Choosing the Right UPS

[Anonymous user]

Hi Everyone,

I would be much obliged if someone can help me here.

Having lost one hard drive due to a quick succession of mini power outages I have decided to purchase UPS units for my wife and myself.
I purchased a 750w APC for my wife based on the fact that her max power is about 500w.

However, my PC manual recommends that I have at least a 1.5Kw unit.

Using APC's sizing chart is not helping me as the results do not give the loadings in Kw this is a new field for me so please excuse my ignorance I have tried to figure things out using the Va calculation but the results I get are not making sense to me so obviously I am doing something wrong.

My current configuration is Intel core 2 quad 9550
4 G 1333 DDR3 SDRAM
Sata 2 HD 7200rpm I may add another just for backups
Nvidia GTX 280 Video card 1024MB
24" LCD monitor

Although it would be useful I am not specifically looking for a model that will run for a long time during a power outage so I feel that 5 mins to give me time to save and close down would be a minimum, acceptable requirement.

Apart from the occasional high end game the PC is used mainly for graphical and photoshop processes which are very resource / graphics hungry so therefore I am assuming that high operating power requirements are more the norm than the exception.

Also, if anyone can personnaly reccomend a particular APC model that would suit my needs that would be helpful.

Thanks very much in anticipation

Don

[Anonymous user]

Hi Techie,

thank you for the reply.

The PC Model is a Dell XPS 730

The manual is not too helpful, it states power supply as 90v-265v at 50-60hz and doesn't state if this is what every power unit in this model can handle or just a blanket statement that their 730 models can cover these power requirements, not that your particular PC covers them all.

I suspect this may be because the various power saving modes available on the system will alter power input requirements, however I am surprised that they do not give a maximum figure and I cannot find this information on line as yet.

There may be a plate on the back of the tower giving that information unfortunately, the back of my tower is difficult to access however, if this is essential I will endeavour to have a look

The manual does however state that the wattage is 1Kw and that the recommended minimum UPS output rating must be 1.5Kw or higher.

They seem to have based this figure on 1Kw plus monitor at about 147w plus printer at 14w totalling 1161w however, I would only have the PC and monitor connected to a UPS

I am in the USA so the power is 120v at 60hz

I Hope this information is helpful

Thank you

Don

[Techie_apc]

Don,

Thanks for the information.

I have found a link which shows the Dell XPS 750 specs. However, it just says that 1KW power supply on all configurations.
[http://www.dell.com/us/en/gen/desktops/xpsdt_730/pd.aspx?refid=xpsdt_730&s=gen]

If possible, could you please contact Dell to find out only the PC and Monitor Power Consumption in watts so that we can avoid over sizing of the UPS?

And you mentioned that you already purchased a UPS for the PC and Monitor. Is it an APC UPS? If so, do you have a management software CD that came with the UPS? If yes, please install it on your computer so that you can view the UPS runtime and load power consumption. These details will help us to determine if the UPS you purchased is enough for your configuration.

Message was edited by: Techie

[Anonymous user]

Hi Techie,

The manual also states 1Kw exclusive of all peripherals for all configurations.

I will try Dell but I have the feeling that I will just get the same information as given in the manual.

The UPS that I purchased is an APC but it is for my wifes' computer not mine she has an XPS 420 which runs on about 375 to 425w exclusive of peripherals so I purchased a 750w unit for her that was a few days ago we haven't set it up yet.

The one we purchased did come with a cd so I could load the cd onto my computer, would I also need to connect my pc to the UPS to obtain the runtime and load information that you mention?

If I have to connect my pc to the UPS and my pc is pulling well over the 750w specified for the UPS is it possible that it could damage the UPS?
Having only just bought it I don't want to risk causing damage.

Thanks,

Don

[Techie_apc]

Don,

Yes, you need to connect the PC and Monitor to the UPS outlets in order to view the equipment power draw and runtime through Management Software. You will need to connect a cable which came with the UPS between the UPS and the Computer in order for the software to communicate with the UPS.

The UPS will be overloaded if the equipment exceeds its output rated capacity. The UPS will switch off if the Overload is severe.

Were you able to look at the PC input power requirements at the rear? And also try Dell..to know the equipment power consumption

If the PC and Monitor Power Consumption is 1000 W, then you need to purchase the SUA2200 UPS for your need.

The SUA2200 UPS output power capacity is 1980 Watts / 2200 VA. Click on the below link to view the UPS technical specification:
http://www.apc.com/resource/include/techspec_index.cfm?base_sku=SUA2200&fnl=4606,2&fnl_basket=4606,3...

However, I do not think that your PC and Monitor consume 1000 Watts(or 1 KW) of power.

[Techie_apc]

Steve,

Thank you for your useful information.

[Anonymous user]

Hi,

I have both a Dell XPS 600 and an Imac with lots of other items all going into an APC XS series1300VA 780 watts.

I usually only have the Imac on with a few peripherals and the usual consumption according to display is about 150 watts. When I turn the Dell on it initially jumps to 375 watts and then drops substantially. The monitor uses about 40 watts. When I turn on everything (Laserjet, 3 usb hubs, modem, time capsule, 2 external drives and two speaker system) The total is still way under 400 watts usage.

I like this model as it gives continuous readouts of estimated time and usage and lots more.

Also its available at Costco.

[Techie_apc · Accepted solution]

Donald,

Let me collect some more information from you to recommend a UPS model for you.

What is the Model number of the PC?
What does the PC manual say about its Power Supply's maximum input current?