Is UPS still required for modern gaming PCs?

[Siddhant Mishra]

8 minutes ago, Lady Fitzgerald said:

Most people get away without one but I still recommend it. If you had an outage while flashing back, it might brick the MOBO.

 

Think about how much you spend for a MOBO and the computer, then compare it to the cost of a UPS. It would be a shame to ruin a $500 MOBO in a $2,000 computer due to a power outage when a $200 dollar UPS would have prevented it. Keep in mind you don't need a UPS that will keep your computer running for an hour or two. You normally need only a few minutes to safely shut down or hibernate a computer. One that will run the load you put on it (ideally, just the computer and monitors) for at least five minutes will do if you set the UPS to automatically hibernate the computer after the power has been out for a minute. I like having extra time in case there is more than one outage in a day before the batteries have time to recharge (I've had it happen several times).

 

Also, I strongly recommend getting a UPS that has a pure sine wave output. Many modern PSUs will not run off a simulated sine wave. Better safe than sorry. Again, think of it as insurance.

Other than the mobo, insurance ...all the things just flew above my head ... what sine wave?  What is trigonometry doing here ...omg

[Siddhant Mishra]

Just now, Siddhant Mishra said:

Other than the mobo, insurance ...all the things just flew above my head ... what sine wave?  What is trigonometry doing here ...omg

CN u suggest me one ups for r5 2600 rx 580. 550w. From amazon.in.  Plz thanks

[Lady Fitzgerald]

7 hours ago, Siddhant Mishra said:

Other than the mobo, insurance ...all the things just flew above my head ... what sine wave?  What is trigonometry doing here ...omg

Sinewave refers to the waveform of the output, not a trig function.

 

As far as recommending one, the only brand I saw on Amazon.in I'm familair with is APC which, though rather pricey, is a good brand. so someone else would have to make a recommendation.

 

Knowing what your computer is doesn't give even a ballpark idea of how much power it uses. You need to get a device that actually mesures power usage, such as a Killawatt. You also have to add up the power consumption of all devices connected to the UPS (usually, it's recommended to connect the computer and monitors to a UPS), then check the specs of a UPS to see what runtime will be at that load.

 

UPSes have two ratings: VA and Watts. For your purposes (and to keep it simple), the VA (VoltAmps wich is similar to watts but isn't exactly the same) is the a mount of power (volts times amps) will pull from the wall. Watts is the amount of power the UPS is capable of delivering to devices plug into the UPS. You need to keep both ratings in mind when selecting a UPS.

 

Or, you can just go with the largest one that will run on the wall circuit (that can cost more than it needs to, though).

 

Lacking an actual recommendation, just look for a UPS that is large enough to keep your devices for the amount of time you feel you may ever need, has "pure sinewave" in the description, and gets reasonably good reviews. Keep in mind, puresinewave UPSes will cost more than those that do not include puresinewave in the description or use terms like modified sinewave or simulated sinewave.

[Stefan Payne]

17 hours ago, Siddhant Mishra said:

Hey .. are UPS still necessary for PC protection like it was needed years ago?  Is ups mandatory?  (Not the logistics company)....or can the modern modular psu handle the power fluctuations during low voltages and power-cuts?

Depends where you live and how bad the grid is.

If the grid in your area is fine, you don't.

If you have a crappy grid with constant brownouts and other shit, its necessary.

[cluelessgenius]

that was never a general thing. i never had one or needed one. i think it was and is always dependent on your location and local power grid. if your got shitty power from the wall then getting one isnt a bad idea but i wouldnt until i ran into problems. in germany at least i dont know a single person in need of one.

[Mick Naughty]

Always will be needed. As there isn’t just one reason to have one. 

[Dedayog]

8 hours ago, Lady Fitzgerald said:

Most people get away without one but I still recommend it. If you had an outage while flashing back, it might brick the MOBO.

