Is this UPS good for my system?

Devileyes

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Dec 12, 2011
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hello, so i'm going on a holiday in a country that suffers from alot of power shortage.
so im going to be buying a ups over there to protect my system.
my pc specs are :
i7-7700k
gtx1080ti
16 gb ddr4
psu evga 750w g3

so is this ups good?
- https://macrotronics.net/product_info.php/prolink-pvr3000d-auto-voltage-regulator-3kva-p-12667

it has a capacity of 3000VA for only 130$, so is prolink any good as a ups maker?

the country is called lebanon, somy options to buy over there are kind of limited
 
Solution

If you went with PCE AX-1200 UPS then do note that this UPS is online design and it doesn't need AVR since your PC is always running off from UPS'es battery anyways.

I linked the different UPS designs above, but here's a short summary of online design UPS inner workings:
Under normal operation the online UPS is always running off the battery, using its inverter, while the line power runs...
You do realize that the device you linked is an AVR (Automatic Voltage Regulator) and not an UPS (Uninterruptible Power Supply)?
What it does is that it only protects your PC against brownouts, under voltages and over voltages. For blackouts, you'll need an UPS which has internal battery to keep your PC going.

Good UPS brands to go for are CyberPower, TrippLite and APC.

For comparison, good quality 3000VA, true/pure sine wave UPS costs at least $800, e.g this unit from CyberPower,
specs: https://www.cyberpowersystems.com/product/ups/pr3000lcdsl/

Though, your PC doesn't need 3000VA UPS. You'd be completely fine with 1300VA UPS, e.g like this one from CyberPower,
specs: https://www.cyberpower.com/hk/en/product/sku/CP1300EPFCLCD

My Skylake and Haswell builds (full specs with pics in my sig) are also running off from UPSes where both PCs have their own UPS. And i have the very same 1300VA UPSes in use i linked above.
 

i wasn't aware, thank you for correcting me..
what about this one? https://pcandparts.com/pce-2500-m8-2500va-1200w/
the ones you linked are very expensive..
 
Since UPS has to keep your PC running when there's a power loss, do you really want to cheap out on it? Keep in mind that if you want cheap and good UPS, you need to buy 2x UPSes; 1st the cheap one and 2nd the good one.

Also, as i said above, 1300VA UPS is more than enough for your PC. The 2500VA UPS you linked is overkill for your PC. And it doesn't end there, the 2500VA UPS you linked outputs simulated sine wave,
specs: http://www.pceups.com/products/ups/line-interactive/m8

And when looking the OSes it's software supports, that UPS has quite an old design. Newest OS that UPS software supports is Win7. If you're running Win8.1 or Win10 (which you most likely are), you can't use that UPS'es software to monitor your UPS.

When looking for a UPS, there are 2 things to look out:
1. Output waveform (square wave, simulated sine wave and true/pure sine wave)
2. Design (stand-by, line-interactive and online)

From here you can read about the differences between output waveform,
link: http://www.minutemanups.com/support/pwr_un10.php

And here are explanations about the UPS design,
stand-by: http://www.pcguide.com/ref/power/ext/ups/typesStandby-c.html
line-interactive: http://www.pcguide.com/ref/power/ext/ups/typesLineInt-c.html
online: http://www.pcguide.com/ref/power/ext/ups/typesOnLine-c.html

Waveform and design
For PCs, line-interactive UPS would be more than enough since PSUs can easily handle the 2ms to 5ms transfer time of line-interactive UPS.
As far as output waveform goes, true/pure sine wave UPS is best used. While simulated sine wave UPSes are cheaper than true/pure sine wave UPSes, PSUs with Active PFC aren't compatible with simulated sine wave. You might get simulated sine wave UPS running with Active PFC PSU but there can be some major issues. Here's what, how and why.

How do you know which PSUs have Active PFC and which ones don't?
Simple, every PSU that has 80+ certification (e.g 80+ Bronze or 80+ Gold) has Active PFC.

