My "PCE 850 VA UPS Max Series" started beeping fast today when the electricity went off and I was stress testing my overclocked VGA card.
So I'm guessing, other than the fact that its battery is 1.5 years old, the UPS is not enough for my system which is an old one (Core 2 Duo Wolfdale E8200 2.66GHz overclocked to 3.16GHz, 6GB RAM, NVidia GTX 550Ti overclocked from 951MHz to 1000MHz, etc...)

I am planning on purchasing a new UPS instead of just paying money to get a new 9VA battery for my existing UPS.

But, the thing is, I want to make sure the UPS I buy will be enough to handle a new system, later on, with (Skylake/Kaby Lake 3.2GHz, GTX 970, SSD + WD 1TB Black Edition, 16GB RAM and quite a few fans - perhaps around 4 to 6 fans - as I will get a new case with top and bottom fans as well).

The questions:
- Isn't 600W (as noted on PCandParts` website) a bit to low for a 1500VA UPS ?
- Will the "PCE UPS M8 1500VA" with 2 x 7VA batteries be enough for such a new system ? I will use my existing 850VA UPS to power the LCD monitor separately.
- What power supply wattage should I get for the new system with specs/parts similar to the ones I mentioned above if I plan on overclocking it a bit ?
i have a 530 watt PSU on a gtx 980 and I do get my 1200VA screaming when gaming with 100% gpu utilization.
DG wrote@hkbazzi, keep in mind my LCD monitor will be on a separate UPS.
Have you tried this tool to calculate the wattage used by your system ? outervision.com/power-supply-calculator
just tried it using the specs of my rig....seems right!

i use a 27 inch wqhd 144hz ips monitor so yeah it takes a lot of power....as well as my 50 inch TV hooked to it haha
hkbazzi wrote
DG wrote@hkbazzi, keep in mind my LCD monitor will be on a separate UPS.
Have you tried this tool to calculate the wattage used by your system ? outervision.com/power-supply-calculator
just tried it using the specs of my rig....seems right!

i use a 27 inch wqhd 144hz ips monitor so yeah it takes a lot of power....as well as my 50 inch TV hooked to it haha
Sorry to hijack this; dude what's that 27" 144Hz IPS monitor you're using?
find a decent ups with a 12 Volt battery .. replace it with a car battery ..it will less you for more than 1 hour (12V , 80 Watt )
MrClass wrote
hkbazzi wrote
DG wrote@hkbazzi, keep in mind my LCD monitor will be on a separate UPS.
Have you tried this tool to calculate the wattage used by your system ? outervision.com/power-supply-calculator
just tried it using the specs of my rig....seems right!

i use a 27 inch wqhd 144hz ips monitor so yeah it takes a lot of power....as well as my 50 inch TV hooked to it haha
Sorry to hijack this; dude what's that 27" 144Hz IPS monitor you're using?
I think he has the ASUS ROG Swift
ironman wrote
MrClass wrote
hkbazzi wrote
just tried it using the specs of my rig....seems right!

i use a 27 inch wqhd 144hz ips monitor so yeah it takes a lot of power....as well as my 50 inch TV hooked to it haha
Sorry to hijack this; dude what's that 27" 144Hz IPS monitor you're using?
I think he has the ASUS ROG Swift
The thing is there are many many models
1. Yes, it does seem so. Mine is a 1700VA UPS and I get 1000W protection.
2. I think that you should get a UPS that protects 750W at least.
3. 600W is good enough, but it isn't safe. Taking into account how PSUs degrade and considering whether or not you may want to play with clocks, voltages, and power consumption in the future, you may want to go with something slightly larger for that little bit more leverage. I would go with a 750W PSU and UPS.
5 days later
Which of those two UPS units would you get for the new system I mentioned at the start of this thread if both cost around 130 USD VAT excluded (don't just check capacity, I am also talking about features, brand name and quality) ?

Legrand (1000VA / 600W, AVR, software usb port, phone/network protection, 2 x 7AH batteries).

OR

PCE (2000VA / 900W, software usb port, 2 x 7AH batteries).
Obviously the PCE. Not only because it is a great and trusted brand but also because the other option protects only 600W, which is too low.
10 days later
MrClass wrote
hkbazzi wrote
DG wrote@hkbazzi, keep in mind my LCD monitor will be on a separate UPS.
Have you tried this tool to calculate the wattage used by your system ? outervision.com/power-supply-calculator
just tried it using the specs of my rig....seems right!

i use a 27 inch wqhd 144hz ips monitor so yeah it takes a lot of power....as well as my 50 inch TV hooked to it haha
Sorry to hijack this; dude what's that 27" 144Hz IPS monitor you're using?

