UPS for New Computer

[John__Titor]

Hello everyone,

I have ordered the parts for my new computer, but I overlooked an important component: a UPS. I spent a lot of money on this computer, so I would like to have it protected. I recently moved into a new house and there are infrequent, short brownouts and lots of thunderstorms. My old rig has survived on a surge protector, vigilantly unplugged during thunderstorms, but it has taken a few hits over the years from blackouts. The parts are arriving soon, so I am asking here for advice hoping someone knowledgeable can give me a quick reply. I won't have enough time to research and order without significant delay to the whole project. I will provide as many details as I can:

Total system wattage according to PCPP: 78W-309W (plus two monitors)
Time needed: Just a couple minutes to power everything down in case of a blackout
Outlets needed: At least 3 on battery backup and surge protection
Budget: $125CAD

System specs:

Ryzen 5 1600 3.2Ghz 6-Core Processor (will be overclocking)
Asrock AB350 Pro4 ATX AM4 Motherboard
G.Skill Ripjaws V Series16GB (2x8GB) DDR4-3200 Memory
ADATA Ultimate SU800 512GB 2.5" Solid State Drive
Zotac GeForce GTX 1070 8GB Mini Video Card
Phanteks ECLIPSE P400S TEMPERED GLASS ATX Mid Tower Case
EVGA SuperNOVA G3 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply
LG E2360V-PN 23.0" 1920x1080 Monitor
BenQ GW2765HT 27.0" 2560x1440 60Hz Monitor

If any more details are needed please ask. I am heading out to work in about 30 minutes, but I will be back later tonight. Thanks in advance for your help!

 

[C12Friedman]

Because your PSU choice features Active PFC, a sine wave UPS would seem to be the ticket here but, at least through my CA sources (NewEgg & NCIX), they're about $100 cad above your desired budget.

Note that some (not all but it's complicated) UPS's featuring "Stepped Approximation to Sine Wave" and "Simulated Sine Wave" will not operate properly when connected to a PSU featuring Active PFC.

 

[GhislainG]

I'd increase the budget and get a pure sinewave UPS like https://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16842102132

 

[John__Titor]

Thank you for your informative replies. It's a bit outside my budget, but if my PSU demands it, I will look at the sinewave-type UPS.

 

[GhislainG]

A UPS can't fully protect your PC against thunderstorms. If there are there are infrequent, short brownouts, then a cheaper UPS would most likely be fine. I doubt your high quality PSU absolutely requires a pure sinewave UPS, but they certainly are preferred.

 

[John__Titor]

A UPS can't fully protect your PC against thunderstorms. If there are there are infrequent, short brownouts, then a cheaper UPS would most likely be fine. I doubt your high quality PSU absolutely requires a pure sinewave UPS, but they certainly are preferred.

Could you elaborate? From my understanding, the UPS would be surge protected to protect my components from damage from surges and the battery power would kick in to give me enough time to shut down in the event the power goes out. I don't want to have to stop what i'm doing on my computer when thunderstorms roll around because then i'd never get any work done!

 

[GhislainG]

Is power to your house delivered via aerial or underground wiring? Personally I'm not too concerned with infrequent thunderstorms because all wiring in my area is underground; therefore my UPS should provide adequate protection. An interesting read: http://stormhighway.com/surge_protectors_ups_lightning_protection_myth.php

 

[John__Titor]

Is power to your house delivered via aerial or underground wiring? Personally I'm not too concerned with infrequent thunderstorms because all wiring in my area is underground; therefore my UPS should provide adequate protection. An interesting read: http://stormhighway.com/surge_protectors_ups_lightning_protection_myth.php

I just happened upon that article after you mentioned the UPS wouldn't guarantee total safety. I was hoping a good quality UPS would allow me to carry on during storms with peace of mind, evidently not! The power is delivered aerially, which I assume is risky.

So what are the requirements I need for my PSU? Do I need pure sinewave? Will simulated work at all or is it a gamble? If I need to shell out for it I will, but I really just need the basics at this point; not restarting during brownouts and enough time to shut down safely in a power outage.

 

[GhislainG]

Most PSUs work fine on simulated sine wave; several older PFC units didn't, but your PSU is a newer model.

 

[C12Friedman]

Most PSUs work fine on simulated sine wave; several older PFC units didn't, but your PSU is a newer model.

Here's what Cyberpower had to say when I inquired about my UPS not working properly after I upgraded my PSU a few years ago:

"Your computer uses a power supply that utilizes Active Power Factor Correction (Active PFC) to improve efficiency. Power supplies with active PFC may experience incompatibility problems with a UPS that does not provide pure sine wave power output when the power supply switches from AC power to UPS battery power. As a result, when a computer system using a power supply with active PFC is attached to a non-sine wave UPS, the system may shut down when it switches to battery power. Also, if the power supply continues to operate, it may produce a humming or high pitch noise while running on battery. This humming indicates the power supply is operating beyond specified tolerances and may damage the power supply.

For computer systems using power supplies with Active PFC, we recommend that you protect your equipment with a UPS that provides pure sine wave output or Adaptive Sine wave output..." It continues into a sales pitch of sorts so I'm not including that part of the response

Your best bet may be to contact the manufacturer of the UPS you're interested in to ensure compatibility with Active PFC

 

[GhislainG]

They are correct, but most quality PSUs designed within the last few years can cope with simulated sine wave; however they shouldn't have to run for long periods of time on the UPS. Most PSUs are active PFC and inexpensive UPSs (the usual choice of the majority of buyers) are simulated sine wave. If they didn't work together, then a lot of buyers would have issues.

 

[John__Titor]

So as long as they are Active PFC compatible it's all good? I see APC has Active PFC compatible units, but they don't list them as pure sine wave. I see some CyberPower units at my local store, I think I will go pick one up, my components will be here today or tomorrow!

Thanks again for the help.

 

[GhislainG]

Set up the new system and pull the plug from the UPS while stress testing it. You'll know if it's compatible or not.