UPS for 1200w?

[xyeLz]

Can't quite figure this out.

From what I have been gathering, bigger is always better regardless of what you have because the only difference (aside from price) is more uptime in a downage. Would I be correct in this assumption?

Only thing is, I'm not paying $1000+ for a UPS for my home computer.

I was looking heavily at the SMT1500 from APC when I realized it was a 900w UPS. I'm sure I don't pull 900w for the most part, but I can tell you with certainty that I'm definitely somewhere up there (980x, R3E, 2x580, 14x120mm Fans, 1xPump, 2xNEC 24"). I would say I may be there on load, if not exceeding it. I honestly have no clue. My PSU is a Corsair AX1200.

Realizing that the SMT1500 is 900w, I began to consider the SMT2200 which is an incredible double at ~1900w (and also an extra $300). I am moreso considering this one because I am sure in the future computers will continue to get more powerful and it will allow me the ability to plug in more in the future. I can also probably unplug it and use it to keep the fridge cool for a few weeks (kidding).

Does anyone have any suggestions on either of these? Would either work but one be better or the other? Chances are if I had to get the 2200 it would be used (about a year).

Any help would be great guys.

 

[drescherjm]

I would get a refurbished SMT1500 with new batteries off eBay for less than $200 shipped. Also the SMT2200 will require a 20A circuit which you probably do not have.

See how the neutral looks like a T in this picture

The neutral on the SMT2200 will look like this (see the blade going the opposite way of the hot):

Do not try to replace the outlet with a nema 5-20r or use an adapter. This is dangerous since these (plugs and outlets) are used to prevent you from doing that since typically 15A rated wire (copper 14-2 WG or unlikely aluminum 12-2 WG) is used in most residential outlets.

 

[Zepher]

The SMT2200 has a NEMA 5-20P plug on it, and is about 120lbs, btw.

you can always purchase a Kill-a-Watt and then load up your machine to see what the draw from the wall is.

 

[drescherjm]

you can always purchase a Kill-a-Watt and then load up your machine to see what the draw from the wall is.

I recommend that. Having a 1200W supply does not mean you are drawing that much power. However with multiple GPUs you could.

and is about 120lbs, btw.

Those RBC7 battery assemblies are heavy. And the SMT2200 has 2 or 3 of them. My 1400 XL only has 1.

 

[xyeLz]

The SMT2200 has a NEMA 5-20P plug on it, and is about 120lbs, btw.

you can always purchase a Kill-a-Watt and then load up your machine to see what the draw from the wall is.

This was a life saver guys. Thank you very much. My reason for purchasing a UPS in the first place is because our circuit is terrible and the second someone in the room next door turns on a hair dryer while I'm playing a game, lights out everyone! I am almost positive we wouldn't have the outlet required by the SMT2200.

This is quite unfortunate as I found an SMT2200 used but essentially brand new for $200. I suppose this definitely leaves me with the SMT1500 in which I will begin looking for deals on.

I just plugged in my computer specifications on a website and came out with about an 800w maximum load (without monitors or other peripherals). Monitors would add about 150w (I believe the PA241w's run at 75w max) so lets say we're at a theoretically maximum of ~950w. The SMT1500 is rated for 980w. Originally my plan was only to use the UPS for the computer and the monitors. However I have a few concerns (see below):

1) What happens if my wattage exceeds that of the UPS (by a minimal amount, say ~100w)?

I still have no idea.

2) What happens if my wattage exceeds that of the UPS (by a minimal amount, say ~100w) and then I lose power?

I still have no idea.

3) What would happen if I continuously ran a ~1200w computer/server on the SMT1500 (a 980w UPS)?

I still have no idea.

3) Does the UPS continuously draw 980w from the outlet or is it like the PSU and will only draw what it needs?

Found the answer to this one. Please correct me if I am wrong. Apparently it will draw a certain amount of wattage (depends on the unit, but SMT1500 is ~200w) and amperage (8-12) simply to charge the battery. Once completed, it will use a trickle charge (~25w) to stay powered and will require more power to recharge if necessary. In regards to this, it should also not be plugged into a Surge Suppressor or vice versa as it will throw off the delicate balance of power distribution.

 

[drescherjm]

Found the answer to this one. Please correct me if I am wrong. Apparently it will draw a certain amount of wattage (depends on the unit, but SMT1500 is ~200w) and amperage (8-12) simply to charge the battery. Once completed, it will use a trickle charge (~25w) to stay powered and will require more power to recharge if necessary. In regards to this, it should also not be plugged into a Surge Suppressor or vice versa as it will throw off the delicate balance of power distribution.

I have mine plugged into a surge protector and that works fine. You do not want to plug a surge protector into the UPS however as that can reduce the runtime.

2) What happens if my wattage exceeds that of the UPS (by a minimal amount, say ~100w) and then I lose power?

I still have no idea.

I have never loaded my SmartUPS up that much but I have seen other UPS units at work shut off when this happen.

