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Questions about UPS units

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  • D Dario Solera

    The power supply is a Corsair 750W (it's a bit too powerful for my config it seems, but there were no "smaller" models, so...) At any rate, I'm reading some stuff on the interwebs and it seems that power supplies with active PFC usually don't work with UPS units that generate a pseudo-sinusoidal output wave. :doh:

    If you truly believe you need to pick a mobile phone that "says something" about your personality, don't bother. You don't have a personality. A mental illness, maybe - but not a personality. - Charlie Brooker My Photos/CP Flickr Group - ScrewTurn Wiki

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    peterchen
    wrote on last edited by
    #9

    Dario Solera wrote:

    it seems that power supplies with active PFC usually don't work with UPS units that generate a pseudo-sinusoidal output wave

    I guess that's the long form of "doesn't like". :rolleyes:

    Don't attribute to stupidity what can be equally well explained by buerocracy.
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    • D Dario Solera

      Emil - Gabriel wrote:

      The software for my APC ups

      Is that UPSilon 2000? At any rate, how can I be sure that the APC works with a PSU that has active PFC (see my other replies)?

      If you truly believe you need to pick a mobile phone that "says something" about your personality, don't bother. You don't have a personality. A mental illness, maybe - but not a personality. - Charlie Brooker My Photos/CP Flickr Group - ScrewTurn Wiki

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      Lost User
      wrote on last edited by
      #10

      Dario Solera wrote:

      Is that UPSilon 2000?

      No, it's not. It's APC's own PowerChute 2 and it works via USB, not RS232.

      Dario Solera wrote:

      At any rate, how can I be sure that the APC works with a PSU that has active PFC (see my other replies)?

      You can check out their products page. Here's a link to the one I got: http://www.apc.com/resource/include/techspec_index.cfm?base_sku=BR800I[^] The weird thing is that they say that product is not available in my country. :) Only the black model is: http://www.apc.com/resource/include/techspec_index.cfm?base_sku=BR800BLK[^]. And the black model has only 120V Input and Output. :| My country's standard is 220V, so the white model, with 230 V I/O should be available. Weird! They must've messed things up with that. :) EDIT: Just realized I was using their US page. My bad! :D There's a lot of info there, and I didn't bother to look for anything in specific before buying it. My friend just told me it will work and I trusted him. :) If you don't find what you're looking for, you can always drop them an email and ask. I think you'll find one somewhere in the Support section there.

      modified on Monday, July 27, 2009 5:02 AM

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      • L Lost User

        Dario Solera wrote:

        Is that UPSilon 2000?

        No, it's not. It's APC's own PowerChute 2 and it works via USB, not RS232.

        Dario Solera wrote:

        At any rate, how can I be sure that the APC works with a PSU that has active PFC (see my other replies)?

        You can check out their products page. Here's a link to the one I got: http://www.apc.com/resource/include/techspec_index.cfm?base_sku=BR800I[^] The weird thing is that they say that product is not available in my country. :) Only the black model is: http://www.apc.com/resource/include/techspec_index.cfm?base_sku=BR800BLK[^]. And the black model has only 120V Input and Output. :| My country's standard is 220V, so the white model, with 230 V I/O should be available. Weird! They must've messed things up with that. :) EDIT: Just realized I was using their US page. My bad! :D There's a lot of info there, and I didn't bother to look for anything in specific before buying it. My friend just told me it will work and I trusted him. :) If you don't find what you're looking for, you can always drop them an email and ask. I think you'll find one somewhere in the Support section there.

        modified on Monday, July 27, 2009 5:02 AM

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        Dario Solera
        wrote on last edited by
        #11

        Thanks for the link. :)

        If you truly believe you need to pick a mobile phone that "says something" about your personality, don't bother. You don't have a personality. A mental illness, maybe - but not a personality. - Charlie Brooker My Photos/CP Flickr Group - ScrewTurn Wiki

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        • D Dario Solera

          Thanks for the link. :)

          If you truly believe you need to pick a mobile phone that "says something" about your personality, don't bother. You don't have a personality. A mental illness, maybe - but not a personality. - Charlie Brooker My Photos/CP Flickr Group - ScrewTurn Wiki

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          Lost User
          wrote on last edited by
          #12

          You're welcome!

