Moving from a Laptop to a Workstarion ....... Does one need a UPS

The lights flickered last night again, this can happen say once a month.
And I suddenly thought....... i havent budgeted for a UPS.

As the server has a 925 watt power supply does that mean I need a a UPS with more than 900 watts?

Do most people bother about this?

I know at my last office the techies had a UPS for say when they were updating the BiOS or loading software.

Are Workstarions like Cameras i.e. if you are loading the operating system and you get a blip in the mains power can it "brick" the work station? Or damage components in the Workstation (I do use surge protectors on all sensitive kit) is that enough protection.? On its own.

Note all discs will be SSDs - so no spinning HHDs ( except the Western digital USB back up drives.)

If UPSs are needed ?
I saw this one (about the only price range I can afford) :-
CyberPower VALUE 2200EILCD Value Series Uninteruptible Power Supply, 1320W/2200VA
by Cyberpower
26 customer reviews

http://www.amazon.co.u​k …ible-Supply/dp/B00BUJCGZC

Are they any good?
And Does one have to check the type of UPS - technology is OK for the Workstation type? or are they all the same?

Better UPS units have sine wave converters and are more efficient, so will last longer when you're running on battery power for the same sized cells.

Strictly speaking a UPS isn't really needed, but they are a good thing to go with if you can find the room in the budget. Modern hardware is rather robust and fairly hard to actually brick stuff. It isn't ideal to have stuff just flick off randomly, but it is far more likely to just cause headaches and make you have to dig into things to check settings or even just reinstall software.

Personally I will always budget a UPS for all my workstations and primary networking gear. Where I live the power supply isn't the greatest, and prone to random minor blips. My UPS pops on once or twice every day for a second as the voltage drops down, (We draw power from off island during peak hours, and then drop back to mainly local supply in the evenings, and the change over causes a blip) but it usually isn't a big enough of a blip to cause the system to turn off unless you're REALLY pushing the system's power supply to its limit.

However, if you're using your computer to work on some project, then do you really want to have it randomly turn off before you've saved if something does go wrong with your mains power?

Luckless wrote in post #17628379
Better UPS units have sine wave converters and are more efficient, so will last longer when you're running on battery power for the same sized cells.

Strictly speaking a UPS isn't really needed, but they are a good thing to go with if you can find the room in the budget. Modern hardware is rather robust and fairly hard to actually brick stuff. It isn't ideal to have stuff just flick off randomly, but it is far more likely to just cause headaches and make you have to dig into things to check settings or even just reinstall software.

Personally I will always budget a UPS for all my workstations and primary networking gear. Where I live the power supply isn't the greatest, and prone to random minor blips. My UPS pops on once or twice every day for a second as the voltage drops down, (We draw power from off island during peak hours, and then drop back to mainly local supply in the evenings, and the change over causes a blip) but it usually isn't a big enough of a blip to cause the system to turn off unless you're REALLY pushing the system's power supply to its limit.

However, if you're using your computer to work on some project, then do you really want to have it randomly turn off before you've saved if something does go wrong with your mains power?

Thanks
It does make sense.
Our power supply seems to go in phases of being perfect and then we can have a spate of tiny glitches, sometimes up to 4 a day and then months of clear spells. But enough to trip some folks alarm systems ( guess their back up battery is dead ) . So hence my concern. Thanks on the tip about the type of UPS.

Submariner wrote in post #17628326
As the server has a 925 watt power supply does that mean I need a a UPS with more than 900 watts?

i'm no electrician but this sounds WAY off to me.

even if the power supply is 925 watts, it might not pull nearly that much. Do you have all the drive bays filled? how about expansion cards?

you've said the main drives are SSD, they pull less power.

Are your spinning back ups internal? I generally attach back ups to back up and then let them sit until the next time.

seems like i was buying in the 400 range when i was working with a tower.

In the country i am living UPS is not an option, we got brownout many time per month.
Now for the power of your future UPS ...
Mine let me around 10-15mn of time to quickly finish what i am doing and close properly the computer if the gen-set don't start.
Having a UPS is more than a mind peace, it truly put away any surge, drop, whatever electrical problem
and no need to buy an expensive one, just buy one which will let you the time to shut down your system properly in case of

I'm on my 2nd CyberPower which cost about $40.00 It's kicked in enough times that I wouldn't be without it.

