[voldomazta]

Hi,

My PSU is a LEPA G1600-MA running 4x 680s and a 3960x on a Asus R4E motherboard. Since electricity outages are frequent where I live in, I'm currently in the market for a UPS. I've estimated my system's full load to be around the 1000-1200w range. Frankly I don't care if I'm gaming (using 100% of the system) and electricity got cut off and my system gets shut down, I can throw that game away.

The only thing I want my UPS to do is to make sure I have like 10-15 minutes so I can safely close all my documents and files whenever I'm working on my PC, which is most of the time. So my question is, should I find a UPS that is rated for my full load (1200w) or for my idle load when I am working? Should it always be the case that whatever my full load is, that also has to be the rate of my UPS because if not it will cause an overload?

Thanks
-R

 

[pvp309rcp]

You need to get a reading on your usage if you want to really know what UPS to get. Grab yourself a P3 Kill A Watt (or any other volt/watt reader) which should be found at any local hardware store...otherwise you can try to search for it online. You just need a UPS that is right at the peak (and slightly more to avoid over-voltage) of your actual watt usage at full load. When you're UPS is at around 90% usage then that will give you around 1-3 minutes of up-time. I'm sure that once you notice that all the power shuts off...you will be closing whatever is causing a load on your computer which should get you back to idle usage giving you the extended 10-15 minutes of up-time to properly shut down your computer. However, that's only if you have an idle load that's less than 50% of your UPS usage. I'm speaking from my own experience as your mileage may vary. Here's an example of my 900w CyberPower UPS when idle...



Keep in mind that my desktop is currently the only thing running on the battery so put into consideration anything else you plan to plug into the battery backup to calculate accordingly. I have to switch my desktop to a regular outlet or else the UPS can't handle the over-voltage of 1200+ watts.

 

[voldomazta]

I see. I got a power monitor and I was pulling 1241w when doing furmark on mildly oc'd 3960x and quad 680s. I guess I'd have to get a UPS bigger than 1241w so there's no overload?

What I'm trying to undertsand is, if my UPS was rated at 1200w, what would happen to it if I pulled 1241w load?

 

[kevmatic]

Depends on the PSU, most will probably just shutdown after a few seconds from OCP. Since you're so close to the rating, it MAY withstand the load, but the stress will shorten the life of the UPS.

Remember, too, that UPS are actually rated in VA, not watts, so look at that on your Kill-a-watt instead. At these power levels, that extra few precent from the Power Factor correction could be significant.

 

[voldomazta]

that's what i've been confused about because i saw two different UPSes with the same 2200VA but one said it supports up to 1980w while the other supported up to 1600w. that is why i was reading my load in watts and just getting the correct wattage UPS.