          D 1 Reply Last reply
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          • D Dario Solera

            I recently purchased a cheapo UPS, 400W/700VA. It turned out to be undersized for my PC*, as it simply shuts off when unplugging the power cable. Also, when the PC is at full load, the UPS unit goes overloaded and the beeper starts shouting. How do I know how much power my PC uses without using a watt-meter (which I don't have)? I calculated that it should be within 400W, but I'm lost at this point. When the UPS is overloaded, the software says it's using 154% of its power rating, which would be more than 600W... *) Intel Core i7 920, nVidia GTX275, 2x WD Velociraptor, 12GB 1,333 MHz DDR3

            If you truly believe you need to pick a mobile phone that "says something" about your personality, don't bother. You don't have a personality. A mental illness, maybe - but not a personality. - Charlie Brooker My Photos/CP Flickr Group - ScrewTurn Wiki

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            realJSOP
            wrote on last edited by
            #13

            I run a 1500 on my main box, 900's on all of the other boxes, and 650s on my routers. They key is to not anything but your PC into the battery backed up side of the UPS. Of course, this means that you have to hook up the UPS software so that it can do a controlled power-down of the box immediate on loosing power.

            "Why don't you tie a kerosene-soaked rag around your ankles so the ants won't climb up and eat your candy ass..." - Dale Earnhardt, 1997
            -----
            "...the staggering layers of obscenity in your statement make it a work of art on so many levels." - Jason Jystad, 10/26/2001

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            • L Lost User

              You're welcome!

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              Dario Solera
              wrote on last edited by
              #14

              BTW, how much power does your PC drain at full load according to this tool[^]? And what PSU do you have?

              If you truly believe you need to pick a mobile phone that "says something" about your personality, don't bother. You don't have a personality. A mental illness, maybe - but not a personality. - Charlie Brooker My Photos/CP Flickr Group - ScrewTurn Wiki

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              • R realJSOP

                I run a 1500 on my main box, 900's on all of the other boxes, and 650s on my routers. They key is to not anything but your PC into the battery backed up side of the UPS. Of course, this means that you have to hook up the UPS software so that it can do a controlled power-down of the box immediate on loosing power.

                "Why don't you tie a kerosene-soaked rag around your ankles so the ants won't climb up and eat your candy ass..." - Dale Earnhardt, 1997
                -----
                "...the staggering layers of obscenity in your statement make it a work of art on so many levels." - Jason Jystad, 10/26/2001

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                D Offline
                Dario Solera
                wrote on last edited by
                #15

                My main concern is about compatibility with active power factor correction (PFC) PSUs. And, I'd also like to avoid UPS units with cooling fans.

                If you truly believe you need to pick a mobile phone that "says something" about your personality, don't bother. You don't have a personality. A mental illness, maybe - but not a personality. - Charlie Brooker My Photos/CP Flickr Group - ScrewTurn Wiki

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                • D Dario Solera

                  My main concern is about compatibility with active power factor correction (PFC) PSUs. And, I'd also like to avoid UPS units with cooling fans.

                  If you truly believe you need to pick a mobile phone that "says something" about your personality, don't bother. You don't have a personality. A mental illness, maybe - but not a personality. - Charlie Brooker My Photos/CP Flickr Group - ScrewTurn Wiki

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                  realJSOP
                  wrote on last edited by
                  #16

                  Dario Solera wrote:

                  I'd also like to avoid UPS units with cooling fans.

                  With bigger units like what you need, good luck with that. Besides, the fans in them are almost silent.

                  Dario Solera wrote:

                  My main concern is about compatibility with active power factor correction (PFC) PSUs.

                  A UPS is a UPS. The PFC stuff is only applicable while the computer is powered up and allows more stability on the 12-volt rails. When the UPS takes controls and shuts your PC down, it does it through the OS via installed drivers and utility software.