The wattage on the UPS doesn't need to match the wattage on the computer's power supply. The power supply's wattage is the maximum it can provide, which is likely far more than you'll actually use. I have a slightly older US version of the one linked below (mine's only 1000VA though), and its monitoring software shows I'm currently drawing about 150w. That's for a 2nd generation i7, 16 GB RAM, 3 SSDs, and a GeForce GTX560 video card driving two 2560x1440 27" LED-backlit screens. The monitors are powered by the UPS too. It estimates 19 minutes of run time. When I do something processor intensive, like rendering previews in Lightroom, the load can hit 300w.

The UPS is only there to ride out small power blips and provide enough power to do an orderly shutdown of your files and operating system so you don't need very much runtime. Computers don't get outright killed too often from a power cut, but certain operations like write caching are quite vulnerable to any power interruption.

I buy and recommend pure sine wave UPSs today as many (most?) modern power supplies are active PFC and will choke on the stepped sine wave produced by older and cheaper UPSs. Also, at least on the US version, the battery itself is replaceable. Its a 12v sealed lead acid battery that runs about $35 so its much cheaper than replacing the whole UPS. Batteries usually last about 3-5 years at most.

http://www.amazon.co.u​k …ve-Sockets/dp/B00BUJBDLK/

Reservoir Dog wrote in post #17628451
In the country i am living UPS is not an option, we got brownout many time per month.
Now for the power of your future UPS ...
Mine let me around 10-15mn of time to quickly finish what i am doing and close properly the computer if the gen-set don't start.
Having a UPS is more than a mind peace, it truly put away any surge, drop, whatever electrical problem
and no need to buy an expensive one, just buy one which will let you the time to shut down your system properly in case of

Thanks fornthe reply

PhotosGuy wrote in post #17628499
I'm on my 2nd CyberPower which cost about $40.00 It's kicked in enough times that I wouldn't be without it.

Thanks fornthe reply

Left Handed Brisket wrote in post #17628441
i'm no electrician but this sounds WAY off to me.

even if the power supply is 925 watts, it might not pull nearly that much. Do you have all the drive bays filled? how about expansion cards?

you've said the main drives are SSD, they pull less power.

Are your spinning back ups internal? I generally attach back ups to back up and then let them sit until the next time.

seems like i was buying in the 400 range when i was working with a tower.

Thanks,
So its not the power supply I need to cater for but the load.
My Estimated load is roughly as follows (does this sound right ) :-
CPU Intel Xeon E5 1650 ver 3 TDP? = 140 watts
GPU Nvidia Quadro 2200 = 60 watts
HP 256 GB SSD = 25 watts
Intel 400 GB PCI e 750 SSD = 25 watts
Samsung EVO 850 500 GB = 5 watts
4 internal Fans ?? = 25 watts?
Western Digital Elements USB 3.0 HDD when backing up to external drives x 2 = 200 watts
24" UHD Monitor 90 watts
Say 570 watts does that sound about right?
X 120% for safety and expansion = 685 watts . 600 to 700 watts would do?

that sounds much more in line with what i would expect.

i'm still having a hard time believing the draw for the spinning hard drives and fans, which are not very relevant anyway. Are you going to have the HDs in a raid set up, or are they just two independent enclosures? I would expect ~50 watts each.

take your 570 down to 450 which is what I would expect. BUT, you might want a little more leeway in your "safety and expansion" factor, 1.4 to 1.5

Again, I'm not an electrician, but having a PSU that is double expected draw seems over kill. Are you building this thing or is it mostly off the shelf?

i did a quick look for back up on my thoughts about the HD watts ... didn't come up with anything specific, but found this: http://extreme.outervi​sion.com/psucalculator​lite.jsp

here's another long read, but with a good link for taking a close look at power consumption: http://www.howtogeek.c​om …backup-for-your-computer/

I run all workstations for "desktops", my normal one has dual, hexacore Xeons with 128GB of RAM and (10) 15K SAS 1TB disks in a RAID6 for data. The boot disks are 2 sets of 2x 512GB Intel SSDs on SATA. There are also 3 Plextor BD burners, a quad port Intel NIC, and 2 Quadro K5000s. There are also 3x 24" LED monitors, 2 large routers, and a 24-port layer 3 switch. This is my home desktop.

