Deciding on an Uninterruptible Power Supply / Surge Protector

[aero36]

I have an old surge protector that I am unsure of its stability, it sometimes gives a blue spark when i plug something in so I want to get something to replace that can also keep my computer running for a few minutes after I lose power. I saw this article, but I am unsure of what I should be looking for in what makes them reliable, safe, and not complete overkill. Any suggestions or advice on what to look for would be greatly appreciated, thanks!

 

 

Link I originally saw:

https://www.pcgamer.com/the-best-uninterruptible-power-supplies-ups-for-pc/

 

Sorry for delay, my specs: 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Type	Item	Price
CPU	Intel - Core i7-8700 3.2 GHz 6-Core Processor	$319.00 @ Walmart
CPU Cooler	Cooler Master - Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler	$27.89 @ OutletPC
Motherboard	Asus - PRIME Z390-A ATX LGA1151 Motherboard	$175.34 @ OutletPC
Memory	Corsair - Dominator Platinum 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 Memory	$159.99 @ Amazon
Storage	Samsung - 850 EVO 250 GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive	$107.89 @ OutletPC
Storage	Hitachi - Travelstar 7K1000 1 TB 2.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive
Video Card	EVGA - GeForce RTX 2070 8 GB XC GAMING Video Card	$549.89 @ OutletPC
Case	NZXT - H500 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case	$64.99 @ Newegg Business
Power Supply	EVGA - SuperNOVA G3 750 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply	$69.89 @ OutletPC
Monitor	LG - 27UK850-W 27.0" 3840x2160 60 Hz Monitor	$549.99 @ B&H
	Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts
	Total (before mail-in rebates)	$2074.87
	Mail-in rebates	-$50.00
	Total	$2024.87
	Generated by PCPartPicker 2018-12-19 09:36 EST-0500

 

Edited December 19, 2018 by aero36

[W-L]

5 minutes ago, aero36 said:

I have an old surge protector that I am unsure of its stability, it sometimes gives a blue spark when i plug something in so I want to get something to replace that can also keep my computer running for a few minutes after I lose power. I saw this article, but I am unsure of what I should be looking for in what makes them reliable, safe, and not complete overkill. Any suggestions or advice on what to look for would be greatly appreciated, thanks!

 

 

Link I originally saw:

https://www.pcgamer.com/the-best-uninterruptible-power-supplies-ups-for-pc/

For the most basic application a good quality surge protector will do well but if you want to ensure the you do not loose data due to a power outage and also protect the equipment a UPS would be a good option. As for a unit what are your system specs as we can get a better idea of what your needs will be.

[RobbinM]

Well if you plug in something that will draw current immeadiately, it will spark sometimes. Especially when capacitors are envolved. Try the device in any other 'non surge protected' socket after having it unplugged for a while to confirm this if you are concerned.

General rule of thumb is that if you draw e.g. 1000 watts of power, a 1000VA UPS will keep you powered for an hour.

So the question comes down to: how much power do you draw and how long would you like to keep it running on battery power?

 

[aezakmi]

42 minutes ago, RobbinM said:

General rule of thumb is that if you draw e.g. 1000 watts of power, a 1000VA UPS will keep you powered for an hour.

what

 

1000VA aren't even 1000W and to keep a constant draw of 1000W powered for an hour you'd need several tens of KW on the batteries, we're talking datacenter grade stuff here.

 

1000VA at 60% efficiency are 600W and the batteries would last no more than 5 minutes with that draw.

[RobbinM]

You're right. 1000W must be 100W of power draw. 

[W-L]

Just now, RobbinM said:

You're right. 1000W must be 100W of power draw. 

VA is different as said, that has to do with how AC voltage works and power factor of the devices you are putting onto your unit as a load. If you have for example 0.5PF and your device draws 100W it will essential have 200VA. The time that a UPS stays on for depends solely on the battery size or capacity.

 

This explains it very well here:

https://www.apc.com/salestools/SADE-5TNQYF/SADE-5TNQYF_R1_EN.pdf

[RobbinM]

That's right. VA is not the same as Watt, however modern PSU's have a PF of about 1, as stated in your article.

This discussion does not bring OP closer to an answer though as much as I like to fully understand all units of measure here.

The article you linked stated some helpful info so let's go by that.

