UPS AVR help in stablizing voltages?

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provoko

Gawd
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So I heard that Automatic Voltage Regulation (AVR) completely stablizes a computer's cpu frequency and voltage. If that's true then could it also help in making an overclock more stable? And if that's true, what are good AVRs?

I'm a complete noob on backup battery power.

Thanks.
 
There are lots of reasons for wanting voltage regulation on the AC side but adding stability to your OC probably isn't one of them.

First, most good PSU's (check the [H] reviews) have pretty good stabilization as they are, second, the majority of critical stabilizing is actually done right on your motherboard. Keep in mind your motherboard can take voltage swings up to if not over 5% as a max and 2% from a PSU is just fine.

I use one on my home theater system but even the best of those components don't regulate internal voltages as well as a good motherboard.

Add to that a really worthwhile AC line regulator can / should run you well over a grand. A high quality UPS should be all you need. If you have having OC stability issues, look to your PSU, ram, mobo or CPU, they are far more likely to be the culprits.
 
As Bill basically pointed out, AVR has absolutely no impact on the regulation of the voltages outputted by the PSU, and it won't affect the stability of any overclock. The purpose of AVR is to provide a clean output voltage if the power coming from the wall has abnormalities.
 
So called AVR on cheap consumer grade UPS is nothing more than a buck-boost circuit with taps connected to a relay controlled by an incoming mains watchdog. Sure if your voltage drops enough to trigger the boost it can keep the output voltage close to 120V without running the inverter. The same is true with bucking excessive voltages however most of the time electrical anomalies that result in overvoltage often exceed the allowable limit of this and the device should trip off line immediately.

Real line conditioners can keep your power (and frequency!) rock solid from a varying range of inputs. They are useful for musical performances running off generator power or for mobile command centers set up in times of disaster, etc. Ferroresonant technology is often employed in better UPS systems that will provide such protection and zero switching time.

If the line voltage varies a lot it's NOT normal and should be checked out by a qualified electrician! Don't use AVR as a band aid to a bigger problem!
 
Rubycon said:
So called AVR on cheap consumer grade UPS is nothing more than a buck-boost circuit with taps connected to a relay controlled by an incoming mains watchdog. Sure if your voltage drops enough to trigger the boost it can keep the output voltage close to 120V without running the inverter. The same is true with bucking excessive voltages however most of the time electrical anomalies that result in overvoltage often exceed the allowable limit of this and the device should trip off line immediately.

Real line conditioners can keep your power (and frequency!) rock solid from a varying range of inputs. They are useful for musical performances running off generator power or for mobile command centers set up in times of disaster, etc. Ferroresonant technology is often employed in better UPS systems that will provide such protection and zero switching time.

If the line voltage varies a lot it's NOT normal and should be checked out by a qualified electrician! Don't use AVR as a band aid to a bigger problem!
Click to expand...

Add to that today's modern PSU's all run on input anywhere from 100 to 240 volts and do it automatically. Line voltage stabilization won't do much for the user.

It is however a great tool for the tester of PSU's.
 
BillR said:
Add to that today's modern PSU's all run on input anywhere from 100 to 240 volts and do it automatically. Line voltage stabilization won't do much for the user.
Click to expand...

This is one uncertainty I have about PC power supplies. Are the primaries tracking which allows ANY range of voltage from 120-240 or once they are started at 120 they must stay within the allowable range (88~133V, for example).

Anyone with a variac willing to test? ;)
 
Rubycon said:
This is one uncertainty I have about PC power supplies. Are the primaries tracking which allows ANY range of voltage from 120-240 or once they are started at 120 they must stay within the allowable range (88~133V, for example).

Anyone with a variac willing to test? ;)
Click to expand...

This is part of one of the major hardware site's testing regimens. I would have thought it was [H], but I can't remember for certain.

They monitor output at various loads and brown out the input with a variac.
 
Surly73 said:
This is part of one of the major hardware site's testing regimens. I would have thought it was [H], but I can't remember for certain.

They monitor output at various loads and brown out the input with a variac.
Click to expand...

[H] does do that, but that wasn't Rubycon's question. He was wondering if an APFC PSU will really accept any voltage from 110-220V, or if it will only work within certain voltage ranges close to 110V and 220V but not at something like, say 175V. I'm also curious about that.
 
Rule of thumb: If there's a range switch - it won't work. If there's no range switch - it'll probably be fine.
 
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