 

[xyeLz]

Yeah I guess I should have figured it would shut it off, or at least something would shut off perhaps to accommodate only 980w. I'm sure the UPSs don't have internal intelligence settings to tell it to shut off certain things first.

I'm more concerned with the other questions anyways, because if I occasionally reach 1000w and the UPS is plugged in, I don't want it to have any effect on my performance while everything is currently functional. I doubt I'd reach 1000w but I think I will test it tonight. Either way, my questions still stand.

 

[Tsumi]

Your system, when overclocked, on full maximum load (simultaneous furmark and linX) will probably consume at most 850 watts from your power supply. Not overclocked, it will probably hit ~700 watts. This translates to ~950 watts at the wall based on 90% efficiency from the AX1200 when overclocked, and 780 watts at stock speeds. In gaming, depending on the games you play, you can hit anywhere from 500 watts to 750 watts pulled from the power supply, depending on how intensive it is on the CPU and GPUs; that includes stock and overclocked. So you'll be pulling anywhere from 550 to 850 watts from the wall while in game.

So, the theoretical maximum power draw of your computer is close to the limits of that SMT1500. If you're not overclocked, or in game, you have more cushion room.

 

[xyeLz]

Your system, when overclocked, on full maximum load (simultaneous furmark and linX) will probably consume at most 850 watts from your power supply. Not overclocked, it will probably hit ~700 watts. This translates to ~950 watts at the wall based on 90% efficiency from the AX1200 when overclocked, and 780 watts at stock speeds. In gaming, depending on the games you play, you can hit anywhere from 500 watts to 750 watts pulled from the power supply, depending on how intensive it is on the CPU and GPUs; that includes stock and overclocked. So you'll be pulling anywhere from 550 to 850 watts from the wall while in game.

So, the theoretical maximum power draw of your computer is close to the limits of that SMT1500. If you're not overclocked, or in game, you have more cushion room.

Thanks. I have two monitors that will also be plugged in. They draw about 55w each after calibration (NEC lists 95w each as default).

Chances are I wouldn't benchmark my computer while keeping it plugged into a UPS. My computer is somewhat efficient when it comes to games, but this is only due to the watercooling. I'm sure the wattages are somewhat similar to what you stated. My GPUs on load max out around 45C and my CPU at about 40C (in wintertime).

I would estimate from your speculation that it would consume, at most, ~850w for the computer and ~150 for the monitors. Of course this is ~1000w and I am being conservative to stay safe with my decision. Realistically I would say my computer and monitors would top out around 900w. I will try to check this tonight for my computer. I will check SVII for monitor wattages as well.

(What is this efficiency statistic you speak of with the AX1200?)

I don't have the proper outlet for an SMT2200, otherwise this would have been my choice. Is running a constant 900w on this UPS advisable? Are there any disadvantages other than uptime when power is gone? What would your suggestion be here?

 

[Tsumi]

During the process of converting AC electricity into DC electricity, some electricity is wasted as heat during the conversion process, which is why they need to be cooled. That's what the 80+ bronze, silver, gold, and platinum ratings are for. Bronze power supplies are supposed to be around 83% efficient, while gold is supposed to be around 90%. That means for a gold power supply, 90% of the electricity drawn from the wall is converted to power your components, while the other 10% is wasted as heat. So for the AX1200 to output 1200 watts, it would need to pull at least 1330 watts from the wall.

Your cooling system has nothing to do whatsoever with the efficiency of your system. The power it pulls is entirely dependent on the overclock settings and the components used. Higher voltage/overclock = higher power pulled. It is true that getting the chips to run cooler will allow them to use less voltage at the same clock speed, but that difference is marginal.

Theoretically, the SMT1500, if it's rated for 960 watts continuous, then it should be fine for running 960 watts 24/7.

Also, your power consumption when idling and gaming are completely different. Your idle power consumption should be in the neighborhood of 200-300 watts.

 

[asyork]

I have an ancient APC Back-UPS ES 725 with its original battery that supports a maximum of 450 watts.

My computer has an i7 960, GTX 580 SC, 6x4 GB @1600, 3 HDDs, an SSD, 2 optical drives, and a Corsair H80. I have two monitors plugged in as well, one draws 43 watts and the other 36 watts. I also have a 410 watt receiver plugged into it, thought the receiver has two plugs on the back that are empty and I'm sure part of that 410 is allotted for those.

All of that is plugged into the battery, and I have never had a problem.

 

[xyeLz]

Thanks guys.

Tsumi, great explanation. I appreciate that.

So what I am gathering is that the SMT1500 should be fine almost all the time unless for some reason my computer and monitors are on full load or exceeding their expected load?

Usually I'm in a game when my computer crashes anyways. It rarely will shut off when sitting there in Excel. Of course, for all of this to happen the moron next to me will have to turn on a hair dryer anyways.

So I assume this is okay? Can anyone comment on my questions?