What is Active PFC?
Further reading: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Power_factor#Power_factor_correction_(PFC)_in_non-linear_loads

What can happen when using simulated sine wave UPS with Active PFC PSU?
When simulated sine wave UPS switches over to the battery power, one of 3 things can happen:
1. UPS displays error resulting PC to shut down immediately.
2. UPS shuts down resulting PC to shut down immediately.
3. UPS switches to battery power resulting PC to power off from UPS (PC stays on).

Why it happens?
Simulated sine wave UPS produces a zero output state during the phase change cycle resulting in a power “gap”. This gap may cause power interruption for active PFC PSUs when switching from AC power output to simulated sine wave output (battery mode).

What to do next?
As stated above, your PC can run off from simulated sine wave UPS but be prepared when you face issues with it. When issues do rise, your best bet would be returning the simulated sine wave UPS and getting true/pure sine wave UPS. Or you can go with true/pure sine wave UPS off the bat.

Wattage
As far as UPS wattage goes, you need to consider the power draw of your PC and monitors. Maybe speakers and wi-fi router too if you plan to plug those into the UPS as well. Though, printers, scanners and other such hardware (full list on your UPS manual) don't plug to the UPS since their startup power draw is way too much for UPS to handle and you can fry your UPS.

Since your PC max power draw is 450W (GPU is 250W, rest of the system is about 200W), at least one monitor is added on top of it. Depending on the monitor size, they use between 23W to 52W. For more accurate power consumption, i need to know your monitor make and model so i can look up it's power consumption. Wi-fi routers don't consume much power. For example, my Cisco EPC3940L consumes 12V at 3A which means 36W.

This brings the total at around 550W, 600W if you also consider CPU/GPU OC. The 1300VA/ 780W UPS that i'm using would be more than enough for your PC as well.
If you want to run your PC off the grid for several hours (which also would explain why you want 2500+VA UPS), buy a gasoline/diesel powered generator and transformer. UPSes aren't designed to run PCs for several hours.
 


i only need a few minutes of uptime after a power loss (2-3-4 minutes is fine by me) i think paying 900$ for a ups is excessive becz we have backup generators where im going, but they just need 1 minute for them to kick in, so a ups which can be up for 2-3 minutes is ideal for me
 
My experience :

Seasonic M12-II 520w. It's a group regulated design 80+ Bronze.
Evga G2 550w. Dc-dc, 80+ Gold.
Minuteman 700 Pro UPS. Simulated sinewave output.

Even though that Minuteman is over 12yrs old, it still works like a champ, on its 4th battery now. When plugged into the Seasonic pc, there's absolutely no problems with the switchover, I never loose the pc. Blackouts, brown outs, spikes all covered and my pc is good for about 10 minutes before the battery runs out.

Not so with the Evga pc. That psu absolutely needs pure sinewave, active pfc compliant UPS. If the Minuteman has to switchover due to powerloss for any reason, the pc instantly shuts off.

So yes, I've done the reading, covered by Aeacus in great detail and am not happy with the results. Older style UPS run much cheaper, last upto ½ hour or more on 50% loads and the good ones are somewhat bulletproof. For pure sinewave, newer designs, the cost is double to triple the other type and you are looking at 5 minutes at 50% loads.

It's your pc. It's expensive. It's not easily replaced. Like it or not, if you want the protection, it's not going to be cheap unless you get lucky on an Amazon lightning sale or some such. Sorry.
 


so you're telling me what there is no ups in this whole world that can last for 2 minutes on a normal gaming pc that is less than 900$?
 


so you're saying that this one is not good enough? https://www.amazon.ca/APC-Back-UPS-Battery-Protector-BR1500G/dp/B003Y24DEU

tbh the only reason im not ordering from amazon is because amazon doesn't ship to where im going and my limitations are only a few sites that i can use over there
 
Well, you're the one who brings 3000VA and 2500VA UPSes onto the table. In my 1st reply, i showed how much a proper 3000VA UPS actually costs. And in my 2nd reply, i covered why 1300VA UPS would be more than enough for your PC.

