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MP 1,1-5,1 Power Conditioner

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MrRedfield

macrumors member
Original poster
Jul 8, 2019
30
4
Random question. I recently moved into a new house that was built a long long time ago. (Zillow says 1900, but I don't know). So the house has older wiring, not sure if it's dirty yet... However, Do we need a power conditioner on our systems? Would a UPS do the same thing? If so how many watts should I get? 980?

Thanks!
 
AidenShaw

AidenShaw

macrumors P6
Feb 8, 2003
18,667
4,676
The Peninsula
MrRedfield said:
Random question. I recently moved into a new house that was built a long long time ago. (Zillow says 1900, but I don't know). So the house has older wiring, not sure if it's dirty yet... However, Do we need a power conditioner on our systems? Would a UPS do the same thing? If so how many watts should I get? 980?

Thanks!
Click to expand...
Yes, you should have a UPS. Always. Whether your house a month old or a century old.

An older house might be a problem because it was around 1970 that US codes required grounded (three prong) outlets. I'm not sure if any UPS systems work on ungrounded (two prong) outlets. An electrician could probably put a grounded outlet in your computer room for a reasonable sum.

UPS systems are typically rated in VA, not watts. 1000 VA is about right for a cMP, although you also need to add margin for the monitor, external drives and networking.

Note that you shouldn't plug a power strip with surge protection into a UPS.
 
DPUser

DPUser

macrumors 6502a
Jan 17, 2012
986
298
Rancho Bohemia, California
UPS will function with or without grounding, but surge protection may not.

https://forums.apc.com/spaces/4/bac...work-properly-on-an-ungrounded-2-wire-circuit

If concerned about safety, a GFI outlet can be installed on a two-wire system. Although it won't necessarily protect your equipment in a lightning strike, it will protect you in the event of a short. This gentleman wrote it up nicely:

GFCI with no ground is way safer than non-GFCI with ground, even if the grounding is completely code-compliant. GFCI is meant to protect humans against electrocution. If there is a voltage imbalance between the hot and neutral sides of the outlet, meaning that electricity is bleeding off through some other path (your heart, for instance), the GFCI trips. The ground wire serves a somewhat different purpose and isn't necessarily a guarantee against electrocution. Likewise, GFCI doesn't provide any grounding for equipment plugged into it, unless the GFCI itself is grounded - Craig
 
flowrider

flowrider

macrumors 604
Nov 23, 2012
7,232
2,962
The OP was asking about a Power Conditioner. You guys failed to address that. A few years ago when I set up my TV and Sound System I used a Power Conditioner. My Computer System uses a UPS. IMO, a computer system needs a good UPS (Sine Wave) with no need for a Power Conditioner.

As far as grounding goes, I'm assuming the OPs house been converted to a grounded electrical system. Most appliances these days come with grounded plugs.

Lou
 
tsialex

tsialex

Contributor
Jun 13, 2016
12,965
13,200
AidenShaw said:
Yes, you should have a UPS. Always. Whether your house a month old or a century old.

An older house might be a problem because it was around 1970 that US codes required grounded (three prong) outlets. I'm not sure if any UPS systems work on ungrounded (two prong) outlets. An electrician could probably put a grounded outlet in your computer room for a reasonable sum.

UPS systems are typically rated in VA, not watts. 1000 VA is about right for a cMP, although you also need to add margin for the monitor, external drives and networking.

Note that you shouldn't plug a power strip with surge protection into a UPS.
Click to expand...

Where is the power factor? Volt-Amps x Power Factor = Watts

Lets take account of only the power factor versus the full rated capacity (980W) of a MP5,1 power supply, not even take into account the over capacity needed to counteract initial spikes and other peripherals.

The formula is: A = (Va * Pf)/V [with the optimistic Pf of 0,65]

VA * Pf = W

VA * 0,65 = 980

VA = 980 / 0.65 = ~1507,7 VA

So, your suggested 1000VA UPS will be enough for a consumption of only 650W, and this is not taking into account the at least 20~25% safety margin that you need to have. A basic single Xeon MP5,1 without any upgrades will probably fit into this envelope, but any MP5,1 with a 130W Xeon, all SATA bays used and with a current GPU like RX 580 will easily top this when in full usage.
 
flowrider

flowrider

macrumors 604
Nov 23, 2012
7,232
2,962
^^^^Those do not have batteries and will offer no protection in the case of a power loss (blackout). A UPS offers protection against power loss and allows the computer to be gracefully shut down insuring no data will be lost.

I run a 1500VA APC UPS.

Lou
 
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skizzo

macrumors 6502
Apr 11, 2018
260
83
bsbeamer said:
I'd recommend a 1500 watt capable UPS. This unit has been great for my needs:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00429N19W

If you need an actual line conditioner, that's different. Look at these from Furman. I've only used their rack mount units:
https://www.sweetwater.com/c960--Furman--Power_Conditioners
Click to expand...

I use Furman brand line conditioner's also. I suppose it's one of the (audio) industry standards for such components.
I've gotten mine from either Sweetwater or Reverb.com (which is sort of like an ebay for exclusively music and audio related gear)
 
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