC PSU?
When simulated sine wave UPS switches over to the battery power, one of 3 things can happen:
UPS displays error resulting PC to shut down immediately.
UPS shuts down resulting PC to shut down immediately.
UPS switches to battery power resulting PC to power off from UPS (PC stays on).
Why it happens?
Simulated sine wave UPS produces a zero output state during the phase change cycle resulting in a power “gap”. This gap may cause power interruption for active PFC PSUs when switching from AC power output to simulated sine wave output (battery mode).
What to do next?
As stated above, your PC can run off from simulated sine wave UPS but be prepared when you face issues with it. When issues do rise, your best bet would be returning the simulated sine wave UPS and getting true/pure sine wave UPS. Or you can go with true/pure sine wave UPS off the bat.
Wattage
As far as UPS wattage goes, you need to consider the power draw of your PC and monitors. Maybe speakers and wi-fi router too if you plan to plug those into the UPS as well. Though, printers, scanners and other such hardware (full list on your UPS manual) don't plug to the UPS since their startup power draw is way too much for UPS to handle and you can fry your UPS.
Taking PSU's max wattage as a baseline is good idea since it will give your UPS more headroom and you can get longer runtime out of your UPS. Since your PSU is 750W, at least one monitor is added on top of it. Depending on the monitor size, they use between 23W to 52W. For more accurate power consumption, i need to know your monitor make and model so i can look up it's power consumption. Wi-fi routers don't consume much power. For example, my Cisco EPC3940L consumes 12V at 3A which means 36W.
Good UPS brands to go for are CyberPower, TrippLite and APC. While there are other UPS brands as well, those three are the best out there.
Note: The more powerful UPS you have, the longer UPS can keep your PC running before it's battery is empty.
The UPS you selected is 750VA but only 525W. And while it is line-interactive, it is also simulated sine wave. So, i wouldn't buy it (reasons above).
Though, it seems that you've greatly underestimated the cost of a proper, good quality UPS. Since UPS'es job is to keep your PC running when there's blackout by supplying good and stable electricity to your PC, they also cost a lot of money.
For example, i payed €230 Euros for one of my CyberPower CP1300EPFCLCD (1300VA/780W, true/pure sine wave, line-interactive) UPS and i have two of them in use, one for Skylake build and another for Haswell build (full specs with pics in my sig).
Since your PC is expensive, it's not easily replaced. Like it or not, if you want the protection, it's not going to be cheap. Though, if you want cheap and good UPS, you need to buy 2x UPSes; the cheap one and the good one.
So, if you're willing to buy a good UPS, then for your build, i suggest 1000+VA UPS. You could even go with the very same UPS as i'm using,
specs:
https://www.cyberpower.com/hk/en/product...300EPFCLCD
amazon:
https://www.amazon.it/CyberPower-Systems...0058RVIEC/
It is good quality UPS and it can keep my PCs running ~30mins, which is more than ample time to shut down our PCs during the black out. Bigger capacity also allows us to repurpose our UPSes to e.g charge our phones when something drastic happens and electricity should go away for a week or so.
I appreciate the detailed information you provided.
I think I'll consider the option you recommended when I have the opportunity, or go for a similar APC Back-UPS setup that many users and YouTubers recommend.
I’m hoping my wall power will still work well for another 1 to 2 months; I’ve been using this computer off the wall for years without any issues, so it seems like the PSU or building wiring might be the cause of the problem.
Keep in mind that most APC UPSes are based on simulated sine wave. Although some genuine pure sine wave models exist from APC, you need to check the specifications of any APC UPS you're thinking about to confirm the output waveform. If a YouTuber advises against wearing a seat belt while driving or endorses a product enthusiastically, will you follow their advice or act on it?
Well, I understand how seatbelts function. I’m not sure about UPS, but I’ve been looking into it for a few hours now, which is why I’m on a tech forum asking for help. Thanks for letting me know. You’re really helping me out at 17 years old! It’s a 3070 RN, and I did my best. But I value all the information you shared.
I'm a direct type and I say things as they are. I don't give sugarcoated answers or hold hands. Instead, I share the straightforward facts, no matter how uncomfortable or sad they might be.
Although we don't all have deep expertise in PC hardware, it's something we learn over time. If you're curious about PC hardware (I am), I'm here to help you understand.
No one wants to spend a lot of money, yet everyone wants quality products. Unfortunately, this isn't possible. You can't have both high quality and low cost at the same time. Better build quality always comes with a higher price.
For instance, how do you know you're smart enough to pick a €600 GPU when you ignore the power supply?
You need to realize that the PSU powers everything inside your PC, making it the most critical part. If the PSU fails, it can damage not just itself but everything connected to it—your whole system and your expensive €600 GPU.
With this in mind, think about how much you'd feel after saving around €50 by choosing a cheaper PSU instead of a good Corsair CXm model.
In short: real experience is the toughest teacher, because it teaches you through trial before you learn."
It's a fairly new purchase (originally a 970). I'm beginning the gradual upgrade of my PC, starting with the GPU to ensure modern games run before moving on to the CPU and RAM... and of course the PSU is a priority.
Back then, I had no understanding of what bronze or gold meant or how manufacturers ranked quality—just that a known manufacturer usually meant good or at least decent enough.
The UPS is also meant to provide cleaner power to my current PSU, reducing stress on it so I can replace it later. It's clear now that this cheap POS wouldn't last long.
I feel more confident in choosing PC components now than I did at 17 when this build was made, though my GPU choice wasn't great either.
But the CPU is still performing well, and the trooper is giving me solid results in Cyberpunk! Still, it's time to replace it eventually—the pins are hanging on the wall.
Not great, but I can't do much about it now.
I just hope it lasts a few more months. By Christmas, everything should be brand new.
The good news is I tested my power with a plug meter, and even under synthetic stress tests, my system draws around 450W. The PSU fan has a dust filter that I clean regularly, keeping it cool. Cables seem to be functioning well, and overall cooling is acceptable.
At least my GPU is covered by a 3-year warranty—if it doesn't fail, maybe I can get it through.
Yeah, I've been banging my head against the wall for this PC a lot, but I always managed to fix it. Now I'm focusing on getting the budget to build a better setup with good cooling and proper cable management.
Right now it's... passable.
I've had many Corsair power supplies in my possession. A lot of them were the "green label" CX models. I've never experienced a failure with any of them.
Even if they aren't the best option, they definitely outperform the usual prebuilt or standard PSUs you often see.
I won't claim that upgrading for higher quality is unnecessary, but it's unlikely you're worried about your CX model overheating your system.
Yet, the forum is packed with discussions about CX/CXm series PSUs where users experience restarts or shutdowns, especially under heavy use (like gaming). <- A good quality PSU won't restart the PC if it detects any real load. The opposite happens. Some unfortunate users have even lost their GPU and/or motherboard during those issues.
Btw, just because you haven’t encountered a PSU failure doesn’t mean Corsair CX/CXm PSUs are always reliable. It’s similar to saying: "I’ve never had an AIO leak, so it can’t leak.".
🙄
Talking about it, I came across something interesting—some users reported their motherboard catching fire after a new CX750m was installed and ran for about 5 minutes, until the smoke escaped and damaged the board.
topic:
https://forum.corsair.com/forums/to...m-...d-damaged/
So... what were you saying?