Safeguard PC from voltage fluctuations

[chayarishav]

Hi all
I'm experiencing voltage fluctuations in my building from past couple weeks, hence would like your kind suggestions on how to safeguard PC (1000watt PSU) from voltage fluctuations.
Is there any voltage stabilizer for PC?
Not necessarily looking to buy UPS but if it's the last resort then we might consider that.

 

[himalayan]

You don't use a UPS currently?
UPS acts as a voltage stabilizer and as an intermediate backup, so why go for a stabilizer seperately?

 

[Psycharge]

You don't use a UPS currently?
UPS acts as a voltage stabilizer and as an intermediate backup, so why go for a stabilizer seperately?

Any good recommendations? Don't need a whole lot of power but more would be good to have. Which ones offer the best value for money? Is it worth getting higher capacity or should I just cheap out and get something that allows me to save my work before it shuts down?

 

[Jaspreetrattan]

APC / Eaton Is good as per my experience

 

[chayarishav]

You don't use a UPS currently?
UPS acts as a voltage stabilizer and as an intermediate backup, so why go for a stabilizer seperately?

I've bought and setup a microtek UPS + battery when I build the PC but discarded it later as it was making constant buzz noise during operation which was bothering at night as it was placed right under the desk and there were no power cut issues.
Since power cut isn't an issue here, I'm inclining towards a stabilizer first so there wouldn't be any bothering static noise. Moreover, I've looked into few APC UPS in 5k inr segment but again read reviews that noise still gonna be there.
So, my first preference currently is a stabilizer then UPS if no good choices are there in stabiliser.

APC / Eaton Is good as per my experience

Do they make any kinda buzz or humming noise during operation?

 

[himalayan]

Any good recommendations? Don't need a whole lot of power but more would be good to have. Which ones offer the best value for money? Is it worth getting higher capacity or should I just cheap out and get something that allows me to save my work before it shuts down?

APC seems to be the most reliable brand. I currently use the normal branded (intex) ones as i have generator backup. Choose capacity according to your usage, if you have the budget get a higher capacity ups.

 

[Jaspreetrattan]

Do they make any kinda buzz or humming noise during operation?

yes , apc does as it has fan inside. not sure about eaton

 

[lockhrt999]

Why not get a stabilizer which is used for 1.5 ton AC?

I've bought and setup a microtek UPS + battery when I build the PC but discarded it later as it was making constant buzz noise during operation which was bothering at night as it was placed right under the desk and there were no power cut issues.

All big UPS have fans for active cooling. Those tiny fans are whiny. Make sure you have given it enough room to dissipate warm air.

I have APC UPS which is similarly noisy. Bright german engineers didn't put any vents in this UPS. So I drilled some. It still made noise sometimes, so I stuck a Q-tip in the fan.

If you are going to discard your UPS anyway then there's no harm trying these tricks. Stabilizer is okay for some appliances but it doesn't really filter noise in the power supply like how UPS does.

 

[chayarishav]

Why not get a stabilizer which is used for 1.5 ton AC?

I have a 1.5 ton AC stabiliser lying spare, are you sure I can use it for PC? It's V GUARD VN400 with a capacity of 12A.

For 1000w psu I'm seeing APC UPS starting from 15k inr that too with a max capacity of 900watt. Suppose if I shell 15k on it, would it be enough for 1000w psu? I'd try to place it outside the room and pull wire but really don't wanna do all these unless it's the last option.

 

[himalayan]

If you have a spare AC stabilizer lying around, you can definitely use it for your PC.

 

[abmr2d2]

I have a 1.5 ton AC stabiliser lying spare, are you sure I can use it for PC? It's V GUARD VN400 with a capacity of 12A.

For 1000w psu I'm seeing APC UPS starting from 15k inr that too with a max capacity of 900watt. Suppose if I shell 15k on it, would it be enough for 1000w psu? I'd try to place it outside the room and pull wire but really don't wanna do all these unless it's the last option.

Do remember that if you use the V-Guard VN400 it will cutoff the power to the pc if the voltage goes above or below the High/low cutoff voltages of the VN400 and the PC will be shutdown abruptly.

 

[chayarishav]

Do remember that if you use the V-Guard VN400 it will cutoff the power to the pc if the voltage goes above or below the High/low cutoff voltages of the VN400 and the PC will be shutdown abruptly.

I think below 160 & above 280 are extremes. We're not facing such fluctuations.

 

[lockhrt999]

I have a 1.5 ton AC stabiliser lying spare, are you sure I can use it for PC? It's V GUARD VN400 with a capacity of 12A.

You could but do keep in mind what @abmr2d2 said. If your system isn't under full load, it may (by chance) survive the tripping.

For 1000w psu I'm seeing APC UPS starting from 15k inr that too with a max capacity of 900watt. Suppose if I shell 15k on it, would it be enough for 1000w psu? I'd try to place it outside the room and pull wire but really don't wanna do all these unless it's the last option.

900W capacity UPS won't do. UPS create their own power grid for the connected devices. If it says it's 900W, then you can't exceed that. At this price point, I'd seriously look at home UPS instead of PC UPS.

