UPS Help

[Picklerick]

Hi! 

 

So I have a new PC and I just want to make sure everything is safe because a power surge fried my GPU the last time and corrupted Windows 10 from my drive. I have a budget of around $80-$140 and I'm looking for a 1000+VA/550+W UPS because I'll really only need it to maintain a stable electricity flow during power surges and to be able to shut down my pc safely/normally in an event of a power outage.

 

Here are my system specs:

Ryzen 5 3600

ASUS ROG STRIX B550-F GAMING (WIFI)

Corsair Vengeance Pro RGB 2*8GB 3600Mhz

ASUS ROG STRIX RTX 3070 OC 

Seasonic Focus GX - 750W 80+ Gold 

WD Blue SN550 500GB NVME SSD

Samsung 850 EVO 250GB SATA SSD

Seagate Barracuda 1TB HDD

MSI MPG Gungnir 110R

MSI G24C 144Hz Monitor

TOTAL power draw (accdg to PC Part Picker): 409W

 

I'm upgrading to a:

Ryzen 5 5600x - RTX3080 in the future given the chance so the power draw (accdg to pc part picker) would be around 540W

 

____________________________________________

so I'm looking for a 1000+ VA UPS with 550-600w and here are some choices I have but I'd love to hear your thoughts about them:

APC BVX1100LI-MS - $120+

APC BV1000i-MS - $110+

APC BVX1200LI-MS - $130

FSP iFP1000 - $100 (best price I've seen on a smart UPS with a software for Win10, my #1 option right now)

i also found a cyberpower UT1050EG for $60 but the store told me batteries were not replaceable 

 

I also have a few questions I hope you could all clear up:

1.) Does anyone have an idea if they all have replaceable batteries? If yes, what type because I can't find any details on the website. I've tried contacting them but none of them have an Idea about anything and it was useless to ask them because they'd give me misleading answers they were unsure of. 

2.) Are pure sinewave UPS really necessary? They're too expensive for me and I really can't afford them.

3.) Would the UPS I mentioned above be safe for my PC even if they are simulated sinewave? Keep in mind I'm only looking to shut down my pc safely in a power outage, I have no plans on using it. 

4.) Would using a simulated sinewave DEGRADE my PSU over time or only during a surge/outage? I read it here but I'm confused:

5.) Do they all have AVR? Because, I read that AVR > surge protector.

6.) Does anyone have any experience with the FSP UPS because I've really been eyeing that one and I know FSP is a good PSU brand. 

 

I'm no electronics expert by any means and I just want to be able to keep my system safe. Most knowledge I have about UPS are ones I read from here and reddit. So please, educate me! Thanks! 

 

Sorry for the long post! 

[WereCatf]

5 minutes ago, Picklerick said:

Does anyone have an idea if they all have replaceable batteries? If yes, what type because I can't find any details on the website. I've tried contacting them but none of them have an Idea about anything and it was useless to ask them because they'd give me misleading answers they were unsure of

Practically all consumer-grade UPSes use standard 12V gel-batteries that can be found in practically any well-supplied hardware-store or e.g. a shop selling automotive-parts. It's as simple as taking the old one out, checking its dimensions, voltage and capacity and buying one with the same specs.

6 minutes ago, Picklerick said:

Are pure sinewave UPS really necessary? They're too expensive for me and I really can't afford them

Not 100% necessary, but it may affect stability. YMMV and all that.

7 minutes ago, Picklerick said:

Would using a simulated sinewave DEGRADE my PSU over time or only during a surge/outage?

It has nothing to do with degradation of a PSU.

8 minutes ago, Picklerick said:

Do they all have AVR? Because, I read that AVR > surge protector

Only line-interactive ones have AVR. They mean the same thing.

[Biomecanoid]

14 minutes ago, Picklerick said:

Hi! 

 

So I have a new PC and I just want to make sure everything is safe because a power surge fried my GPU the last time and corrupted Windows 10 from my drive. I have a budget of around $80-$140 and I'm looking for a 1000+VA/550+W UPS because I'll really only need it to maintain a stable electricity flow during power surges and to be able to shut down my pc safely/normally in an event of a power outage.

