APC UPS unhappy?

Arbiter Odie · 05-02-12, 12:03 AM

I was running prime 95 to make sure my current overclock was stable. The computer has been acting strangely for the past few days, so I figured it was time to double check. Everything was fine for the first ten minutes.

Then, while I was web-browsing (with prime95 still going), my UPS (an APC ES 550) clicked twice, my computer and screens lost power, and the UPS started beeping over and over again. I turned it off, re-arranged the plugs, and turned the computer back on. It's still alive, thankfully.

So, I guess the question it, what happened? And how do I keep it from happening again in the future? My computer specs are listed in my signature, and are mostly up to date.

Thank you,
Arbiter Odie

Diggrr · 05-02-12, 10:46 AM

You're running your entire OC'd computer and monitors through a 330 watt UPS?

Arbiter Odie · 05-02-12, 02:10 PM

Apparently. Am I overdrawing it? Should I get a larger one?

Diggrr · 05-02-12, 03:57 PM

Yep.
You need to find an online wattage calculator that you can plug in your hardware and get a wattage (high) number from. A PSU calculator will do.
Add that number to the monitor's wattage total, add 15-20% for headroom/longevity, and then go shopping with that new number in mind.

I don't know of any calculators personally, but if your computer itself is running good off the 550W Kingwin, you could wing it with that as your computer wattage, then add monitors.

Effectively what you're doing is expecting the APC's circuitry to pass 600+ watts through it's circuits designed for 330 watts.
Surprised it hasn't failed altogether actually. Be glad that they too plan for headroom!

Arbiter Odie · 05-02-12, 04:42 PM

Wow. Thank you for warning me! I think I'll find a good surge protector/power strip for the time being (I can't afford a bigger UPS). Do I need to worry about wattage on those too?

For instance,
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16812106085

It appears to handle 15 amps output at 120 volts. Therefore, it would have no problem handling my computer, correct?

Additionally, can I temporarily solve the problem by moving my power cables over to the surge protected only side? Are those affected by the 330 watt maximum draw limit? Or are they safe to use?

thideras · 05-02-12, 04:56 PM

15 amps at 120v is 1800 watts.

The 330 watt limit of the UPS should be through the battery protected outputs only, so moving it over to the surge protector side should alleviate the problem.

RollingThunder · 05-02-12, 04:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Arbiter Odie

Wow. Thank you for warning me! I think I'll find a good surge protector/power strip for the time being (I can't afford a bigger UPS). Do I need to worry about wattage on those too?

For instance,
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16812106085

It appears to handle 15 amps output at 120 volts. Therefore, it would have no problem handling my computer, correct?

Additionally, can I temporarily solve the problem by moving my power cables over to the surge protected only side? Are those affected by the 330 watt maximum draw limit? Or are they safe to use?

You can omit your monitor from the battery backup side and put it only on the surge side. If you happen to have a printer plugged in there, remove that too to the surge side

Diggr's correct, running Prime and surfing with an overclocked system is taking your UPS over it's 330W backup limit or too close to it.

FYI, this rig is using the same UPS you have and my other one is an APC 650. I know, I should reverse them but when I'm checking overclocks with Orthos / Prime95, I unplug what's not needed on the battery backup side (monitor) and I'm fine.

Arbiter Odie · 05-02-12, 05:07 PM

You guys are awesome.

@Rolling Thunder: I don't have anything but the computer and two monitors attached to the battery backup side. I'll move the monitors and see if that helps.

@Thideras: Done, plugs relocated.

Thank you everybody!

05-02-12, 12:03 AM	Thread Starter #1
Arbiter Odie Member Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: Heading straight for Tau Ceti	APC UPS unhappy? I was running prime 95 to make sure my current overclock was stable. The computer has been acting strangely for the past few days, so I figured it was time to double check. Everything was fine for the first ten minutes. Then, while I was web-browsing (with prime95 still going), my UPS (an APC ES 550) clicked twice, my computer and screens lost power, and the UPS started beeping over and over again. I turned it off, re-arranged the plugs, and turned the computer back on. It's still alive, thankfully. So, I guess the question it, what happened? And how do I keep it from happening again in the future? My computer specs are listed in my signature, and are mostly up to date. Thank you, Arbiter Odie __________________ Motherboard: Sabertooth 990FX CPU: FX-8120 @ 4.6 Ghz at 1.38 volts RAM: 8GB (1600Mhz Cas 9) Ripjaws Graphics Cards: GT 430 (overclocked) Hard Drive: Vertex 4, Vertex 2, Mushkin Callisto Deluxe Power Supply: Kingwin Lazer Platinum 550 Watt Case: Antec Three Hundred Illusion
	QUOTE Thanks

05-02-12, 10:46 AM	#2
Diggrr Underwater Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Gun Lake, MI. USA	You're running your entire OC'd computer and monitors through a 330 watt UPS? __________________ Rig1: C2D E8400 @3510 Ф Asus P5G41T-M-LX Plus mobo Ф 8 Gigs Ballistix DDR3 1333 Ф Asus GT520 Silent Ф 4 Deep Cool 92mm case fans Ф FSP 1U 460 Watt PSU External Watercooling: 40' Copper Coil Geothermal ground loop Ф Cooling modded MCP350 & MCP355 W/Swiftech white dual pump top Ф D-Tek Fuzion V2, 1/4" Rig2: Via Esther C7 1.5 @ 1.65 Ф Jetway 7F2WE1G5D mITX mobo Ф 1 Gig Generic Ram (max) Ф 120 watt Pico PSU. Life's Tragedy is that we get old too soon and wise too late. ~ Benjamin Franklin
	QUOTE Thanks