 

[CrazyRob]

one of my clients rigs was similar to yours, except it was 3 way sli (overclocked 980x, Evga classified, 3xgtx580 instead of 2). Under a max stress test (prime 95 and furmark), according to a kill-o-watt, the corsair 1200w psu was pulling about 1400 from the wall. According to the [H] review, the psu is about 87% efficient at max load, which means it was putting out about the full 1200 watts.

Granted, this is with 3 cards instead of two, and under a synthetic load not likely attainable in real world usage. Subtracting one card, i would expect the max theoretical load to be closer to 900 watts (roughly 1050 from the wall) but the max realistic load likely 100-200 watts lower.

 

[Tsumi]

I have an ancient APC Back-UPS ES 725 with its original battery that supports a maximum of 450 watts.

My computer has an i7 960, GTX 580 SC, 6x4 GB @1600, 3 HDDs, an SSD, 2 optical drives, and a Corsair H80. I have two monitors plugged in as well, one draws 43 watts and the other 36 watts. I also have a 410 watt receiver plugged into it, thought the receiver has two plugs on the back that are empty and I'm sure part of that 410 is allotted for those.

All of that is plugged into the battery, and I have never had a problem.

I'm going to assume you never ran anything that stressed your computer to its max, because that would almost definitely overload your UPS at stock settings.

Thanks guys.

Tsumi, great explanation. I appreciate that.

So what I am gathering is that the SMT1500 should be fine almost all the time unless for some reason my computer and monitors are on full load or exceeding their expected load?

Usually I'm in a game when my computer crashes anyways. It rarely will shut off when sitting there in Excel. Of course, for all of this to happen the moron next to me will have to turn on a hair dryer anyways.

So I assume this is okay? Can anyone comment on my questions?

Yes, you should be fine.

 

[Zepher]

I'm going to assume you never ran anything that stressed your computer to its max, because that would almost definitely overload your UPS at stock settings.



Yes, you should be fine.

The APC Powerchute program shows that my main rig uses 444 watts.
Had Furmark running a 1920x1080 burn in as well as Prime95 running 8 threads.
My system has the following attached to the UPS:
Main Rig with i7 870, 16GB Ram, 3x 7200rpm and 5x Green drives, H60 Hydro Cooler w/ 2x 120mm fans, 3x 230mm case fans.
23" HP, 23" Samsung, 21.5" Viewsonic monitors
Alesis M1 Active MK2 Studio Monitor Speakers
Linksys E2000 Router
D-Link 5 port Gigabit switch
Motorola Cable Modem

I also have my Xbox 360 and HTPC attached to the UPS but I'll only be using one of them at the same time as my main rig, and they only use 50-100 watts.

note: I already updated my sig for my parts that are coming on Tuesday.

 

[Tsumi]

The APC Powerchute program shows that my main rig uses 444 watts.
Had Furmark running a 1920x1080 burn in as well as Prime95 running 8 threads.
My system has the following attached to the UPS:
Main Rig with i7 870, 16GB Ram, 3x 7200rpm and 5x Green drives, H60 Hydro Cooler w/ 2x 120mm fans, 3x 230mm case fans.
23" HP, 23" Samsung, 21.5" Viewsonic monitors
Alesis M1 Active MK2 Studio Monitor Speakers
Linksys E2000 Router
D-Link 5 port Gigabit switch
Motorola Cable Modem

I also have my Xbox 360 and HTPC attached to the UPS but I'll only be using one of them at the same time as my main rig, and they only use 50-100 watts.

note: I already updated my sig for my parts that are coming on Tuesday.

The i7 870 and the HD5850 are completely different beasts from the i7 960 and the GTX 580 that I was quoting. The 580 uses 100-150 more watts than the 5850, and the 1366 platform uses 40 watts or more than an equal 1156 platform, simply due to the presence of the x58 northbridge vs the lack of a northbridge on 1156.

 

[asyork]

I have left it with furmark + p95 using 8 cores for extended periods. Oddly enough, I came home today to a kernel power failure though... That was with both monitors off and the rest of the computer idling so I'm guessing the house lost power, but who knows.

 

[Tsumi]

I have left it with furmark + p95 using 8 cores for extended periods. Oddly enough, I came home today to a kernel power failure though... That was with both monitors off and the rest of the computer idling so I'm guessing the house lost power, but who knows.

It could be that the design of the UPS allows for the required amount of power to pass through it, since it doesn't go through the battery first. However, as soon as power goes out, and you're drawing more power than the circuitry/battery can supply, it will shut down.

 

[Zepher]

The i7 870 and the HD5850 are completely different beasts from the i7 960 and the GTX 580 that I was quoting. The 580 uses 100-150 more watts than the 5850, and the 1366 platform uses 40 watts or more than an equal 1156 platform, simply due to the presence of the x58 northbridge vs the lack of a northbridge on 1156.

I was just putting my system up as a reference.