 

Here are my system specs:

Ryzen 5 3600

ASUS ROG STRIX B550-F GAMING (WIFI)

Corsair Vengeance Pro RGB 2*8GB 3600Mhz

ASUS ROG STRIX RTX 3070 OC 

Seasonic Focus GX - 750W 80+ Gold 

WD Blue SN550 500GB NVME SSD

Samsung 850 EVO 250GB SATA SSD

Seagate Barracuda 1TB HDD

MSI MPG Gungnir 110R

MSI G24C 144Hz Monitor

TOTAL power draw (accdg to PC Part Picker): 409W

 

I'm upgrading to a:

Ryzen 5 5600x - RTX3080 in the future given the chance so the power draw (accdg to pc part picker) would be around 540W

 

____________________________________________

so I'm looking for a 1000+ VA UPS with 550-600w and here are some choices I have but I'd love to hear your thoughts about them:

APC BVX1100LI-MS - $120+

APC BV1000i-MS - $110+

APC BVX1200LI-MS - $130

FSP iFP1000 - $100 (best price I've seen on a smart UPS with a software for Win10, my #1 option right now)

i also found a cyberpower UT1050EG for $60 but the store told me batteries were not replaceable 

 

I also have a few questions I hope you could all clear up:

1.) Does anyone have an idea if they all have replaceable batteries? If yes, what type because I can't find any details on the website. I've tried contacting them but none of them have an Idea about anything and it was useless to ask them because they'd give me misleading answers they were unsure of. 

2.) Are pure sinewave UPS really necessary? They're too expensive for me and I really can't afford them.

3.) Would the UPS I mentioned above be safe for my PC even if they are simulated sinewave? Keep in mind I'm only looking to shut down my pc safely in a power outage, I have no plans on using it. 

4.) Would using a simulated sinewave DEGRADE my PSU over time or only during a surge/outage? I read it here but I'm confused:

 

5.) Do they all have AVR? Because, I read that AVR > surge protector.

6.) Does anyone have any experience with the FSP UPS because I've really been eyeing that one and I know FSP is a good PSU brand. 

 

I'm no electronics expert by any means and I just want to be able to keep my system safe. Most knowledge I have about UPS are ones I read from here and reddit. So please, educate me! Thanks! 

 

Sorry for the long post! 

Your PSU is 750watts (+ Monitor i assume ) so that is its top theoretical potential so you should look for a UPS well beyond that around 900-1000watt.  Realistically your choice is a UPS around 1200va.

 

If your wattage exceeds what you UPS can handle it will just shutdown.

[IcarusLSC]

Some PSUs have issues without pure sinewave UPS's but its rare.

As I mentioned in another post, you need to get one that covers your equipment plugged into it at load so it actually helps and just doesn't shut off on you

[Picklerick]

18 minutes ago, WereCatf said:

Practically all consumer-grade UPSes use standard 12V gel-batteries that can be found in practically any well-supplied hardware-store or e.g. a shop selling automotive-parts. It's as simple as taking the old one out, checking its dimensions, voltage and capacity and buying one with the same specs.

Not 100% necessary, but it may affect stability. YMMV and all that.

It has nothing to do with degradation of a PSU.

Only line-interactive ones have AVR. They mean the same thing.

Do you have any experience with a similated sinewave ups? How are they?

 

How do I find out if they are "line interactive" besides the obvious haha because the specs are all foreign to me and I really have no idea about them. I just read the labels on the item itself and most of them just have labels like "surge protection + backup battery" and so on.

 

Thanks!

13 minutes ago, Biomecanoid said:

Your PSU is 750watts (+ Monitor i assume ) so that is its top theoretical potential so you should look for a UPS well beyond that around 900-1000watt.  Realistically your choice is a UPS around 1200va.

 

If your wattage exceeds what you UPS can handle it will just shutdown.

Yes, I'm aware. Which is why im looking into a 1000+va/550-600w UPS. Thank you!

12 minutes ago, IcarusLSC said:

Some PSUs have issues without pure sinewave UPS's but its rare.

As I mentioned in another post, you need to get one that covers your equipment plugged into it at load so it actually helps and just doesn't shut off on you

I'll only be plugging in my PC and my Monitor and nothing else. Have you had any experience with sim sinewave UPS? Can I hear more about them

[IcarusLSC]

I've used both without issue (still do, I have one of each here 1 upstairs and 1 downstairs system.) Only issue I ever had with a PSU not liking a UPS was that it made it buzz on battery power but it still worked. I still swapped the PSU but that was years ago...

 

I usually hook my modem up to it as well.

[Picklerick]

1 minute ago, IcarusLSC said:

I've used both without issue (still do, I have one of each here 1 upstairs and 1 downstairs system.) Only issue I ever had with a PSU not liking a UPS was that it made it buzz on battery power but it still worked. I still swapped the PSU but that was years ago...