I got an MG279Q Asus
14 days later
Even though this is a bit late I thought I'd chime in.

Keep in mind that even though the power supply may be rated as 600W, it can actually draw much more than that depending on the efficiency of your PSU at a particular load.

For example if you're 600W PSU is rated as 80+ BRONZE, then at 50% load it should be 85% efficient, so would consume ~705W from your UPS. Similarly, it would be 81% efficient at 100% load, meaning it would consume 740W. This is why efficiency ratings are popular; the more efficient your PSU the lower is your dollar per watt. You can also save money by buying a less powerful UPS that doesn't consume half of your 5A ishtirak for example.

If your PSU is a no-name brand then its efficiency is probably in the 70% range. I definitely wouldn't advise putting a generic PSU under full load. In any case, the Legrand UPS will do you no good if you put your system under full load. You can calculate the required wattage in accordance with your PSU's power efficiency rating. I'd advise a 600W UPS only if your PSU has a 500W/Gold rating. If it has a higher wattage or lower 80+ classification then the Legrand UPS wouldn't be enough. It's probably for office 350-450W PSUs in which case it's just fine.

Also keep in mind that the newer generation of CPU/GPUs are and will be more energy efficient so don't worry too much about upgradability. If anything, you'd need less power when upgrading imo. For example, the i3-6300 Processor has a TDP of 51W while your processor has a 65W TDP on stock. 6th gen i5 processors generally have lower max TDP ratings than slower 4th gen i5 processors for example. Processors are becoming more and more efficient (in the case of intel). The new generation of GPUs by both Intel and AMD will also focus on energy efficiency quite a bit.
DG wroteWhich of those two UPS units would you get for the new system I mentioned at the start of this thread if both cost around 130 USD VAT excluded (don't just check capacity, I am also talking about features, brand name and quality) ?

Legrand (1000VA / 600W, AVR, software usb port, phone/network protection, 2 x 7AH batteries).

OR

PCE (2000VA / 900W, software usb port, 2 x 7AH batteries).
I have the PCE 2000VA/ 900W UPS. It is awesome!
Thrax wroteFor example if you're 600W PSU is rated as 80+ BRONZE, then at 50% load it should be 85% efficient, so would consume ~705W from your UPS. Similarly, it would be 81% efficient at 100% load, meaning it would consume 740W. This is why efficiency ratings are popular; the more efficient your PSU the lower is your dollar per watt. You can also save money by buying a less powerful UPS that doesn't consume half of your 5A ishtirak for example.
At 50% load it would consume ~350W not 705W.
Die_Kapitan wrote
Thrax wroteFor example if you're 600W PSU is rated as 80+ BRONZE, then at 50% load it should be 85% efficient, so would consume ~705W from your UPS. Similarly, it would be 81% efficient at 100% load, meaning it would consume 740W. This is why efficiency ratings are popular; the more efficient your PSU the lower is your dollar per watt. You can also save money by buying a less powerful UPS that doesn't consume half of your 5A ishtirak for example.
At 50% load it would consume ~350W not 705W.
My bad. It was 3:20AM.

In other news I may very well be getting a SuperNOVA 850 G2 80+ GOLD from Greece soon. Pretty excited.

We have the Corsair CS series (pretty good quality for a tight budget) in leb at pcandparts but the price just isn't competitive enough (shipping+TVA.)

Also DG, if you want to calculate approximately how much power your system would consume with overclocking, the following website is mighty helpful (and accurate enough): outervision DOT com/power-supply-calculator
Thrax wroteIn other news I may very well be getting a SuperNOVA 850 G2 80+ GOLD from Greece soon. Pretty excited.

We have the Corsair CS series (pretty good quality for a tight budget) in leb at pcandparts but the price just isn't competitive enough (shipping+TVA.)
You can get an HX850i from PCandParts, it's one of the best PSUs on the market, has Corsair Link and is 80+ Platinum, if you're getting an 850W PSU I'm pretty sure you're going dual-cards, if that's the case you may be able to get by with a 750W PSU like the HX750i, Toughpower Gold 750W or even the CX750M. Assuming you're not overclocking neither you CPU or GPUs.
Thank for the late replies but I already bought the Legrand UPS about 3 weeks ago. I still haven't used it yet.
I have also postponed upgrading my system (which is running fine on a PCE 850VA UPS) for now. Keep in mind I am only talking about the system. The monitor is on another 700VA UPS (and it will be the same setup once I upgrade my PC).