 

Think about how much you spend for a MOBO and the computer, then compare it to the cost of a UPS. It would be a shame to ruin a $500 MOBO in a $2,000 computer due to a power outage when a $200 dollar UPS would have prevented it. Keep in mind you don't need a UPS that will keep your computer running for an hour or two. You normally need only a few minutes to safely shut down or hibernate a computer. One that will run the load you put on it (ideally, just the computer and monitors) for at least five minutes will do if you set the UPS to automatically hibernate the computer after the power has been out for a minute. I like having extra time in case there is more than one outage in a day before the batteries have time to recharge (I've had it happen several times).

 

Also, I strongly recommend getting a UPS that has a pure sine wave output. Many modern PSUs will not run off a simulated sine wave. Better safe than sorry. Again, think of it as insurance.

The OP does NOT need a UPS "incase of bricking the mobo when flashing bios".  How often do you flash a bios?  Once a year for less than 30 seconds each time?  That's extreme paranoia if you buy a UPS for that.  Uhm, who's buying $500 motherboards?

 

Again, if you have power outages a LOT (weekly) and/or notice your lights dimming randomly... get a UPS because you have a shit power grid or your house has bad power.  

 

Or if you worry a lot about random things happening and your brain can't handle the catastrophic thinking... get one for peace of mind.

 

Otherwise you do NOT need one at all.  At best, grab a surge protecting power strip, like you linked.  

[Mick Naughty]

The grid doesn’t need to be bad for a ups. Not all houses are created equal. Houses can have dirty power. 

[Dedayog]

8 minutes ago, Mick Naughty said:

The grid doesn’t need to be bad for a ups. Not all houses are created equal. Houses can have dirty power. 

Good point, updated my comment.  Odd you mention that, north usually has better building codes than the south.

[Mick Naughty]

1 minute ago, jstudrawa said:

Good point, updated my comment.  Odd you mention that, north usually has better building codes than the south.

That’s only during inspections to sell or build. After testing so many during meter swaps, the house tends to be the issue. Reading 95/105 on a lot of old or poorly built houses. 

 

Even my house has issues hitting 109. Dedicated two quad boxes and 2 breakers to my pcs alone. Which is why I bought my ups originally. 

[Lady Fitzgerald]

3 hours ago, jstudrawa said:

The OP does NOT need a UPS "incase of bricking the mobo when flashing bios".  How often do you flash a bios?  Once a year for less than 30 seconds each time?...

A power outage occurring just once at the wrong time can be all it takes to ruin electronics. Also, flashing the BIOS is not the only problem a power outage can cause.  Again, think of it as insurance for if the unthinkable actually does happen.

 

3 hours ago, jstudrawa said:

...Uhm, who's buying $500 motherboards?...

Me, and apparently a lot of other people or manufacturers wouldn't be making them. Just becasue you don't need one (or are too cheap to get one) doesn't mean others don't buy them.

 

3 hours ago, jstudrawa said:

...Again, if you have power outages a LOT (weekly) and/or notice your lights dimming randomly... 

Again, it can take only one outage to cause significant damage. Maybe you are one of the extemely lucky few who lives in a storm free area does not get any power outages at all (or your memory is short) but most people do get them, ranging from occasionally to frequently.

 

3 hours ago, jstudrawa said:

...Or if you worry a lot about random things happening and your brain can't handle the catastrophic thinking... get one for peace of mind...

There is nothing wrong with wanting peace of mind but the way you put that was unnecessarily insulting. Get up on the wrong side of bed (or life) this morning or are you always this grumpy?

 

3 hours ago, jstudrawa said:

...Otherwise you do NOT need one at all.  At best, grab a surge protecting power strip, like you linked.  

I've already stated many reasons for needing one. And where did I link, or even suggest, a power strip?

 

(Hint: Nowhere in this thread.)

[Dedayog]

10 minutes ago, Lady Fitzgerald said:

A power outage occurring just once at the wrong time can be all it takes to ruin electronics. Also, flashing the BIOS is not the only problem a power outage can cause.  Again, think of it as insurance for if the unthinkable actually does happen.

 

Me, and apparently a lot of other people or manufacturers wouldn't be making them. Just becasue you don't need one (or are too cheap to get one) doesn't mean others don't buy them.