 

I usually hook my modem up to it as well.

Does the buzzing noise come away? Where does it come from and when does it buzz?

 

Is there any way to find out if they would be fine with each other :c hahaha. 

 

Thanks for your input man I really appreciate it.

[WereCatf]

18 minutes ago, Picklerick said:

Do you have any experience with a similated sinewave ups? How are they?

I have multiple ones and they work fine. That said, I'm not running anything heavy-duty, like e.g. a gaming-rig, off of them, so I don't think that's particularly useful here.

19 minutes ago, Picklerick said:

How do I find out if they are "line interactive" besides the obvious

It'll say it's line-interactive or has an AVR in the specs. If it's an online-UPS, it's a more advanced version of line-active, but I doubt you'll find any online-ones in your price-range. (And no, online doesn't mean Internet-connection in this context) If there's no mention of it being line-interactive or online, then it's neither.

 

Personally, I'd recommend getting a line-interactive one, even if it meant saving up for it.

[Picklerick]

2 minutes ago, WereCatf said:

I have multiple ones and they work fine. That said, I'm not running anything heavy-duty, like e.g. a gaming-rig, off of them, so I don't think that's particularly useful here.

It'll say it's line-interactive or has an AVR in the specs. If it's an online-UPS, it's a more advanced version of line-active, but I doubt you'll find any online-ones in your price-range. (And no, online doesn't mean Internet-connection in this context) If there's no mention of it being line-interactive or online, then it's neither.

 

Personally, I'd recommend getting a line-interactive one, even if it meant saving up for it.

The APC BX1100LI-MS has an "On Line" label on the LEDS

What does it mean exactly?

 

Btw. Thanks for your inputs man I really appreciate it!

 

[Biomecanoid]

45 minutes ago, Picklerick said:

Do you have any experience with a similated sinewave ups? How are they?

 

How do I find out if they are "line interactive" besides the obvious haha because the specs are all foreign to me and I really have no idea about them. I just read the labels on the item itself and most of them just have labels like "surge protection + backup battery" and so on.

 

Thanks!

Yes, I'm aware. Which is why im looking into a 1000+va/550-600w UPS. Thank you!

I'll only be plugging in my PC and my Monitor and nothing else. Have you had any experience with sim sinewave UPS? Can I hear more about them

Not something 550-600w but a ups capable of 900-1000watts, otherwise it will shutdown. Your PSU is750watts you can not go lower on UPS than your PSU

[WereCatf]

18 minutes ago, Picklerick said:

The APC BX1100LI-MS has an "On Line" label on the LEDS

What does it mean exactly?

It just means it's receiving power from the wall.

 

Btw, as the description says, that UPS has AVR, ie. it's line-interactive.

[WereCatf]

2 minutes ago, Biomecanoid said:

you can not go lower on UPS than your PSU

Of course you can. Your PC is not drawing full power at all times. Having a 2000W PSU with an i3 doesn't mean the PC will still consume 2000W.

[Picklerick]

2 minutes ago, Biomecanoid said:

Not something 550-600w but a ups capable of 900-1000watts, otherwise it will shutdown. Your PSU is750watts you can not go lower on UPS than your PSU

Yes but doesn't a pc only generate like a fraction and the remaining w is just like headroom?

 

I've done a bit of research and the total load of my pc can't go over 500w atm it's at 409w max to be exact and when I upgrade I'll be getting 539w max so I was looking for a UPS that can generate 550-600w. I know it might be a good measure for me to get a ups with a 900-1000w but it would be 3x my budget and I only really want to be able to shut down my pc properly in an event of a power outage and that only takes 30 seconds tops. The 1000va/550-600w ups can give me atleast a minute to shut down properly which I think is enough. Prices where I'm from are high atm and I don't think I can afford a 900-1000w ups anytime soon

 

 

[Biomecanoid]

26 minutes ago, WereCatf said:

I have multiple ones and they work fine. That said, I'm not running anything heavy-duty, like e.g. a gaming-rig, off of them, so I don't think that's particularly useful here.

It'll say it's line-interactive or has an AVR in the specs. If it's an online-UPS, it's a more advanced version of line-active, but I doubt you'll find any online-ones in your price-range. (And no, online doesn't mean Internet-connection in this context) If there's no mention of it being line-interactive or online, then it's neither.

 

Personally, I'd recommend getting a line-interactive one, even if it meant saving up for it.