There are plenty of UPSes out there that output pure/true sine wave, can keep your PC running for more than 5 mins and cost less than $900.
Though, the APC 1500VA UPS you linked outputs simulated sine wave,
specs: http://www.apc.com/shop/us/en/products/APC-Power-Saving-Back-UPS-Pro-1500/P-BR1500G
And if you did read above, you should know why simulated sine wave UPS isn't best used with a PC.

Also, there's a catch with it as well. That specific APC UPS has voltage input and output of 120V. In other words, it's created for NA market since they use 120V electricity. But Lebanon, your destination, uses 220V electricity, just like whole Europe. So, unless you plan to run your PC completely off grid with generators supplying all the power, there's no use for an UPS for you that operates at 120V.

For pure/true sine wave UPS which works at 220V, the CyberPower 1300VA UPS i linked above would do just fine for your PC,
amazon.uk: https://www.amazon.co.uk/CyberPower-CP1300EPFCLCD-Backup-Sinewave-1300VA/dp/B0059DAN2I

With it, and at 500W load, you'll get 7 mins of runtime out of it.

At this point, i'd suggest that you bring only your laptop with you rather than shipping your desktop to Lebanon and also finding, buying and shipping an UPS for it. Since your stay there is short term (holiday), why to go through all that trouble in the first place? Oh, i'm not questioning your reasons but if i were you, i'd only bring the laptop, leaving desktop at home. It's far easier to find portable voltage regulators for laptops that convert 220V to 120V, if your laptop operates at 120V.
 


you're right, im sorry about that.
i only linked that 3000va because it was cheap with high capacity so i thought why not.
but anything 1300va to 1500va is fine .. i can only use lebanese websites anyway because none ship to lebanon sadly as they have no postal codes sadly. i will look around and see what they have for true sinewave and post it here .. i would appreciate it if you can give me your feedback, once i find anything i will post it..
 


this is the closest thing i could find to a true sinewave ups

https://macrotronics.net/product_info.php/apc-back-ups-1100va-550w-p-9359

Waveform Type: Stepped Approximation to a Sinewave.

is it good enough? even for 2-3 mins is enough for me, will it do the job?

i also found this https://www.mojitech.net/shop/in-lebanon-bx1400ui-apc-back-ups-700-watts-1-4-kva-230v-avr-iec-sockets-led-status-display-12kg-line-interactive-power-shut-shutdown-software/

same sinewave as the one above
 
Stepped approximation to a sinewave = simulated sine wave. And both UPSes you linked output simulated sine wave.

As said above on countless times, you may or may not get simulated sine wave UPS running with your PC. Though, i don't think your EVGA G3 PSU would work with simulated sine wave UPS. Karadjgne has EVGA G2 PSU which is older design than your EVGA G3 PSU and even his simulated sine wave UPS won't work with his PSU.

If you want to risk it, feel free to go with any simulated sine wave UPS you've linked so far. Wattage wise, they all can give you 2-3mins of runtime IF they work with your PSU. If they don't work with your PSU then your PC shuts down as soon as power loss occurs.

In your store, this UPS is true/pure sine wave with online design (aka double-conversion topology),
link: https://macrotronics.net/product_info.php/pce-online-ups-ax-1200va-700w-p-8261
specs: http://www.pceups.com/products/ups/online-single-phase/ax-ups

Though, for online design, true/pure sine wave, 1200VA/ 700W UPS, it's price is really low and i wouldn't expect much of a build quality or even longevity out of it. Good quality, online design, true/pure sine wave UPS with 1000VA costs minimum of $650. So, you can imagine what you'd get with only $220.
 
