Will this UPS be powerful enough?

[Anonymous user]

Hey Guys,

I wanted to know if this APC will be powerful enough to sustain my computer in case of a failure

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=5774228&CatId=234

I have a 24 inch monitor, and a 500 watt power supply in my computer. It is a custom build with the following parts.

AMD Phenom 9750
WD Caviar green 1TB
4GB of OCZ DDR2
Asus Mobo
1 LG CD/DVD RW

Not sure what else, if anything, should be included. Appreciate the help as I am a UPS noobie.

[Erasmus_apc]

Most likely it will not be since the computer by itself has a power supply rated at 80w above what the UPS wattage is rated for (420w). If the power supply is not explicitly labeled "Active PFC" then a BR/BX1500 unit would be a better solution.

[Anonymous user]

Even if my computer is drawing the 500watts? I should have phrased my original question more adequately.

What I want to know is if my computer, which has a 500w power supply, isnt consuming the full 500watts (which I dont believe it is) can run off of that APC.

[BillP · Accepted solution]

You're free to purchase whatever UPS you want, but APC isn't likely to recommend a UPS that doesn't even support the full load of your power supply. 😛

That said, the unit you linked may be fine since you don't expect to fully load your power supply, but unless you have a more exact idea of what wattage you WILL be using (and, as Erasmus said, whether your power supply is PFC or not), it's hard to promise anything will work for you.

On that note, I have a 600w PFC power supply in my desktop (gaming) computer hooked up to a [BR800BLK|http://www.apc.com/products/resource/include/techspec_index.cfm?base_sku=BR800BLK], which supports 540w. It works perfectly fine, since my computer never really draws more than 300w.

The main thing to remember about PFC power supplies is the need to oversize somewhat for the potential inrush current. See [this kbase|http://nam-en.apc.com/cgi-bin/nam_en.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=8883] for more info about that. In my case, I chose to multiply the 300w by 1.25, came up with 375w, and left more room for my peripherals (monitor, external hard drive, router, etc.) that contribute additional, if negligible, load.

That may not qualify as the safest practice, but it worked for me as it does for most users. There are a few exceptions where that doesn't work, though, and it depends on the power supply itself.

So to make a long answer short... See if you can find the wattage requirements of your internal components (processor, mobo, video card, etc.) and go from there.