 

Assuming OP has a system drawing 300 Watts with a PFC PSU that will equal 300VA.

Assuming the UPS load rating of 60% this means he needs at least a 500VA UPS.

To keep it running for a couple of minutes is the next question. How many Ah of batteries will he need? Show me how you calculate that.

[W-L]

6 minutes ago, RobbinM said:

That's right. VA is not the same as Watt, however modern PSU's have a PF of about 1, as stated in your article.

This discussion does not bring OP closer to an answer though as much as I like to fully understand all units of measure here.

The article you linked stated some helpful info so let's go by that.

 

Assuming OP has a system drawing 300 Watts with a PFC PSU that will equal 300VA.

Assuming the UPS load rating of 60% this means he needs at least a 500VA UPS.

To keep it running for a couple of minutes is the next question. How many Ah of batteries will he need? Show me how you calculate that.

That's correct any modern day PSU will have PFC to correct for that but only on the DC side, only thing that is of concern or needed to be accounted for would be the efficiency at that point. As for run time it's easier to just look at a manufacture's specified testes as one needs to account for the losses from the DC to AC conversion which can vary heavily on the UPS unit and it's intended design. 

[RobbinM]

True.

But to help OP get to the point: I'd recommend any of these UPS's https://www.amazon.com/CyberPower-CP1000AVRLCD-Intelligent-Outlets-Mini-Tower/dp/B000RZPK1W/ref=sr_1_2_sspa?ie=UTF8&qid=1545189697&sr=8-2-spons&keywords=ups%2Bpower%2Bsupply%2Bbattery%2Bbackup&th=1

For keeping your computer alive long enough to shut it down properly.

[Guest]

2 hours ago, W-L said:

That's correct any modern day PSU will have PFC to correct for that

You under estimate the cheap garbage on the market today....

 

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA6ZP3N68355

 

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIAFJY8KE4751

 

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817148065

 

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817438038

 

[aero36]

12 hours ago, W-L said:

For the most basic application a good quality surge protector will do well but if you want to ensure the you do not loose data due to a power outage and also protect the equipment a UPS would be a good option. As for a unit what are your system specs as we can get a better idea of what your needs will be.

Sorry got distracted right after I made this post last night, these are my specs

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Type	Item	Price
CPU	Intel - Core i7-8700 3.2 GHz 6-Core Processor	$319.00 @ Walmart
CPU Cooler	Cooler Master - Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler	$27.89 @ OutletPC
Motherboard	Asus - PRIME Z390-A ATX LGA1151 Motherboard	$175.34 @ OutletPC
Memory	Corsair - Dominator Platinum 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 Memory	$159.99 @ Amazon
Storage	Samsung - 850 EVO 250 GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive	$107.89 @ OutletPC
Storage	Hitachi - Travelstar 7K1000 1 TB 2.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive
Video Card	EVGA - GeForce RTX 2070 8 GB XC GAMING Video Card	$549.89 @ OutletPC
Case	NZXT - H500 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case	$64.99 @ Newegg Business
Power Supply	EVGA - SuperNOVA G3 750 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply	$69.89 @ OutletPC
Monitor	LG - 27UK850-W 27.0" 3840x2160 60 Hz Monitor	$549.99 @ B&H
	Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts
	Total (before mail-in rebates)	$2074.87
	Mail-in rebates	-$50.00
	Total	$2024.87
	Generated by PCPartPicker 2018-12-19 09:35 EST-0500

 

[W-L]

8 hours ago, aero36 said:

-SNIP-

Units like theses would be more than enough for both your system peripherals and networking equipment. 

 

https://www.apc.com/shop/us/en/products/Back-UPS-PRO-BR-1000VA-SineWave-10-Outlets-2-USB-Charging-Ports-AVR-LCD-interface/P-BR1000MS

https://www.cyberpowersystems.com/product/ups/cp1000pfclcd/

[aero36]

10 minutes ago, W-L said:

Units like theses would be more than enough for both your system peripherals and networking equipment. 

 

https://www.apc.com/shop/us/en/products/Back-UPS-PRO-BR-1000VA-SineWave-10-Outlets-2-USB-Charging-Ports-AVR-LCD-interface/P-BR1000MS

https://www.cyberpowersystems.com/product/ups/cp1000pfclcd/

Thank you!