I want to purchase a UPS to protect my mid2010 27" corei7 iMac and a few other devices. So i need to know their watt usage, add them all up to know the total. How can i know for certain my iMacs watt usage? Where can i look for that information?
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my iMacs watt usage
- Thread starter zoran
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You will need to look at the system specifications of each product you want to plug in to determine a minimum wattage for the UPS.
this one is easy. just buy a 750 va unit. or a 1000va. thats more then enough for your iMac.
if you spend more $$ like 1500 va your just adding more room for more devices down the road and you will get
more run time. the bigger va capacity of your ups the longer the run time you get on batteries.
the ups selector says a g5 is 299 watts. and it says 750 va is the one you want. apple says the iMac is about 350 watts full power so that about right.
thats 350 watts on a load, like doing handbrake or doing cpu intensive stuff . if your iMac is just idling, it doesn't use all 350 watts
apc has a deal where when your batteries die, and they will, if you buy the first replacement set of batteries from them, they will add a free extended warranty to your ups. after that you can just keep
throwing more batteries at it until it dies. my smart ups is still going strong 10 years later, i just give it new batteries.
back ups = basic ups , with i think like a regular power button, lately these are all small power bar ones
back ups pro = some have better lights and a lcd screen, these are like towers
smart ups = the top of the line. it has pure sine wave output and a slot for accessories.
make sure you get one with free shipping or buy one locally. these things are very heavy\\
another thing to look for in a ups is AVR, they will regulate the voltage. some will boost power input.
like if you have a brown out, and your getting like 90 volts or 95 volts, some units can boost that up to 115 ac without having to use batteries
google says not to use backups / backups pro with motors , the stepped wave / sine wave approximation isn't as good as a pure sine wave., people also say the smart ups units will last longer.
the ups is a very big investment. what you are buying today will probably be the only ups you ever need for 12 years, so you don't want to skimp on it.
plan on spending $188 for a back ups pro 1000 to $300 for a smart ups 1500
1500 va = 900 watts = 2.46 imacs
if you spend more $$ like 1500 va your just adding more room for more devices down the road and you will get
more run time. the bigger va capacity of your ups the longer the run time you get on batteries.
the ups selector says a g5 is 299 watts. and it says 750 va is the one you want. apple says the iMac is about 350 watts full power so that about right.
thats 350 watts on a load, like doing handbrake or doing cpu intensive stuff . if your iMac is just idling, it doesn't use all 350 watts
apc has a deal where when your batteries die, and they will, if you buy the first replacement set of batteries from them, they will add a free extended warranty to your ups. after that you can just keep
throwing more batteries at it until it dies. my smart ups is still going strong 10 years later, i just give it new batteries.
back ups = basic ups , with i think like a regular power button, lately these are all small power bar ones
back ups pro = some have better lights and a lcd screen, these are like towers
smart ups = the top of the line. it has pure sine wave output and a slot for accessories.
make sure you get one with free shipping or buy one locally. these things are very heavy\\
another thing to look for in a ups is AVR, they will regulate the voltage. some will boost power input.
like if you have a brown out, and your getting like 90 volts or 95 volts, some units can boost that up to 115 ac without having to use batteries
google says not to use backups / backups pro with motors , the stepped wave / sine wave approximation isn't as good as a pure sine wave., people also say the smart ups units will last longer.
the ups is a very big investment. what you are buying today will probably be the only ups you ever need for 12 years, so you don't want to skimp on it.
plan on spending $188 for a back ups pro 1000 to $300 for a smart ups 1500
1500 va = 900 watts = 2.46 imacs
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the only other thing to mention would be that os x has built in support for most ups systems. so you probably won't need to install any software. unless you want to get technical and start a ups server to tell other computers and nas units to shutdown
if you told me you had a mac mini, i would of told you the same thing, start at 750 va for the run time, imagine what kind of computer need you may have in the future and get the maximum capacity you can afford now. because you have no idea what mac pro you will have in 10 years and you want your ups to be able to run whatever stuff you plan on buying in the future
That is a good thing since a lot of UPS systems don't have software support for Apple products.....
Even the CyberPower pure sine-wave unit I just purchased only has Windows version.