"If it's an online-UPS, it's a more advanced version of line-active, but I doubt you'll find any online-ones in your price-range."

 

Online is totally different from line-interactive

 

There are 3 type of UPS:

 

Standby:  Meaning it switches very fast to battery when it thinks power is too low.

Line-Interactive:  It conditions the power coming from the wall socket constantly and amplifies it when necessary ans absorbed spikes etc. Switches to battery when all attempts to condition the power fail.

Online: You are AWLAYS on backup power you are ALWAYS on Battery and almost nothing can disrupt the flow of clean power to your devices.

 

[Biomecanoid]

10 minutes ago, WereCatf said:

Of course you can. Your PC is not drawing full power at all times. Having a 2000W PSU with an i3 doesn't mean the PC will still consume 2000W.

No you can NOT. Why did you buy a 750 watt PSU to undermine it / sabotage it by a not suitable UPS ? You buy a nice 750watt PSU so it is not stressed from the load and to accommodate upgrades. What if you upgrade something on the PC and the watts change you buy another UPS ? Does not make sense you buy ONCE and not multiple times because you made a mistake in calculating the wattage you waste money that way.

 

In choosing the correct UPS you need to take in mind the worst case scenario. So its 750w for the PC + 30w or whatever for the monitor + something for headroom so your target watts is 1000 and in VA is about 1200.

 

Anything lower is not correct and may lead to the UPS shutting down on load

[WereCatf]

Just now, Biomecanoid said:

No you can NOT.

Yes, you can. The PSU's rating only says how much the PSU can handle, not how much it will consume. How much the system will consume is determined by the rest of the components.

[Biomecanoid]

15 minutes ago, Picklerick said:

Yes but doesn't a pc only generate like a fraction and the remaining w is just like headroom?

 

I've done a bit of research and the total load of my pc can't go over 500w atm it's at 409w max to be exact and when I upgrade I'll be getting 539w max so I was looking for a UPS that can generate 550-600w. I know it might be a good measure for me to get a ups with a 900-1000w but it would be 3x my budget and I only really want to be able to shut down my pc properly in an event of a power outage and that only takes 30 seconds tops. The 1000va/550-600w ups can give me atleast a minute to shut down properly which I think is enough. Prices where I'm from are high atm and I don't think I can afford a 900-1000w ups anytime soon

 

 

Battery time is not relevant here. VA or watts is the LOAD the UPS can withstand. Battery time is based on how big the batteries are.  Battery time and Load is 2 vastly different things. Your UPS can shutdown due to overload when you exceed its rated capacity.

 

For example I can install BIG batteries in my small 500va UPS and it can last for days powering lets say my TV but if I try to power my fridge it will shutdown immediately because it overloads. 

[Biomecanoid]

7 minutes ago, WereCatf said:

Yes, you can. The PSU's rating only says how much the PSU can handle, not how much it will consume. How much the system will consume is determined by the rest of the components.

You didn't even bother to read what I wrote so I will copy paste again for you convenience: 

 

 

 

No you can NOT. Why did you buy a 750 watt PSU to undermine it / sabotage it by a not suitable UPS ? You buy a nice 750watt PSU so it is not stressed from the load and to accommodate upgrades. What if you upgrade something on the PC and the watts change you buy another UPS ? Does not make sense you buy ONCE and not multiple times because you made a mistake in calculating the wattage you waste money that way.

 

In choosing the correct UPS you need to take in mind the worst case scenario. So its 750w for the PC + 30w or whatever for the monitor + something for headroom so your target watts is 1000 and in VA is about 1200.

 

Anything lower is not correct and may lead to the UPS shutting down on load

[Picklerick]

19 minutes ago, Biomecanoid said:

"If it's an online-UPS, it's a more advanced version of line-active, but I doubt you'll find any online-ones in your price-range."

 

Online is totally different from line-interactive

 

There are 3 type of UPS:

 

Standby:  Meaning it switches very fast to battery when it thinks power is too low.

Line-Interactive:  It conditions the power coming from the wall socket constantly and amplifies it when necessary ans absorbed spikes etc. Switches to battery when all attempts to condition the power fail.

Online: You are AWLAYS on backup power you are ALWAYS on Battery and almost nothing can disrupt the flow of clean power to your devices.

 

Thanks for this. This'll come in handy! 

