PC Peripherals APC UPS or Inverter?

L

lounge

Disciple
apc guy says that their inverter shall also suffice my needs to run a complete rig i.e. amd x2 5000, 2 sata hdd 7200 rpm, 20" view sonic also another P4 - that is the server but without monitor..

also, it shall run a fan n tube light and can give a backup for around 1 hour the apc guy said...

All this with a 800VA inverter costing 12k with apc battery..

but this inverter is not "sine wave".. and other companies like luminous or su cam are providing with sine wave technology..

so, i just want to have an opinion about my options for either APC inverters of any other company's sine wave inverters.. for my computer rig..

i need 1 hours backup atleast and the cost for other company's like luminous etc inverters shall be approx same i.e. 12k + ..

so the question is - should it be apc inverter for 12k or luminous/su-kam inverter for same price but with sine wave technology..???

or if inverter is a big no no acc to u guys, n i should stick to UPS???

:)
 
I actually got a 500 VA APC ups for my rig and guess what - When I turn on my rig, my monitor won't show a thing as long as it is plugged into the UPS. Technically, I'm running the most expensive rig i've ever possessed without a UPS!
 
yeah.. i am also inclining towards sukam.. cos apc inverter does not support sine wave.. just worried if this sukam inverter of 800va re-starts my pc at the time when electricity goes away.. thats crucial..
 
if you are thinking of backup for a PC then inverter is of no use because switch-over however fast will make PC reboot again.

You need an UPS for PC.

For PC related UPS, APC is good.
 
^ Nowadays most inverters dont have that problem of switchover time. Most of them are built to handle computers well.

But even im searching for a good answer if an inverter is good enough for a PC. Some say modern power supplies dont have much of any problems handling inverters. Ive heard this even from a PSU company guy, but most places on the net suggest to have a UPS for PC rather than an inverter.
 
What I'm worried about is whether an inverter provides any voltage regulation at the output when not operating on the battery backup ??

AFAIK there is no voltage regulation at the output while not using batteries...
 
so, i purchased su-kam inverter - 800va sine wave with a 21 plate battery.. cost me 13k with a trolley.. its taking back up without re-starting my 2 cpu units and one lcd 20" monitor with one tube light and 2 hub switches on..

so far its not re-starting the pc.. lets see.. also, regarding voltage supply, these ppl say that sine wave essentially is such technology that it only fluctuates + - 2%.. whereas other invertors (non-sine wave) have square waves and quasi square waves.. so they can fluctuate + - 20%.. so this is the difference..

i have a cooler master 480 watt PSU.. i think, whatever may happen my pc shall be safe with such a robust psu..

i get 3+ hours backup with this inverter which is just for my Computer room.. in summers i shall even run a fan on it..

so far so good.. will update here if i face some problem..

if this goes fine, you guys can even plunge into inverters rather than UPS..
 
The sine wave is only for motors i was told as its gentler on them and other consumer electronics.

Your PSU otoh can handle square wave just fine.

So i think you only go in for an inverter if you *may* want to power more than just your PC. Otherwise a 1kVA APC UPS+external battery will give you comparable backup time for cheaper that you have paid.

1kVA is the minimum required model that allows an additional battery to be hooked up to it
 
blr_p said:
The sine wave is only for motors i was told as its gentler on them and other consumer electronics.

Your PSU otoh can handle square wave just fine.

So i think you only go in for an inverter if you *may* want to power more than just your PC. Otherwise a 1kVA APC UPS+external battery will give you comparable backup time for cheaper that you have paid.

1kVA is the minimum required model that allows an additional battery to be hooked up to it
Click to expand...

I have seen non APC UPSs less than 1KVA even years back, to which external tubular battery could be added for long back up time.
 
oh i see.. but the apc guy never mentioned about an option which shall be less than 10k for my purpose n that too without battery.. also, he only proposed for 1 hour backup and this inverter can support for more than 2 hours anytime..

but as i was told by the apc technical support person, i could not get any apc ups for less than 16k which would suffice my requirements as i mentioned to him..

i have doubts now that i was given proper info from apc... ???
 
lounge said:
apc guy says that their inverter shall also suffice my needs to run a complete rig i.e. amd x2 5000, 2 sata hdd 7200 rpm, 20" view sonic also another P4 - that is the server but without monitor..
Click to expand...
i think a 1kVa APC BACK-UPS plus APC external battery will give you at least 2hrs. But then no fan or light, just PC.

I have seen non APC UPSs less than 1KVA even years back, to which external tubular battery could be added for long back up time.
Click to expand...
I was only looking at the Back-ups line and i don't think i saw in the docs anything less than 1kVA that allowed for an external battery. The 800kva did not at the time i bought mine a cpl yrs back.
 
i myself bot a an APC BI1000i inverter for the price of 20k.

well it can handle a My PC, Television, 2 fans, 2 tubelights + My LOGITECH Z5300 speakers straigt for 4.30 hrs
 
wow... BI1000i looks good.. that too with 4.4hrs backup.. great..

but its been 3 days since i purchased my su-kam sine wave inverter.. n it is totally taking up my 2 cpu units, one 20" lcd, one tube light and a lamp, 2 hub switches..

so, far no issue.. and electricity went out for 3 hours in a gap of one hour charging time.. so far so good it is..

lets see, what it does when i use it with the fan on for about an hour.. cos its winters i didn't try with fan..

and once again i purchased it for 12.5k, exchanging my old inverter (crap) for 500 bucks.. i compromised when it comes to APC, but not really disappointed so far..

just want to give it test of time and will post back here if i face some problem.. :)

but it should be fine i guess..
 
one thing - this inverter "su-kam" sine wave has a fan in it.. this fan makes noise (sometimes quite annoying) when it charges and when the light goes away..

Especially in winters, when its normally quite due to no fans, coolers & ACs.. so this should be kept in mind if some of you go for such option..

i have kept my Inverter at such a place that it doesn't bother me, but my brother :D
 
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