Thrax that's the website I used to calculate the needed power and it says that a (Skylake I5 3.2GHZ CPU + 2x8GB DDR4 RAM + GTX 970 + 1 SSD and 1 Sata HDD + some other stuff like an optical drive, a USB 3.0 device and 6x120cm fans) would not even need more than a 412W PSU and 700VA UPS for a 16 hours/day utilization.
Like I said, the monitor will be on a separate UPS and I will only have a single VGA card in the new system when I upgrade it.
Die_Kapitan wrote
Thrax wroteIn other news I may very well be getting a SuperNOVA 850 G2 80+ GOLD from Greece soon. Pretty excited.

We have the Corsair CS series (pretty good quality for a tight budget) in leb at pcandparts but the price just isn't competitive enough (shipping+TVA.)
You can get an HX850i from PCandParts, it's one of the best PSUs on the market, has Corsair Link and is 80+ Platinum, if you're getting an 850W PSU I'm pretty sure you're going dual-cards, if that's the case you may be able to get by with a 750W PSU like the HX750i, Toughpower Gold 750W or even the CX750M. Assuming you're not overclocking neither you CPU or GPUs.

The full-modular 850W G2 costs €156 in Greece with free delivery so about $175 ($120 on amazon atm -- an unfortunate $55 difference). The HX850i costs $215 from pcandparts so $236.5 with VAT ($154 on amazon atm -- $82.5 difference). With a $5 delivery charge from ARAMEX and $3 to the delivery guy the actual price difference between getting a G2 or a HXi climbs to $70. The HXi would cost me 140% of the G2's price even with the relatively high prices in Greece. Not attractive at all. The price is just not competitive.

I wouldn't put the CX series near the reliability of the G2 or the HXi. The bronze certified, semi-modular CS850 fairs better in terms of price competitiveness and reliability but it would end up costing me approximately $150 if I bought it from pcandparts; I'd rather get a more reliably fully modular gold PSU for $25 more given the chance. $70 extra for a platinum rating and slightly more reliability with the HXi isn't worth it imho.

I did eye the Toughpower Gold 750W for a while but I may very well end up overclocking something. They're alright for the price.

I'm either going for a 390x cf setup or waiting for an entry level polaris card (or two heh). Good thing we still have safe sea/air access to the outside world eh.

pcandparts is definitely a nice place for anyone's computer shopping in leb. Some items are priced fairly or even very competitively (and I commend them for it) while others just aren't, and there's nothing I or my wallet's conscience can do about it.
DG wroteThank for the late replies but I already bought the Legrand UPS about 3 weeks ago. I still haven't used it yet.
I have also postponed upgrading my system (which is running fine on a PCE 850VA UPS) for now. Keep in mind I am only talking about the system. The monitor is on another 700VA UPS (and it will be the same setup once I upgrade my PC).

Thrax that's the website I used to calculate the needed power and it says that a (Skylake I5 3.2GHZ CPU + 2x8GB DDR4 RAM + GTX 970 + 1 SSD and 1 Sata HDD + some other stuff like an optical drive, a USB 3.0 device and 6x120cm fans) would not even need more than a 412W PSU and 700VA UPS for a 16 hours/day utilization.
Like I said, the monitor will be on a separate UPS and I will only have a single VGA card in the new system when I upgrade it.
Yaraytek you're all settled. Pretty sure you can squeeze in a kaby lake or a 6600K/or a 980 if it need be. Good choice for a single GPU system!
I say wait for Polaris, that's what I'm going to do, you'll save a lot on power compared to CF R9 390X and you should expect better performance for less than the 390X, think Fury/Fury X performance for a $300 card that only uses 150W.

PS: if you want to go all out, Polaris isn't for you, Polaris targets the mid-range, while Vega (which will be released in Q1-Q2 2017) is what will bring HBM2 and high-end 4th gen GCN cards to the market. Alternatively, you can go with the best Polaris card and upgrade when Navi comes out in early 2018.