Back-UPS Pro vs Smart-UPS for a gaming system

[Anonymous user]

Hi,

If you just want to see my question, skip to the TLDR; paragraph at the end, if you're curious why I ask, full explanation is below.

I'm in the market for a UPS that I can use to keep my gaming PC up and running during brownouts, and provide a fair bit of up-time during blackouts as well. I have made use of a 'Kill A Watt' meter to measure my system's average power draw over a three hour gaming session, which came out at around:

257 Watts

390 VA

I also measured power consumption during start up and while stress testing, which didn't differ too much from the values measured above.

While there are plenty of highly affordable PSUs that will keep me up and running long enough to safely shut down this system during a power outage, I had my heart set on a PSU that would keep me up and running for an hour or two during a blackout (I figure if a laptop can do it, why not my PC?). After searching around multiple PSU vendors, I'm now considering 2 possible solutions, each from APC.

The first is a Back-UPS Pro 1500G with an attached battery pack. This would keep my PC running for a little over an hour during a blackout, and seems to be directly targeted at PC users. The only reason I haven't bought it already is because it supports a maximum of 1 external battery pack, meaning that if I ever want to spend more money to further extend my run time, I would have to look at dismantling the battery pack and extending the circuit to include more batteries, voiding warranties in the process.

This lead me to take a close look at the Smart-UPS XL 1000 as a possible alternative. This unit is a fair bit more expensive than the previous solution, and would only keep my PC running for about 50 minutes during a blackout, but it supports the installation of a battery pack that can be daisy-chained, allowing me to easily extend my run time well beyond the previous solution at some point in the future. I also calculated that the battery pack for this unit, is actually more cost effective in terms of dollars spent per minute of extra run time (measured at my expected usage) than the battery packs for the previous unit. This PSU however, seems to be designed for servers and networking equipment, rather than PCs.

TLDR;

Before I make my final decision on whether I want to go for the cheaper, Back-UPS Pro 1500G with battery pack, and risk hacking something together if I ever want to extend my run time, or take the more expensive Smart-UPS XL 1000 for it's ability to support a daisy chain of battery packs, I wanted to ask if there is anything about the Smart-UPS line that might make them undesirable for use with a gaming PC, instead of their intended use to maintain servers and network equipment?

[Anonymous user]

The Smart-UPS products are equally at home running a big server or a simple desktop PC. (It would be a bit silly to plug a desktop PC into something like a 3000 VA Smart-UPS, but you could certainly do it.) The Smart-UPS line has a USB communication port same as the simpler Back-UPS line, and both will be recognized by most operating systems' generic USB HID UPS drivers.

The biggest difference between a Smart-UPS and a Back-UPS is that of the inverter's output characteristics. Most all of the Smart-UPS products have a true sine wave output that will match or exceed the quality of the AC waveform delivered by the utility company. The Back-UPS line has a "modified sine wave" output.

For almost any computer system, the inverter's output waveform makes absolutely no practical difference. There are some computer power supplies out there that can have trouble running from a modified sine wave output. The most usual sign of incompatibility is a computer that suddenly shuts down when the UPS goes to battery.

The Smart-UPS XL likely has better cooling capacity, which is something to consider if you do plan to hook up a lot of battery packs and/or you are running it close to capacity. (If you're going to load a UPS up past 60% or so of its capacity rating, I'd step up to the next largest model.)

[BillP]

Hello Erik,

As a fellow gamer, I completely understand what you are trying to do here. During a blackout, there is not much to do. 

As far as the Back-Ups it is aimed at PC users based on the price. Also, did you take into account the wattage of the monitor and possibly speakers?

There is certainly nothing undesirable about the Smart-UPS line for PCs. It actually has better power output while on battery, a pure sine wave, as opposed to a step approximated on the Back-Ups. This pure sine wave and the price are the reasons for marketing it towards Network equipment and sensitive servers.

[voidstar_apc]

One thing to keep in mind: the batteries last 3-5 years so you may want to consider the replacement costs of multiple battery packs.

[Anonymous user]

On 15/9/2016 4:41 PM, Shanon said:

Also, did you take into account the wattage of the monitor and possibly speakers?

Yes I measured these using the same device, personally, I have been very surprised at how small my power requirements are, it makes the 1500va output of the Back-Ups model look ridiculously excessive for my purposes. Even the 1000va Smart-UPS feels like overkill, I could probably do just fine with a 750va unit, but the only one I found that supports multiple battery packs is the SMX750, and it's battery packs are less cost effective in terms of money spent per minute of extra run time, than either of the other two options.

There is a good chance of course, that my power draw will increase in the future, as I am giving some serious thought to investing in the oculus rift after the touch controllers finally come out, which would also require me to upgrade my graphics card (currently on a geforce gtx 780), but I feel like either of the 2 options I'm considering have enough elbow room for future growth.