                  "Why don't you tie a kerosene-soaked rag around your ankles so the ants won't climb up and eat your candy ass..." - Dale Earnhardt, 1997
                  -----
                  "...the staggering layers of obscenity in your statement make it a work of art on so many levels." - Jason Jystad, 10/26/2001

                  D 1 Reply Last reply
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                  • R realJSOP

                    Dario Solera wrote:

                    I'd also like to avoid UPS units with cooling fans.

                    With bigger units like what you need, good luck with that. Besides, the fans in them are almost silent.

                    Dario Solera wrote:

                    My main concern is about compatibility with active power factor correction (PFC) PSUs.

                    A UPS is a UPS. The PFC stuff is only applicable while the computer is powered up and allows more stability on the 12-volt rails. When the UPS takes controls and shuts your PC down, it does it through the OS via installed drivers and utility software.

                    "Why don't you tie a kerosene-soaked rag around your ankles so the ants won't climb up and eat your candy ass..." - Dale Earnhardt, 1997
                    -----
                    "...the staggering layers of obscenity in your statement make it a work of art on so many levels." - Jason Jystad, 10/26/2001

                    D Offline
                    D Offline
                    Dario Solera
                    wrote on last edited by
                    #17

                    The problem with PFC PSUs is that they don't like non-sinusoidal waves and they usually shut off. Moreover, they interact with the inverter of the UPS causing heavy distortion of the generated wave, thus reducing the effective capacity of the latter down to 30%. I'd be interesting in knowing what PSUs yo have. On a side note, I also suspect that things work differently with 110V or 220V ratings (I'm in Europe, so my equipment runs at 220V/50Hz).

                    If you truly believe you need to pick a mobile phone that "says something" about your personality, don't bother. You don't have a personality. A mental illness, maybe - but not a personality. - Charlie Brooker My Photos/CP Flickr Group - ScrewTurn Wiki

                    R D 2 Replies Last reply
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                    • D Dario Solera

                      BTW, how much power does your PC drain at full load according to this tool[^]? And what PSU do you have?

                      If you truly believe you need to pick a mobile phone that "says something" about your personality, don't bother. You don't have a personality. A mental illness, maybe - but not a personality. - Charlie Brooker My Photos/CP Flickr Group - ScrewTurn Wiki

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                      Lost User
                      wrote on last edited by
                      #18

                      The PSU is the stock 500 watt one that I got with the case. The tool you linked to gave me 261 watts, which is close to what I get in the PowerChute softare I mentioned earlier (270 watts). I have two onboard SATA controllers. I also have onboard AC97 sound, which I couldn't find there, but I checked "Sound Blaster w/ Front Bay" as I assume it's what I have (a separate front-panel controller for audio), 2x onboard NICs, an on-board USB WiFi adapter and one cable TV-Tuner. So that pretty much raises everything to around 270 watts. I only did a quick fill of that tool. Here's the full spec of my board if you want to check yourself: http://usa.asus.com/products.aspx?modelmenu=2&model=1163&l1=3&l2=101&l3=300&l4=0[^] Add 2x 1000 rpm , 2gb ram and 2x 8500 gt in sli...

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                      • D Dario Solera

                        The problem with PFC PSUs is that they don't like non-sinusoidal waves and they usually shut off. Moreover, they interact with the inverter of the UPS causing heavy distortion of the generated wave, thus reducing the effective capacity of the latter down to 30%. I'd be interesting in knowing what PSUs yo have. On a side note, I also suspect that things work differently with 110V or 220V ratings (I'm in Europe, so my equipment runs at 220V/50Hz).

                        If you truly believe you need to pick a mobile phone that "says something" about your personality, don't bother. You don't have a personality. A mental illness, maybe - but not a personality. - Charlie Brooker My Photos/CP Flickr Group - ScrewTurn Wiki

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                        R Offline
                        realJSOP
                        wrote on last edited by
                        #19

                        An Opti 1500C, three APC BackUPS XS 900, and two APC BackUPS 650 All but one of my machines use PFC PSUs

                        "Why don't you tie a kerosene-soaked rag around your ankles so the ants won't climb up and eat your candy ass..." - Dale Earnhardt, 1997
                        -----
                        "...the staggering layers of obscenity in your statement make it a work of art on so many levels." - Jason Jystad, 10/26/2001

                        1 Reply Last reply
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                        • C cjb110

                          Try this[^] to estimate your PSU requirements. But with a highend graphics card pulling ~200w, 2 10k rpm drives and 12gb you were never going to be anywhere near 400W! 800 is more likely.

