Need Help

[Anonymous user]

Hello,

I am completely new to the world of UPS. I have always heard good things about APC, so here I am. LOL!

I was wondering if I post specs of a new computer build that I will be doing soon, if someone could help me pick an appriopriate UPS that would be large enough to handle what I have and perhaps have some room for growth in the future? (I tried to use the tool on the website, but I don't think it is detailed enough to help me given some on the hardware I use).

Please let me know if this is ok to post or if its against the rules.

Thanks,

Angie

[Anonymous user]

Hello,

I am completely new to the world of UPS. I have always heard good things about APC, so here I am. LOL!

I was wondering if I post specs of a new computer build that I will be doing soon, if someone could help me pick an appriopriate UPS that would be large enough to handle what I have and perhaps have some room for growth in the future? (I tried to use the tool on the website, but I don't think it is detailed enough to help me given some on the hardware I use).

Please let me know if this is ok to post or if its against the rules.

Thanks,

Angie

[BillP]

hi angie,

you can post that and we will certainly do our best to make a recommendation or point you in the right direction.

[Anonymous user]

Hello again,

My computer system specs are as follows:

Motherboard: Intel DP55SB P55 Micro-ATX
CPU: Intel Core i7-870
RAM: Corsair CMX8GX3M4A1333C9 8GB DDR3 1333
Hard Drive: Corsair Force 60 GB SSD
Power Supply: Corsair AX750
Video Card: EVGA GTS 450 FTW
Sound Card: Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium FPS
Optical Drive: Pioneer BDR-205 12x Blu-Ray Burner
Speakers: Logitech Z-5500
Printer: Brother HL-2240
Monitor: Samsung T260HD
Case: Antec Two Hundred v2

Thanks again! Looking forward to your suggestions! Let me know if I missed anything in my specs or any other info you need.

Angie

[BillP]

ok..looking into this.

your power supply has power factor correction, explained [in this article|http://nam-en.apc.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/8883/], so we need to multiply the 750W power supply rating by 1.25 and we get ~937 watts. this means, your power supply could pull this maximum wattage value so we need to size the unit appropriately.

my first recommendation would be to see if you can find a BR1500LCD or BX1500LCD unit. Alternatively, if you cannot find that anywhere, I suggest a BX1500G or BR1500G.

problem is, this does not account for all the other stuff - tv, speakers, etc so we need to get the specs on all of that stuff and add it to the wattage draw. you may be ok with this size unit if everything is not turned on at once but the computer does have the potential to pull a lot of power. can you find the user's manual for these other things besides the computer to see what the power requirements are in watts?

[Anonymous user]

Hi,

Honestly, the speakers and the printer don't actually need to be hooked up to the UPS part of the UPS, i am just concerned about the power supply, internal components inside the case, and the monitor. The speakers and printer draw rediculous amounts of wattage when in use.. So I don't think i really need them if there was a electrical outage or something like that. I just want them protected from brown outs, power surges, or any other conditions like that, so they are safe and not destroyed.

But, I will do some research to provide you with the wattage of the internal components and the monitor.

thanks,

angie

[BillP]

you're welcome. i think what you picked out is great as long as what you have plugged into your wall now is not tripping any breakers 🙂

let me know if you need anything else.

[Anonymous user]

Hi,

Below is what I could find:

Motherboard: Intel DP55SB P55 Micro-ATX (Wattage: Unable to find)
CPU: Intel Core i7-870 (Wattage: 95 Watts)
RAM: Corsair CMX8GX3M4A1333C9 8GB DDR3 1333 (Wattage: Unable to find)
Hard Drive: Corsair Force 60 GB SSD (Wattage: 2 Watts)
Power Supply: Corsair AX750 (Wattage: already covered above)
Video Card: EVGA GTS 450 FTW (Wattage: Unable to find, minimum 400 watt supply required - 22 A on +12 volt line)
Sound Card: Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium FPS (Wattage: Unable to find)
Optical Drive: Pioneer BDR-205 12x Blu-Ray Burner (Wattage: Unable to find)
Speakers: Logitech Z-5500 (Wattage: 505 Watts RMS, 1010 Watts Peak)
Printer: Brother HL-2240 (Wattage: 9 Watts Sleep Mode, 65 Watts Ready, 495 Watts Printing)
Monitor: Samsung T260HD (Unable to find)
Case: Antec Two Hundred v2 (Wattage: N/A)

I am sorry I am not much help on the wattages, but on most of the components, the manufactuer doens't list them in the specs or manual.

Please advise further!

Angie

[BillP]

ok, well the computer we'll max at 750. it probably wont be pulling 750 watts all the time, we just need to worry about when you turn it on and there is an inrush of power. we generally dont recommend printers plugged into the battery back up since it can indeed overload the unit. i know you mentioned you will be putting it on the surge side though. thus, with the computer and monitor/tv on the surge side only, i think you'll be ok. i think i found the monitor uses 70W max and consumes very little in sleep.

i think with this new information, with all of this stuff, you are probably cutting it really close and may need to look towards something such as an SMT2200 Smart UPS, since that is the next VA level up.

i forgot to ask you how much runtime you are looking for by the way?

[Anonymous user]

Hello,

Thanks for the recommendation. I had not even looked at prices on any of the units yet, but I looked up the SMT2200 and had no clue it would be expensive or could range so much in price ($450 - $1000)

Maybe UPS isn't what I need, I'm just basically want to protect my components from damage from the situations mentioned above. The computer really doesn't need to be on when the power goes out, it isn't mission critical. I was looking into maybe just getting a Surge Protector or Automatic Voltage Regulator.

I am not sure what the difference is. Also on these 2 items, I have no clue how to get Joules or VA or any other power specs calculated given my setup from above.

Please help,

Angie

[BillP]

take a look at this to understand what [volt amps and watts are|http://nam-en.apc.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/1503/]

a battery back up provides runtime on battery when the power goes out. automatic voltage regulation is a transformer that boosts or trims voltage when it is too high or too low. nominal voltage is 120v for the united states. various power issues can cause it to drop down to 100 or go up to 120. in these examples, the transformer would boost or trim the voltage to get closer to the 120v and not damage the equipment. certain equipment may even turn off rather than getting damaged.

joules is a standard measurement of how much surge protection a surge protector has. APC uses joules and also eP joules (equivalent protection joules) since we use a few different types of technology. joules only measures a certain type of technology. [this may help explain some too|http://nam-en.apc.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/65/]

i would suggest looking at a surge protector [from here|http://www.apc.com/products/family/index.cfm?id=176] which will provide the maximum surge protection that we offer. they also have a lifetime warranty and [equipment protection policy|http://www.apc.com/support/service/equipment_protection_policy.cfm]

for a voltage regulator, the smallest one we have would be a LE1200 which can handle 1200 volt amps worth of load. assuming you are using 120v input voltage in your home - 1200/120 = 10A max you can draw through that unit and provide automatic voltage regulation for.

a UPSs purpose is mainly to provide battery back up but you'll find that a lot include the surge protection and automatic voltage regulation within them even though its not their main function. thus, if you dont need/want that functionality, you can just buy the pieces you need.

[Anonymous user · Accepted solution]

Hello,

I have decided to go with the P11VT3 Surge Protector. I am still confused about the calculations for my equipment, but those articles you posted were very helpful.

As a final question, given my system, is this surge protector more than enough for what I need?

Thanks for all of your time and help!

Angie