I also don't really plan to continue gaming necessarily when the power does go out, I will probably exit whatever I'm playing, activate 'power saver' mode, and watch some videos or something.

[Anonymous user]

On 15/9/2016 4:47 PM, voidstar said:

One thing to keep in mind: the batteries last 3-5 years so you may want to consider the replacement costs of multiple battery packs.

I was aware of this, but I had been hoping that the 3-5 years number was a safe/conservative estimate put out by the manufacturers, and that I might be able to squeeze more life out of them if I don't abuse them.

Out of curiosity I re-did my battery pack cost effectiveness calculations for the cost of replacement batteries only, but the results are still the same; replacement batteries for the SUA1000 compatible pack, are more expensive, but also give more run time per dollar invested.

[Anonymous user]

I feel like I need to clarify what I'm getting at when I ask whether or not there might be something 'undesirable' about the Smart-UPS line when it comes to using it with a PC.

I noticed that many of the Back-UPS Pro models come with a number of 'surge only' power outlets, that can be convenient for protecting peripheral devices like a printer, that could benefit from surge protection, but do not need to remain on during a power outage. The Smart-UPS line seems to lack this kind of outlet, I assume this is because it would be less useful in a server/networking environment.

Similarly the Back-UPS pro 1500G has a number of master/controlled outlets, that can be used to automatically cut power to a monitor, when the main PC is switched off, but I see no indication of master/controlled outlets in the Smart-UPS XL 1000.

While I consider those differences minor, I'm wondering if there might be something more fundamental that I'm missing, that makes the Back-UPS Pro line a smarter choice for PCs.

[voidstar_apc]

Personally I wouldn't factor either of those into my decision. You get similar surge-only protection from APC's SurgeArrest power strips. BackUPS are designed to be a better value but the SmartUPS is preferable and priced accordingly. The exception, in my humble opinion, is the BG500 which offers much longer lifespan and lighter lithium ion batteries (SmartUPS' don't have that) and network manageability (SmartUPS' sometimes bundle this and sometimes it's an add-on) at a low cost.

*edit* Actually one other difference that comes to mind that you may care about: some BackUPS' don't have a fan, but SmartUPS' do. It's soft and doesn't bother me but some people prefer not to have a fan at all near their AV equipment.

You might also look at using a gas generator to power your equipment during an outage.

[Anonymous user]

On 15/9/2016 10:05 PM, voidstar said:

You might also look at using a gas generator to power your equipment during an outage

I am aware of gas generators, but I'm currently living in an apartment with no balcony, so anything that generates toxic fumes, or requires lots of ventilation seems like a bad idea to me.

On 15/9/2016 10:05 PM, voidstar said:

some BackUPS' don't have a fan, but SmartUPS' do. It's soft and doesn't bother me but some people prefer not to have a fan at all near their AV equipment

Personally I've always cared more about proper cooling than I have about noise generation. My PC case already has 5 fans installed, on top of the dedicated fans for the CPU and video card. I also have another personal fan I keep nearby for hot days. I like to use noise canceling head phones for my audio, so I tend not to hear them much anyways.

[Anonymous user · Accepted solution]

I was aware of this, but I had been hoping that the 3-5 years number was a safe/conservative estimate put out by the manufacturers, and that I might be able to squeeze more life out of them if I don't abuse them.

Five years is pretty much the absolute best life span you can hope for. The only exception I've ever seen were the batteries in an old BK650 that only had to load a small load until a generator started up. Those lasted ten years.

Since the batteries usually degrade gradually (in terms of capacity and runtime) as opposed to failing immediately, you may get a longer life span out of them if a shortened runtime is acceptable to you.

I feel like I need to clarify what I'm getting at when I ask whether or not there might be something 'undesirable' about the Smart-UPS line when it comes to using it with a PC.

I noticed that many of the Back-UPS Pro models come with a number of 'surge only' power outlets, that can be convenient for protecting peripheral devices like a printer, that could benefit from surge protection, but do not need to remain on during a power outage. The Smart-UPS line seems to lack this kind of outlet, I assume this is because it would be less useful in a server/networking environment.

Are the surge protected outlets something you'd need or find useful? I personally wouldn't trade the advantages of a Smart-UPS over a Back-UPS just for some surge protected, non battery backed outlets, when those outlets could be easily provided by an inexpensive surge suppressing outlet strip (of which APC has several offerings).

Similarly the Back-UPS pro 1500G has a number of master/controlled outlets, that can be used to automatically cut power to a monitor, when the main PC is switched off, but I see no indication of master/controlled outlets in the Smart-UPS XL 1000.

I don't see these master/controlled outlets as much of a feature because they are not battery backed. They have only surge suppression capability.