05-02-12, 02:10 PM	Thread Starter #3
Arbiter Odie Member Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: Heading straight for Tau Ceti	Apparently. Am I overdrawing it? Should I get a larger one? __________________ Motherboard: Sabertooth 990FX CPU: FX-8120 @ 4.6 Ghz at 1.38 volts RAM: 8GB (1600Mhz Cas 9) Ripjaws Graphics Cards: GT 430 (overclocked) Hard Drive: Vertex 4, Vertex 2, Mushkin Callisto Deluxe Power Supply: Kingwin Lazer Platinum 550 Watt Case: Antec Three Hundred Illusion
	QUOTE Thanks

05-02-12, 03:57 PM	#4
Diggrr Underwater Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Gun Lake, MI. USA	Yep. You need to find an online wattage calculator that you can plug in your hardware and get a wattage (high) number from. A PSU calculator will do. Add that number to the monitor's wattage total, add 15-20% for headroom/longevity, and then go shopping with that new number in mind. I don't know of any calculators personally, but if your computer itself is running good off the 550W Kingwin, you could wing it with that as your computer wattage, then add monitors. Effectively what you're doing is expecting the APC's circuitry to pass 600+ watts through it's circuits designed for 330 watts. Surprised it hasn't failed altogether actually. Be glad that they too plan for headroom! __________________ Rig1: C2D E8400 @3510 Ф Asus P5G41T-M-LX Plus mobo Ф 8 Gigs Ballistix DDR3 1333 Ф Asus GT520 Silent Ф 4 Deep Cool 92mm case fans Ф FSP 1U 460 Watt PSU External Watercooling: 40' Copper Coil Geothermal ground loop Ф Cooling modded MCP350 & MCP355 W/Swiftech white dual pump top Ф D-Tek Fuzion V2, 1/4" Rig2: Via Esther C7 1.5 @ 1.65 Ф Jetway 7F2WE1G5D mITX mobo Ф 1 Gig Generic Ram (max) Ф 120 watt Pico PSU. Life's Tragedy is that we get old too soon and wise too late. ~ Benjamin Franklin
	QUOTE Thanks

05-02-12, 04:42 PM	Thread Starter #5
Arbiter Odie Member Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: Heading straight for Tau Ceti	Wow. Thank you for warning me! I think I'll find a good surge protector/power strip for the time being (I can't afford a bigger UPS). Do I need to worry about wattage on those too? For instance, http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16812106085 It appears to handle 15 amps output at 120 volts. Therefore, it would have no problem handling my computer, correct? Additionally, can I temporarily solve the problem by moving my power cables over to the surge protected only side? Are those affected by the 330 watt maximum draw limit? Or are they safe to use? __________________ Motherboard: Sabertooth 990FX CPU: FX-8120 @ 4.6 Ghz at 1.38 volts RAM: 8GB (1600Mhz Cas 9) Ripjaws Graphics Cards: GT 430 (overclocked) Hard Drive: Vertex 4, Vertex 2, Mushkin Callisto Deluxe Power Supply: Kingwin Lazer Platinum 550 Watt Case: Antec Three Hundred Illusion
	QUOTE Thanks

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05-02-12, 04:56 PM	#6
thideras Banned Neckbeard Moderator Premium Member #3 Join Date: May 2006 Location: South Dakota	15 amps at 120v is 1800 watts. The 330 watt limit of the UPS should be through the battery protected outputs only, so moving it over to the surge protector side should alleviate the problem. __________________ Desktop: Gigabyte Z77X-UD5H \| 3570k 4.6 GHz \| 32 GB GSkill Ares \| GTX 570 \| 180 GB Intel & 2 TB total \| Arch Linux and Windows 7 Main server: 37 TB raw disk \| 2x Opteron 6134 \| Asus KGPE-D16 \| 48 GB RAM \| LSI 8708EM2 \| CentOS 6.2 VM Server 1: Dell R510 \| 2x E5645 \| 128 GB RAM \| 4x 300 GB Velociraptor \| Xen Cloud Platform (XCP) VM Server 2: Dell R710 \| 2x E5645 \| 288 GB RAM \| 8x 300 GB Velociraptor \| Xen Cloud Platform (XCP) "That's not overkill, or a lot. That's just thiderastic." -txus.palacios Current projects: Rackmount Overkill (New) \| 30/45 hard drive server Articles: Rack Mounting 101 \| Dell Perc 5/i Throughput Benchmarks Past projects: Software RAID \| The Dragon Case My Website *Want to talk directly to all* the moderators at once? Call the Mod Hotline!**
	QUOTE Thanks

05-02-12, 05:07 PM	Thread Starter #8
Arbiter Odie Member Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: Heading straight for Tau Ceti	You guys are awesome. @Rolling Thunder: I don't have anything but the computer and two monitors attached to the battery backup side. I'll move the monitors and see if that helps. @Thideras: Done, plugs relocated. Thank you everybody! __________________ Motherboard: Sabertooth 990FX CPU: FX-8120 @ 4.6 Ghz at 1.38 volts RAM: 8GB (1600Mhz Cas 9) Ripjaws Graphics Cards: GT 430 (overclocked) Hard Drive: Vertex 4, Vertex 2, Mushkin Callisto Deluxe Power Supply: Kingwin Lazer Platinum 550 Watt Case: Antec Three Hundred Illusion
	QUOTE Thanks

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