 

Again, it can take only one outage to cause significant damage. Maybe you are one of the extemely lucky few who lives in a storm free area does not get any power outages at all (or your memory is short) but most people do get them, ranging from occasionally to frequently.

 

There is nothing wrong with wanting peace of mind but the way you put that was unnecessarily insulting. Get up on the wrong side of bed (or life) this morning or are you always this grumpy?

 

I've already stated many reasons for needing one. And where did I link, or even suggest, a power strip?

 

(Hint: Nowhere in this thread.)

I was talking to the OP, using your info.  Sorry, meant them not you on the power strip comment.

 

Also, Trump... slow down on the cheapness comment.  Sure, you can afford a $500 motherboard, no need to lord it

 

But to you, I've never seen a power outage take out any electronic device.  Michigan, California, Georgia... those are the power grids and housing areas I've lived in.  Not once has there been an issue in myself or anyone I know.  Even with storms, we don't lose power that much.

 

I think you are being a little too paranoid, but if it's what you need for peace of mind, then by all means get one.  Do you need one?  Absolutely not.  Have you ever had the power go out while updating a BIOS?  That your UPS saved your motherboard?  

 

I won't buy a UPS for that miniscule unthinkable possibility.  If I had regular outages then sure, I'd get one for convenience.  I don't tho, and I mentioned that if the OP does... then get one. 

 

Btw, catastrophic thinking isn't a dig at anyone.  I do it, we all do it.  You handle it however you need to.  I drink   You buy UPS.    Basically the same thing

 

[Lady Fitzgerald]

1 minute ago, jstudrawa said:

I was talking to the OP, using your info.  Sorry, meant them not you on the power strip comment.

 

Also, Trump... slow down on the cheapness comment.  Sure, you can afford a $500 motherboard, no need to lord it

 

But to you, I've never seen a power outage take out any electronic device.  Michigan, California, Georgia... those are the power grids and housing areas I've lived in.  Not once has there been an issue in myself or anyone I know.

 

I think you are being a little too paranoid, but if it's what you need for peace of mind, then by all means get one.  Do you need one?  Absolutely not.  Have you ever had the power go out while updating a BIOS?  That your UPS saved your motherboard?  

 

I won't buy a UPS for that miniscule unthinkable possibility.  If I had regular outages then sure, I'd get one for convenience.  I don't tho, and I mentioned that if the OP does... then get one. 

 

Btw, catastrophic thinking isn't a dig at anyone.  I do it, we all do it.  You handle it however you need to.  I drink   You buy UPS.    Basically the same thing

 

Thank you for toning it down a bit. The Trump comment, however, was completely uncalled for. Your comment about who buys a $500 mobo came across very harshly and that was the reason for how I worded my response.

 

Just because something has never had something happen to them doesn't mean it can't happen nor that it never does happen to anyone.

[Mick Naughty]

If the op doesn’t do anything with their pc or simply doesn’t care he doesn’t need one. 

 

Dirty power is my concern. The power shortage or loss during storms or strong winds is another concern. 

 

Dont need to be losing power while rendering or playing or even watching YouTube. Which is why my router and modem are also on it. So don’t have to lose internet either or wait for it to restart. 

 

They are cheap and worth the money. Just like highend mobo’s or any other component. 

[Dedayog]

2 hours ago, Lady Fitzgerald said:

Thank you for toning it down a bit. The Trump comment, however, was completely uncalled for. Your comment about who buys a $500 mobo came across very harshly and that was the reason for how I worded my response.

 

Just because something has never had something happen to them doesn't mean it can't happen nor that it never does happen to anyone.

Lol, I do apologize and understand your comment   

It's all good, and in your case a UPS is probably just a small expense compared to the rest of your system.  For the OP, it will be a sizeable expense I think. It's really all relative, all factors need to be taken into consideration.  

 

Like most things we discuss here, it's not 100% necessary but might be a good idea depending on what else you have and how you weight risk vs. reward and peace of mind?

 

 

[Lady Fitzgerald]

3 hours ago, jstudrawa said:

Lol, I do apologize and understand your comment   

It's all good, and in your case a UPS is probably just a small expense compared to the rest of your system.  For the OP, it will be a sizeable expense I think. It's really all relative, all factors need to be taken into consideration.  