The box has a 1.2KW power supply and uses around 700-825W average. I don't really "need" a UPS, but would never run any kind of system in today's power grid without one. I have a 2U 3KW APC on the line. The rule is usually to take your average consumption and get a UPS with 150-200% of the rating. If you are using around 700w, a minimum of 1500VA would be ideal (if you plan on having any usage time during an outage) or 1000VA (which will give you enough time to save, shutdown, and power off). Remember that the VA rating on the UPS isn't the same as the wattage of a power supply.

However, the more important part is to not get a cheap standby only unit. Today's power supplies are more sensitive, so a pure-sine would be better. Even more important is to get a unit that has buck/boost. The power grid routinely fluctuates just enough that it'll trigger a UPS, but not enough to really affect a good power supply. A B/B UPS will boost or attenuate the voltage to within range WITHOUT using the battery - a standby power supply will kick over to battery when out of range. Those short (few seconds) usages of the battery will considerably shorten the life of the battery in the UPS.

Get one of these to see how much power you're really using. Those numbers quotes look more like peak usage, not typical.

http://www.amazon.co.u​k …ower-Meter/dp/B003ELLGDC/

Left Handed Brisket wrote in post #17628734
that sounds much more in line with what i would expect.

i'm still having a hard time believing the draw for the spinning hard drives and fans, which are not very relevant anyway. Are you going to have the HDs in a raid set up, or are they just two independent enclosures? I would expect ~50 watts each.

take your 570 down to 450 which is what I would expect. BUT, you might want a little more leeway in your "safety and expansion" factor, 1.4 to 1.5

Again, I'm not an electrician, but having a PSU that is double expected draw seems over kill. Are you building this thing or is it mostly off the shelf?

i did a quick look for back up on my thoughts about the HD watts ... didn't come up with anything specific, but found this: http://extreme.outervi​sion.com/psucalculator​lite.jsp

here's another long read, but with a good link for taking a close look at power consumption: http://www.howtogeek.c​om …backup-for-your-computer/

Hi
Thanks for your help.
The Elements hard discs are just USB 3.0 2 TB HD SAta enclosures - just a total guess as I cantt find any specs for them I would agree 50 watts each might be more accurate.
My work flow is do the shoott . On return I copy to the Intel SSD and back up to the Samsung. And then attach the USB drives copy to each and then put them back in a fireproof safe. Edit what I want . And copy tomthe usb drives again, then put them away.
Generally I keep the shoot including edited photos on the SSDs until I am sure the model / client doesnt want any more edited. Then delete them off the SSDs.
I'm read those links tonight. Thanks.

docholliday_sc001 wrote in post #17628796
I run all workstations for "desktops", my normal one has dual, hexacore Xeons with 128GB of RAM and (10) 15K SAS 1TB disks in a RAID6 for data. The boot disks are 2 sets of 2x 512GB Intel SSDs on SATA. There are also 3 Plextor BD burners, a quad port Intel NIC, and 2 Quadro K5000s. There are also 3x 24" LED monitors, 2 large routers, and a 24-port layer 3 switch. This is my home desktop.

The box has a 1.2KW power supply and uses around 700-825W average. I don't really "need" a UPS, but would never run any kind of system in today's power grid without one. I have a 2U 3KW APC on the line. The rule is usually to take your average consumption and get a UPS with 150-200% of the rating. If you are using around 700w, a minimum of 1500VA would be ideal (if you plan on having any usage time during an outage) or 1000VA (which will give you enough time to save, shutdown, and power off). Remember that the VA rating on the UPS isn't the same as the wattage of a power supply.

However, the more important part is to not get a cheap standby only unit. Today's power supplies are more sensitive, so a pure-sine would be better. Even more important is to get a unit that has buck/boost. The power grid routinely fluctuates just enough that it'll trigger a UPS, but not enough to really affect a good power supply. A B/B UPS will boost or attenuate the voltage to within range WITHOUT using the battery - a standby power supply will kick over to battery when out of range. Those short (few seconds) usages of the battery will considerably shorten the life of the battery in the UPS.

Thanks for the detsil appreciated.
How do I know it has buck boost.?
I was looking at the Cyberpower Pure Sine .
Or if my draw is low enough an APC but they are pretty expensive.