If you look at a pure sine wave, it flows like an ocean swell, there's a constant amount of voltage for the UPS to work with. If you look at simulated or square waves, they look like the crenelations on an old castle. The problem isn't the voltage itself, but the wave. It goes straight up/down so you basically have 50-60 instant blackouts every second, where that wave changes and there is 0 volts. The psu will sometime in that second hit on that 0 volts and shut down. It's very common in dc-dc psus with Active PFC and with group regulated designs being slowly phased out by 'Green' eco requirements, it's only going to get worse.

For what it's going to cost to ship your system to Lebanon for a couple of weeks, the price of a decent UPS and the price of shipping it all back, it'd really be far cheaper to get a cheap UPS, and use that with the laptop.

Sorry can't be more help, but unless you are willing to do this right, all you'd end up doing is wasting your money on a UPS that's not going to do the job intended. You'll end up with a $220 surge protector that'll do nothing for low power (brown out) or Zero power (blackout) situations.
 


my vacation is going to be a long one (approx 1 year) otherwise i would just leave my desktop where i currently am.
also i'm going to take out the graphics card, the hardisks and the cpu cooler and put the case along with everything else in my checkin bag, and carry everything else with me unto the plane.
so getting my desktop to where i'm going is not going to be a problem.

the problem is only getting a psu that's going to do the job done.

i've called EVGA today to ask about their psu's compatibility with ups's and simulated sine-wave vs true sine wave, and they told me most modern psu's should work just fine, but the only thing i have to worry about is coil whine down the road.

i don't know how true that is, so what i'm going to do is do a test irl myself and see which one works best.
because my budget is limited and i can only go as high as 200-250(absolute max), anything above 300$+ is a no go.

this is not the only forum i'm seeing, and the answers i'm getting are all over the place.

this is why you might find that i'm a little bit lost here, but what i know is that paying 250+ for a ups is not an option for me.
 


if i had a good laptop i would not be doing all this research, but i have a gaming desktop which i'm happy with. and i would like to protect it as much as possible while not breaking the bank as well.. 300-600$ for a ups are out of the world suggestions
 
Ohhh. A 1 yr vacation? In Lebanon? Wow. I lived in Saudi for over 3 yrs, gotta say, it was a culture shock for sure.
Not sure it's considered a vacation if it lasts a while year.
As far as shipping goes, you will have to make arrangements for the pc anyways, that's not going to be carry-on luggage. I'd just make sure to keep the box, and repack it good.

https://www.amazon.com/CyberPower-CP1500PFCLCD-Sinewave-Outlets-Mini-Tower/dp/B00429N19W/ref=mp_s_a_1_9?ie=UTF8&qid=1532663640&sr=1-9&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=Ups&dpPl=1&dpID=41AqKnLteeL&ref=plSrch
 


yea as i said, i'm going to remove the gpu/cpu cooler/hdds and carry on those. while the whole tower will be packed with my checkin luggage (there's only going to be the psu and the mobo/cpu+ram left anyway so no prob)

i'm so lost on how to get this ups shipped to lebanon, oh man
 
That TrippLite UPS is a good one; true/pure sine wave, 1500VA/ 900W with 8x universal C13 outlet sockets.

Though, i don't want to know the shipping cost of that UPS, especially if shipping cost is calculated by the item's weight (like it is for Amazon) since it's shipping weight is 12.34 kg (27.2 lbs).

Oh, as far as hauling your PC through the airport goes, keep your HDDs away from metal detectors since those use magnetic field and can corrupt your drives. Other than that, there's not much to worry about. X-ray is harmless for PC and it's components since exposure to x-rays is so short term.
 




yo guys luckily i found this as well that i can buy from lebanon as well http://www.pceups.com/products/ups/online-single-phase/ax-ups
it's also a pure sinewave, what do you think?
 

Actually, i found that UPS for you. Scroll 12 replies up and read what i said. My that reply contains:

 


true, i might've missed it due to the sheer amount of links i'm getting from all the other forums as well.. so for a year this should be good enough tbh. i don't need more than that.
and thanks for suggesting it