 

Like most things we discuss here, it's not 100% necessary but might be a good idea depending on what else you have and how you weight risk vs. reward and peace of mind?

 

 

Thank you.

[Nene]

10 hours ago, jonnyGURU said:

A PSU can only handle a "brown out" that lasts under one power cycle (usually < 16ms).  And that's a GOOD PSU with adequately sized bulk caps.  The term you're looking for is "hold up time".

The hold up time should be specified in the PSU manual, if anyone is wondering.

 

I would also caution people to avoid relying on this too much, because it's really the best case scenario, and your PC is going to turn off anyway when the power OK signal from the PSU disappears.

 

Quote

This is an argument against using a "230V only" PSU.  They cannot support lower mains voltages, so the voltage drops and the PC turns off despite the fact that you still have power.   This is why better UPSs have "buck and boost" AVR.  Some people just buy the AVR without a battery because it can buck the low voltages, but they never fully lose power.

I've configured my UPS to be relatively conservative about how much voltage it will boost or buck. Also to be conservative about how long it will wait to switch back from battery during an outage. It also switches to battery if the grid frequency goes out of spec.

 

If the voltage goes high, that's a sign that something bad has happened nearby, and a large load has just dropped off. Whatever it was I don't want to be sharing a power grid with it.

 

If the voltage goes low, that's a sign that something even worse has happened. A brown out due to demand being higher than generation or local transformer capacity is about the most benign thing I can think of. It might be due to arcing from a power flash in a storm, it might be a stepper fault, it might be a tree on a power line. Anything with an arc is going to create high voltage transients which is not something your PSU is happy about, as well as dropping the voltage out of spec.

 

If the power drops out once, it's likely to drop out a second time, or sometimes third (or more), depending on the cause. Most low (100-450V or so) and medium voltage (11kV-33kV) distribution will have auto-reclosing breakers. If a fault causes a breaker to trip, if you reclose into the fault a lot of times it will "burn out" or eliminate the fault - ie it will explode the tree branch or squirrel that caused the fault. That means a breaker might reclose and blip the power several times in 30 seconds before it locks out.

 

If the grid frequency goes out of spec, it's either because a big chunk of generation or load has gone offline. If it's because a power station has tripped, I'm doing my part by removing my load. If it's because some load has tripped, well that's not my problem if I'm not connected to it.

 

Oh, someone up there suggested buying an APC UPS - please consider this carefully, the smaller ones always seem to have inadequate ventilation and kill SLAs quickly. They also have a metal case that's close to the batteries, so when they invariably swell up after dying, you can't get them out. When I pointed this out to a friend of mine once, he needed to use his jeep and a crowbar to swap the batteries.

 

So anyway, do you need a UPS? Well that comes down to whether the benefit you get from it is worth how much you intend to spend on it. Also consider that cheaper UPSes will often be line interactive, meaning they have a relay or contactor to switch from grid to battery. If that switch over takes longer than the hold up time of your PSU, your PC will reboot anyway, making it worse instead of better. Worse still, if the UPS fails then your PC turns off, again potentially making it worse, not better.

 

I don't need a UPS, but I wanted one because I live in the middle of no-where, and I don't want to lose 50 SR if the power blips in the middle of a game of Overwatch.

 

So I would ask yourself, why do you want to think about a UPS? What are the benefits it will give you? Can you afford one big enough to power at least one monitor as well for long enough to shut the PC down?

[Columbo]

I have several UPS power supplies. Big ones. I used to use them for PC backup. About 5 minutes of power while gaming and 10-15 minutes if just browsing the web. This includes the monitor. I have used the same one for 12 years. I replace the battery once every 5 or 6 years. Upstairs I use the UPS for my router, cable modem and a charging station for phones if the power goes out. This includes cordless phones in the house. So when the power goes out my internet is up and running for 3-4 hours of heavy use. It also charges laptop batteries in power outages as well. 

 

UPS is a surge protector and has unpowered plugs and powered plugs. I run my PC's through the unpowered plugs.