Question regarding UPSs. Planning on getting one for my server that will at least my rackmounted gaming PC as well as Linux/plex storage server.
Does the UPS need to be rated to provide power to that which is equal to the two power supplies max rating?
Ex: Gaming PC 1000watt PSU, server is 500watt. Do I need a UPS that can supply 1500watts?
Calculate the real power usage of each PC. Usually (and ideally) it will be less than the PSU on the PC. I doubt you are using 1000W on your gaming machine even when stressed for example (if you are then you need a bigger PSU). It will also depend on how long you want the PCs to be online in case of a power failure. Just enough to safely shut down? Several minutes (or maybe hours) to safeguard critical work?
You need to calculate load (What its actually pulling at the wall) then figure out how long you want it to run. Then take a look at the UPS that fits all of your needs.
Instead of calculating, you can also observe power consumption.
In my opinion anyone should have a kill-a-watt, or even better, a device that is capable collecting/sharing power consumption over time.
Look at Shelly Plug devices as an example, there are many inexpensive brands with similar functionality.
A device that simply plugs between a device and an outlet is useful to understand the power consumption of most devices in the home (e.g. fridge, range, lights, etc.).
Yes, it will also tell you exactly home much power your computers use: at peak and over time.
To future proof I would look for a UPS that is rated for the maximum power your outlet can supply - in the US that’s typically 1500VA/1500W.
Address wattage drawn, hopefully witnessing worse case draw(s), from each rig
Then also entertain how much holdover time, you wish to have it running for
Thanks everyone for the explanations and info!!
There is one additional factor to consider with a UPS. Just because a UPS is rated at 1500VA doesn’t mean it outputs 1500w, for example my CP1500PFCLCD is only rated for 1,000w output @ 2.5 minutes despite the 1500VA ratings. So look at the output rating, not the UPS capacity or VA rating.
Batteries are designed with a specific draw limit in mind, and if you overdraw a SLA batt it tends to bulge pretty quickly. I wasn’t really aware of this until I bought replacement batts locally for an APC UPS. The store had two kinds with the exact same specifications, the only difference was the sustained amp/hr output rating. The higher rated SLAs cost 50% more, so of course not knowing any better I bought the cheap ones. One power outage with my desktop fully loaded ended those SLAs after just a year.
Thanks for this! Yeah i got one that is 1500VA/1000watt (Cyberpower), but my system will draw way less than 1000 watts. I should be good ty!