 

 

3 minutes ago, Biomecanoid said:

Battery time is not relevant here. VA or watts is the LOAD the UPS can withstand. Battery time is based on how big the batteries are.  Battery time and Load is 2 vastly different things. Your UPS can shutdown due to overload when you exceed its rated capacity.

 

For example I can install BIG batteries in my small 500va UPS and it can last for days powering lets say my TV but if I try to power my fridge it will shutdown immediately because it overloads. 

 

7 minutes ago, WereCatf said:

Yes, you can. The PSU's rating only says how much the PSU can handle, not how much it will consume. How much the system will consume is determined by the rest of the components.

 

25 minutes ago, WereCatf said:

Of course you can. Your PC is not drawing full power at all times. Having a 2000W PSU with an i3 doesn't mean the PC will still consume 2000W.

I don't know much but I kind of agree with WereCatF here not because I like what he's saying but because I've read about it in different forums. I do get your point though but atm I just can't afford a 750w++ UPS it'll cost me like a brand new rtx 3070 where I'm from 

[Biomecanoid]

6 minutes ago, Picklerick said:

Thanks for this. This'll come in handy! 

 

 

 

 

I don't know much but I kind of agree with WereCatF here not because I like what he's saying but because I've read about it in different forums. I do get your point though but atm I just can't afford a 750w++ UPS it'll cost me like a brand new rtx 3070 where I'm from 

A standby UPS is not that expensive

[WereCatf]

6 minutes ago, Biomecanoid said:

You didn't even bother to read what I wrote so I will copy paste again for you convenience:

You can copypaste it all you like, it doesn't change anything. For one, you are confusing the UPS's VA-rating with watt-rating. Secondly, you are spouting your own, personal preferences as if they were a universal fact. They aren't.

[Picklerick]

4 minutes ago, Biomecanoid said:

You didn't even bother to read what I wrote so I will copy paste again for you convenience: 

 

 

 

No you can NOT. Why did you buy a 750 watt PSU to undermine it / sabotage it by a not suitable UPS ? You buy a nice 750watt PSU so it is not stressed from the load and to accommodate upgrades. What if you upgrade something on the PC and the watts change you buy another UPS ? Does not make sense you buy ONCE and not multiple times because you made a mistake in calculating the wattage you waste money that way.

 

In choosing the correct UPS you need to take in mind the worst case scenario. So its 750w for the PC + 30w or whatever for the monitor + something for headroom so your target watts is 1000 and in VA is about 1200.

 

Anything lower is not correct and may lead to the UPS shutting down on load

This is why I'm getting a 550-600w ups to accomodate my 5600x + rtx 3080 upgrade in the future. I'm aware it might not leave a lot of headroom but I have no choice at the moment as I just spent a lot on my PC and I don't want to spend a lot more atm.

 

And I've seen people claiming pc part picker total power draw is exaggerated so I think a 550-600w ups would be perfect for me unless there are better options at a $100-140 price range

 

Anyways. We're straying a bit away from the questions/the topic itself

 

 

[Picklerick]

1 minute ago, Biomecanoid said:

A standby UPS is not that expensive

Differs on each country. I have limited options where I'm from as like 80% of UPS sold here are APC and the rest are a mix of Eaton, FSP, Cyberpower (very few models to choose from) and random brands I've never heard of (intex, secure, AWP, iLogic etc)

 

Any suggestions?

[Biomecanoid]

10 minutes ago, WereCatf said:

You can copypaste it all you like, it doesn't change anything. For one, you are confusing the UPS's VA-rating with watt-rating. Secondly, you are spouting your own, personal preferences as if they were a universal fact. They aren't.

Dude  power in watts (W) is equal to the power in volt-amps (VA), times the power factor PF. 

 

UPSs have a power factor on efficient they are so if you need 800watts of power you need like a 1000va UPS if the power factor is 0.8. 

 

If you have a 750watt PSU you wasted your money on the PSU if you install a lower watts UPS on the line because the total power the line will support will be determined by its weakest link which will be the UPS.

 

Its like having a Ferrari and converting it to natural gas because you can not afford putting gas in it.  If I can't afford something I wait until I gather enough money otherwise you do subpar work and you buy junk, you need to replace later on wasting money.

 

[Biomecanoid]

19 minutes ago, Picklerick said:

Differs on each country. I have limited options where I'm from as like 80% of UPS sold here are APC and the rest are a mix of Eaton, FSP, Cyberpower (very few models to choose from) and random brands I've never heard of (intex, secure, AWP, iLogic etc)

 

Any suggestions?

EATON is good its the former MGE company