350 watt UPS and 850 watt Power Supply

[Guest]

So apparently I don't know much about electricity. I just got to thinking.. my UPS is like 350 watts and the power supply in my computer is 850 watts. Would that mean my computer will not stay on with the UPS in the event of power outtage?

*feels dumb*

 

[saint19]

Hi newcomer and welcome to the Tom's hardware forum.

Correct, for a 850W PSU, you need at least a 1200VA UPS (1.5 times you PSU) for 5 minutes at full load, could be more if your system is on idle when the power outage arrive.

 

[pjmelect]

I disagree, it is very unlikely that your computer is drawing anything like 850w, providing it is drawing less than 350w on maximum load you should be ok. You can get a cheap mains watt meter to check

 

[JohnnyLucky]

I would think it would depend on the pc components, configuration and programs running. The typical gamer usually maxes somewhere around 300 watts during a gaming session. That is just a general statement. There are exceptions.

Don't forget the ups only lasts a few minutes - just enough time to save everything and shut down.