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                          Dave Parker
                          wrote on last edited by
                          #20

                          hehe the draw on my server is only about 17W with monitor switched off. It's an extremely low power system though with an Intel Atom CPU.

                          G 1 Reply Last reply
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                          • D Dave Parker

                            hehe the draw on my server is only about 17W with monitor switched off. It's an extremely low power system though with an Intel Atom CPU.

                            G Offline
                            G Offline
                            Gary Wheeler
                            wrote on last edited by
                            #21

                            You're using a netleaflet as a server?

                            Software Zen: delete this;

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                            • D Dario Solera

                              Emil - Gabriel wrote:

                              The software for my APC ups

                              Is that UPSilon 2000? At any rate, how can I be sure that the APC works with a PSU that has active PFC (see my other replies)?

                              If you truly believe you need to pick a mobile phone that "says something" about your personality, don't bother. You don't have a personality. A mental illness, maybe - but not a personality. - Charlie Brooker My Photos/CP Flickr Group - ScrewTurn Wiki

                              G Offline
                              G Offline
                              Gary Wheeler
                              wrote on last edited by
                              #22

                              Contact their tech support. I've had good luck with APC.

                              Software Zen: delete this;

                              1 Reply Last reply
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                              • G Gary Wheeler

                                You're using a netleaflet as a server?

                                Software Zen: delete this;

                                D Offline
                                D Offline
                                Dave Parker
                                wrote on last edited by
                                #23

                                I'm using one of these: [^][^] At least I think thats the model I got. It doesn't need a lot of CPU power and the 2GB RAM is plenty for my exchange server, domain controller, backup jobs, remote access, various virtual machines etc.

                                D M 2 Replies Last reply
                                0
                                • D Dario Solera

                                  The power supply is a Corsair 750W (it's a bit too powerful for my config it seems, but there were no "smaller" models, so...) At any rate, I'm reading some stuff on the interwebs and it seems that power supplies with active PFC usually don't work with UPS units that generate a pseudo-sinusoidal output wave. :doh:

                                  If you truly believe you need to pick a mobile phone that "says something" about your personality, don't bother. You don't have a personality. A mental illness, maybe - but not a personality. - Charlie Brooker My Photos/CP Flickr Group - ScrewTurn Wiki

                                  D Offline
                                  D Offline
                                  Dan Neely
                                  wrote on last edited by
                                  #24

                                  Yes and no. The problem as I understand it, is that at startup, or following a brief interruption (eg the time your ups takes to switch to battery) causes the PSU to briefly draw its maximum power to recover and that if you've got an UPS with more output power than your PC can draw you'll be fine. Remember that your PSU is rated in terms of output power, not input power (which will be higher due to conversion losses). It's probably on the box or pamphlet somewhere but your PSU should be at least 80% efficient.

                                  The European Way of War: Blow your own continent up. The American Way of War: Go over and help them.

                                  D 1 Reply Last reply
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                                  • D Dario Solera

                                    My main concern is about compatibility with active power factor correction (PFC) PSUs. And, I'd also like to avoid UPS units with cooling fans.

                                    If you truly believe you need to pick a mobile phone that "says something" about your personality, don't bother. You don't have a personality. A mental illness, maybe - but not a personality. - Charlie Brooker My Photos/CP Flickr Group - ScrewTurn Wiki

                                    D Offline
                                    D Offline
                                    Dan Neely
                                    wrote on last edited by
                                    #25

                                    I've got a big 1300VA model from APC. The fan either runs silently or not at all except when its on battery power. There's not much you can do about it, once you run enough power through something passive cooling just can't keep up unless you make the device huge.

                                    The European Way of War: Blow your own continent up. The American Way of War: Go over and help them.

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                                    • D Dario Solera

                                      The problem with PFC PSUs is that they don't like non-sinusoidal waves and they usually shut off. Moreover, they interact with the inverter of the UPS causing heavy distortion of the generated wave, thus reducing the effective capacity of the latter down to 30%. I'd be interesting in knowing what PSUs yo have. On a side note, I also suspect that things work differently with 110V or 220V ratings (I'm in Europe, so my equipment runs at 220V/50Hz).