A lot of cool stuff with the software, but not a necessity.
My comment was based on Macrumor members in general, the amount of times I will ask a question and they will come back with such a statement is a very common occurrence. Thing is, I've searched Google, and all I could find was the link to the forum I created on Macrumors in the first place, informing me to look at Google.See the loop
Most of us depend on Google, but it is often a matter of the right question/keywords.My comment was based on Macrumor members in general, the amount of times I will ask a question and they will come back with such a statement is a very common occurrence. Thing is, I've searched Google, and all I could find was the link to the forum I created on Macrumors in the first place, informing me to look at Google.See the loop
Example: I was searching for a film by title; no results;
then I added the producer name to the title and the results came in.
Logic? Luck!
;JOOP!
Sizing a UPS is not simply just knowing how many watts your devices are using, but also deciding how long you need to have them powered on for. I have an APC BA1300 hooked up to my 27" iMac and some additional devices like a couple of external HardDrives, a router and my powered USB bar. Right now I am pulling 120w and have 43min runtime. I have in the past had unto a 3000va unit not because the systems pulled that much power, but I needed a machine that would stay up even for 5-6 hours in the case of a blackout.
My suggestion is buy as large a UPS as you can reasonably afford. They do last quite a bit. Expect to have to replace the battery after 5-6 years. You should test them to make sure they are still functioning as it's really the only way to know if your battery is dying. I found that after 4 years the battery starts to loose potential and will discharge faster thus giving you far less time than a new battery. It's sadly a cost of protection. it costs far less to maintain a battery and not fry your iMac due to bad power (under/over voltage and spikes).
My suggestion is buy as large a UPS as you can reasonably afford. They do last quite a bit. Expect to have to replace the battery after 5-6 years. You should test them to make sure they are still functioning as it's really the only way to know if your battery is dying. I found that after 4 years the battery starts to loose potential and will discharge faster thus giving you far less time than a new battery. It's sadly a cost of protection. it costs far less to maintain a battery and not fry your iMac due to bad power (under/over voltage and spikes).
Did you read the original post? Mid 2010 27"i7. The peak draw of that model is as I quoted.
the problem i have with mac rumors members, is sometimes ill say something that is common knowledge to me. and they will fire back at me and quote me on it and challenge whatever i said.
for example, ill tell people that the fastest way reset your smc controller is to shut down, and remove all the cables and hold down the power button for 5 seconds. and ill tell them that this drains the capacitors of any residual energy and clears all the contents of the smc controller.
and mac rumors members will quote me on this, and tell me how that is not the apple way!!! and your supposed to unplug all the cables and wait 45 seconds to do the very same thing.
i fired back and i told them about that episode of doctor quincy, were a kid was repairing a tv set, and he did it the apple way , and it killed a baby. heh. i was laughing
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For the OP: The maximum power requirement of your Mac should be easy to find, but keep in mind that the typical average power draw will be substantially less than that. The actual power draw in your usage will depend a lot on what you programs you are running. The power draw during sleep and hibernation will be small. The other big factor, as was pointed out by someone else, is how long you need to keep your system powered up before you manually initiate a normal shutdown. That will affect the size of the battery you need.
Another major decision is what elements of your system to put on the UPS. The iMac, attached USB powered devices and your Wi-Fi modem & router for sure. But try to keep the items on the UPS at a minimum to achieve a reasonably priced system and a sufficiently long operating period when on UPS power. Thinks like printers, scanners, lighting, TVs, misc. office equipment, etc. are typically not connected to the UPS.
I believe that some of the UPS vendor websites will have some tools that can help you size your system. Something between 750 and 1500 watts should be more than adequate for most home situations.
Another major decision is what elements of your system to put on the UPS. The iMac, attached USB powered devices and your Wi-Fi modem & router for sure. But try to keep the items on the UPS at a minimum to achieve a reasonably priced system and a sufficiently long operating period when on UPS power. Thinks like printers, scanners, lighting, TVs, misc. office equipment, etc. are typically not connected to the UPS.
I believe that some of the UPS vendor websites will have some tools that can help you size your system. Something between 750 and 1500 watts should be more than adequate for most home situations.