 

[Psycharge]

For 1000w psu I'm seeing APC UPS starting from 15k inr that too with a max capacity of 900watt. Suppose if I shell 15k on it, would it be enough for 1000w psu? I'd try to place it outside the room and pull wire but really don't wanna do all these unless it's the last option.

I mean are you sure your PC can pull 1000W from the wall? Having a 1000W PSU doesn't exactly mean you need a 1000W PSU, even if you have a 4090 and are fully loading a 13900K, the UPS is going to be out of juice really quickly at 1000W draw.

 

[abmr2d2]

As @lockhrt999 suggested a Home inverter (pure sine wave) solution looks more suitable. Most Home inverters have a UPS mode where the switchover time is very little less typically < 5ms and the over voltage and under voltage range is also narrow so that in case of a power cut/power fluctuation scenario the appliance (in this case your PC) is not affected and clean continuous power is supplied.
Have a look at this article:
https://www.payperwatt.com/post/can-a-home-inverter-be-used-as-ups-for-the-computer

 

[n1r0]

Is there any voltage stabilizer for PC?

Your PSU should be able to work across a wide input voltage range. As you have not mentioned any adverse effects since the fluctuations began, I'm gonna go ahead and say you don't really need a voltage stabilizer as such. Eg spec sheet, compare your own:

UPS acts as a voltage stabilizer...

I've never seen a UPS with that feature in the specs, care to provide a link?
My old APC would happily accept low voltage and keep going, but the new MicroTek disconnects from mains and switches to battery if the voltage ever drops.

If your PC is not switching off now, getting a stabilizer may actually be detrimental as it might cut power to PC if it senses the input to be outside it's designed safe window.

I've bought and setup a microtek UPS + battery when I build the PC but discarded it later as it was making constant buzz noise during operation which was bothering at night

I have the very same issue with MicroTek Twin Guard Pro+ UPS. The buzz is quite loud! @lockhrt999 this is not fan noise, it's just continuous normal operation noise. If it's disconnected from mains the noise goes away. APC was not doing this, so I assume MT cheaped out on components.


End of the day, get a UPS for safe shutdown during power cuts, and use spike busters for added protection from lightining strikes. And just because you have a 1000W PSU doesn't mean you need a 1000W output UPS. Even when gaming both your CPU and GPU won't be under full load and consuming max power. So if you can measure your actual usage, you can buy based on that instead of going overboard.

For reference, my 1000VA (600W output) UPS could support OC'd 3770k + 980Ti and 12400 + 3070 TI while gaming powered through a 850W PSU.

 

[lockhrt999]

I've never seen a UPS with that feature in the specs, care to provide a link?
My old APC would happily accept low voltage and keep going, but the new MicroTek disconnects from mains and switches to battery if the voltage ever drops.

UPS is always power your devices on the battery. It creates a separate power grid for your computer which isn't linked to govt power grid. And the new power grid doesn't have fluctuations of the govt power grid.

There's no switching between mains or battery inside a UPS. What you meant to say was, your microtek stops charging the batteries when the voltage is low.

 

[Ssreek]

I had a similar prob with voltage fluctuations in my area during rainy season.
I have been using a Microtek Twin Guard Pro+ UPS (1000VA) for 3 years. Whenever there are extreme fluctuations, it switches to battery mode (but that's rare), and it seems to usually handle the fluctuations on its own without needing an additional stabilizer.

Once during a heavy rainy day, I had to use my PC without UPS for a few hours, psu died. I took it to the service centre and they didn't investigate and just gave me a new psu. So whether psu died bcz of voltage or not is unknown.
For the remaining season, I used a Vguard stabilizer that was being used by the TV. I never faced any issues with that. After few months, stopped using stabilizer and used only UPS, still no issues. The UPS switches to battery mode when necessary, that's all.

My unit of Twin Guard Pro+ UPS is not noisy during normal operation. Only when it switches to battery mode, then the fan noise is audible well, but that's the case with most UPS devices and nothing irritating.

 

[n1r0]

There's no switching between mains or battery inside a UPS. What you meant to say was, your microtek stops charging the batteries when the voltage is low.

Right now the mains is on, UPS is on and PC is on.

If I switch off mains, I hear a relay clicking, and the UPS makes more humming sound than the normal annoying level.

As soon as I switch on mains, the relay clicks, and the UPS goes back to normal humming level.

I think what you are describing is an Online UPS which takes AC mains > rectifies to DC > Feeds to battery > inverted back to AC > fed to PSU.

Most of the cheaper UPSs are offline, which switch between [directly feeding mains to PSU + charging battery] and [inverting battery DC to AC only during power cut].

 

[lockhrt999]

I think what you are describing is an Online UPS which takes AC mains > rectifies to DC > Feeds to battery > inverted back to AC > fed to PSU.

Most of the cheaper UPSs are offline, which switch between [directly feeding mains to PSU + charging battery] and [inverting battery DC to AC only during power cut].

Yes. You are correct. I was describing online UPS behavior. I just checked that good UPS, which are not online type are usually line interactive. So they still have the stabilizer for the voltage fluctuations.