                                      If you truly believe you need to pick a mobile phone that "says something" about your personality, don't bother. You don't have a personality. A mental illness, maybe - but not a personality. - Charlie Brooker My Photos/CP Flickr Group - ScrewTurn Wiki

                                      D Offline
                                      D Offline
                                      Dan Neely
                                      wrote on last edited by
                                      #26

                                      Dario Solera wrote:

                                      On a side note, I also suspect that things work differently with 110V or 220V ratings (I'm in Europe, so my equipment runs at 220V/50Hz).

                                      afaik the only difference is that your PSUs run one or two percent more efficiently and can get marginally more DC out before overloading.

                                      The European Way of War: Blow your own continent up. The American Way of War: Go over and help them.

                                      1 Reply Last reply
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                                      • D Dario Solera

                                        I recently purchased a cheapo UPS, 400W/700VA. It turned out to be undersized for my PC*, as it simply shuts off when unplugging the power cable. Also, when the PC is at full load, the UPS unit goes overloaded and the beeper starts shouting. How do I know how much power my PC uses without using a watt-meter (which I don't have)? I calculated that it should be within 400W, but I'm lost at this point. When the UPS is overloaded, the software says it's using 154% of its power rating, which would be more than 600W... *) Intel Core i7 920, nVidia GTX275, 2x WD Velociraptor, 12GB 1,333 MHz DDR3

                                        If you truly believe you need to pick a mobile phone that "says something" about your personality, don't bother. You don't have a personality. A mental illness, maybe - but not a personality. - Charlie Brooker My Photos/CP Flickr Group - ScrewTurn Wiki

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                                        J Offline
                                        John M Drescher
                                        wrote on last edited by
                                        #27

                                        Dario Solera wrote:

                                        cheapo UPS, 400W/700VA

                                        Do NOT buy any unit less than 800VA or less than 22lb or 10 KG in weight. These are crap and generally not suitable for a computer. The battery is probably already worn out. The weight restriction ensures that there are 2 batteries in the unit instead of 1. I recommend powercomm 800 to 1500VA units that sell for around $100 USA. Or shopping on ebay for a used APC model. I have a dozen or so powercomm king pro units with (dual 8AH 12V batteries) at work and they last about 30 minutes for a dual core development machine. At home I have a 1250VA powercomm I bought 8 to 10 years ago. It powers my core2 quad q9550 with 5 hard disks for 1 hour. I have replaced the batteies on this 2 or 3 times with batteies bought onlone. These are generally $17 to $20 each shipped and are the same batteries that many APC models use. I recently upgraded this and got an APC smart UPS 1400 used from ebay for $185 shipped. With its 2 12V 18AH batteries and (30KG+ weight) I can get over 2 hours of power out of that.

                                        John

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                                        • D Dan Neely

                                          Yes and no. The problem as I understand it, is that at startup, or following a brief interruption (eg the time your ups takes to switch to battery) causes the PSU to briefly draw its maximum power to recover and that if you've got an UPS with more output power than your PC can draw you'll be fine. Remember that your PSU is rated in terms of output power, not input power (which will be higher due to conversion losses). It's probably on the box or pamphlet somewhere but your PSU should be at least 80% efficient.

                                          The European Way of War: Blow your own continent up. The American Way of War: Go over and help them.

                                          D Offline
                                          D Offline
                                          Dario Solera
                                          wrote on last edited by
                                          #28

                                          dan neely wrote:

                                          Remember that your PSU is rated in terms of output power, not input power (which will be higher due to conversion losses). It's probably on the box or pamphlet somewhere but your PSU should be at least 80% efficient.

                                          Now, I have to admit that I completely forgot about that aspect. The efficiency should be 87%.

                                          If you truly believe you need to pick a mobile phone that "says something" about your personality, don't bother. You don't have a personality. A mental illness, maybe - but not a personality. - Charlie Brooker My Photos/CP Flickr Group - ScrewTurn Wiki

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