• We’re currently investigating an issue related to the forum theme and styling that is impacting page layout and visual formatting. The problem has been identified, and we are actively working on a resolution. There is no impact to user data or functionality, this is strictly a front-end display issue. We’ll post an update once the fix has been deployed. Thanks for your patience while we get this sorted.

500VA or 585VA UPS?

B

BZeto

Platinum Member
Heres the deal, I can get a Cyber Power 585AVR (325 watts) for $76 shipped.

Or I can get an APC 500VA (300 watts) for $60 at my local staples.


Will the extra 25 watts make a difference?

It will be on an athlon XP1600 system (OC'd) with an Antec 430 watt True power supply. And a 19" monitor.

I dont need it for a lot of back up time, just enough so I can shut down my computer safely in a power outage. And to supply good clean power to my system. Which I know the Cyber Power has AVR, but I'm not sure if the APC does.
 
I wouldn't be surprised if either gave you 0 mins back up. Most 19" monitors are 120Watts+ and after CPU, CD's, HD's, etc you will more than likely be over capacity.

APC has a selector online....to give you a rough estimate.
 
hmm... well, chances are I wont even put the monitor on the battery backup, I may try it and see what happens, but if I dont get any backup with the monitor on it, I'll Just have the computer on it.
 
One really does want a UPS that will run the monitor too. How does one save that really important document that is being worked on if one can not see the screen (let's assume one does not know the hot key or is in a different window for the sake of illustration).

I do recommend using the APC selector as alkemyst suggested.

Make sure the UPS you get uses AVR (Automatic Voltage Regulation), it should improve the lifetime of your computer.
 
Originally posted by: alkemyst
I wouldn't be surprised if either gave you 0 mins back up. Most 19" monitors are 120Watts+ and after CPU, CD's, HD's, etc you will more than likely be over capacity.

APC has a selector online....to give you a rough estimate.
Click to expand...

You are wrong. A 500VA UPS should easily be able to run that system and monitor. I would estimate the load to be around 75%. I've seen smaller UPS's (200-280VA) power loads like that though they don't last long at all (about 90 seconds).

BTW, I highly recommend you go with the APC.
 
I have 2 of the CyberPower 900AVR UPS on 2 of my computers (see sig - Maggotry & Xena). I have my computer, 21" monitor, and speakers plugged into the battery back-up outlets and it gives me about 7 minutes of back-up power. I just set the software monitor to shut down after 3 minutes. Three minutes is more than enough time to save what I'm doing and shut down.

I don't know about APC, but on the CyberPower units, not all plugs are battery back-up. Mine, for example, has 6 plugs. All 6 are surge protected up to 1260 joules, but only 3 of the plugs are actually UPS plugs. The one you're looking at is the same way.

What's the model number of that APC unit?
 
Originally posted by: MWink


You are wrong. A 500VA UPS should easily be able to run that system and monitor. I would estimate the load to be around 75%. I've seen smaller UPS's (200-280VA) power loads like that though they don't last long at all (about 90 seconds).
Click to expand...

A Back-UPS Pro 280VA is rated at 180W. It is not meant for computers.

The CPU itself uses somewhere in the 50-80W nowdays.

For monitor, let's assume a Sony G420 19", in operation it uses up to 130W. With just a monitor and CPU you are over that 180W and that does not include power supply, HDs, CD/DVD drives, video card, fans, etc.

I will agree that I have seen ignorant people who know nothing about power plug a computer into the above power supply. It beeps giving an overload message when the computer boots. When power goes out it may or may not turn itself off and if it does not turn itself off it will not last long. One would be running it at probably twice the load it was designed to operate, voiding the waranty, and I can almost guarentee you that it will not have a long life.

I have an APC Back UP 500 lying around my room that I've been meaning to see if it is just the battery that is dead. A customer was running it way above its maximum wattage and it no longer provides power off battery.

I am not sure whether the 500VA is good enough for BZeto or not since I do not know what all is in his system.

The only APC 500VA I could find in current production is the Back-UPS VS 500 Broadband (which does not have AVR, so I would not recommend it) is rated at 325W. I would guess 200W for his CPU and monitor. If everything else in his system is not more than 125W, then he may be good. My guess is that if that at a minimum he will be at 90% load on that UPS if his system does not have much in it. A 650VA might be the better route.

BTW, I highly recommend you go with the APC.
Click to expand...

I will agree with an APC -- one with AVR.

Maggotry, some APCs have half the plugs battery backed up and the other half surge suppressed, while others have all of them battery backed up: It depends on the model.
 
I decided to go with the Cyberpower.... it has AVR, where as the APC does not (that particular model)
 
A Back-UPS Pro 280VA is rated at 180W. It is not meant for computers.
Click to expand...

What is it meant for then? What you should have said is, it is not meant for high end computers. If you look at any of APC's low end UPS's (Back-UPS Pro included) they clearly state "For computer loads only" right on the UPS. Of course I've never listened to the warnings. 😛

The only APC 500VA I could find in current production is the Back-UPS VS 500 Broadband (which does not have AVR, so I would not recommend it) is rated at 325W. I would guess 200W for his CPU and monitor. If everything else in his system is not more than 125W, then he may be good. My guess is that if that at a minimum he will be at 90% load on that UPS if his system does not have much in it. A 650VA might be the better route.
Click to expand...

ok... Let's stop estimating and take some real numbers for a second. I have a possibly similar system to him (XP 1600+, Enermax 431W PS, 19" Samsung 900IFT, see sig for the rest). My Back-UPS Pro 650 reports that when everything is running at max power the load is 55%. The UPS is 410W. 55% of 410W is 225.5W. That means a 325W UPS would be at about 70% load. So a 500VA UPS should, in reality, be ample for him.
 
Originally posted by: ObiDon
What is it meant for then?
Click to expand...
Toasters and radios??? 😉
Click to expand...

I use an old one for my night stand with my alarm clock and cell phone chargers 🙂 I know that is complete overkill, but I couldn't think of a better use for it.

Maybe my statement was a bit harsh, of course they meant them to be for computers.

I put into APC's UPS selector a 486 mini-Tower with a 14-15" monitor, 1 HD, no CD or other devices and it said that a 350VA would be at 45% load. If this is your computer, you could run a 280VA UPS at probably 60-70% load.

If you have the same as above except with a Celeron <1.5GHz and a CD drive, then the 350VA would be at 60% load and a 280VA would be near maxed out.

For any recent computer the 280VA UPS is worthless. Is that better?
 
i have a 350va(280w) running my alarm clock, cordless phone, and answering machine as well....

i have two 500va's running my PC and monitor... each also has another small device like my cable modem and linksys router on the uniterruptible side..

all the computer equipment is fed from a dedicated 15 amp circuit..
 
Originally posted by: sciencewhiz
I've run an Athlon 1.13, 17" monitor, with 3 hdd on a 280 VA UPS.

granted it's 30 secs or less, but it works 😛
Click to expand...

I guess some people's opinion of working is different then mine. Even if that configuration works for 30 seconds one time, it may not work at all if the machine is using more power the next time power goes out. 30 seconds is not long enough for an automated hibernate shutdown that the APC software can perform (If one has hibernate mode enabled = No data loss whatsoever).
 
So what are the general wattages of computer components? I'm looking for a UPS myself, but I dont know how powerful it needs to be. I have an AMD 2200+, CD-RW, 350W Antec PS, 19" monitor, 27Gb HDD, wireless router (DC 5V), and DSL modem (16VAC 500mA). That seems like 4 components that will need the backup power, but I dont know the total wattage.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

Back
Top