Short version: I’m looking for the safest possible electrical power for my computer in a world where the wall outlet does not deliver 100% consistent/safe/clean power.
Long version:
I need to know which type of Uninterruptible Power Source (UPS) would keep my brand new Mac Pro 2.66Ghz and its inside components healthy for the longest time possible. I'm not specifically asking for battery runtime, brand name, or model number here. But I would be happy to get any recommendations on that, too. I'm looking at Line Interactive UPS units (with either square wave, stepped wave, or sinewave output) vs. Double Conversion Online Pure Sinewave UPS units. Can a Mac Pro handle square wave output from a UPS for short periods of time (up to 10 minutes) or would that kind of output damage (even slightly) the computer? Down time is not a big concern if I'm given enough time to save my files and turn off the computer. 5 to 10 minutes should be plenty. I don't need to keep my computer online for hours or days at a time when the power goes out. I won't buy any UPS that won't at least protect against lightning, power surges and spikes, brownouts/sags, blackouts, and line noise. Automatic Voltage Regulation (AVR) will be required. Lightning is a major concern as I live in the Central Florida area (most lightning strikes in USA every year). I’m hoping an Interactive UPS is good enough since the Online Sinewave units I’ve seen for sale are very expensive.
I’ve contacted apple about this already and the guy on the other line said, “Apple has no specific recommendations about this sort of thing.” I’ve looked around the web and on this forum and I haven’t seen this specific question addressed. I will be using this computer for digital/analog hybrid photography.
I know someone will ask for this info so here is what I will plug into the UPS:
Mac Pro 2.66Ghz – 430 W (max. possible upgrade usage - barefeats.com)
Currently has 1GB RAM, will upgrade to 3GB this year and later up to 4 or 6GB.
2 hard drives 250-300 GB each
NVIDIA GeForce 7300 GT graphics with 256MB memory
crt monitor - 150 W sony trinitron 16 inch (may get a larger 19-21 inch one later)
lcd monitor - 40 to 60 W ? (not sure which one I’ll get, but it will be a 19 or 20 inch)
scanner – 27 to 32 W? – possibly 2 scanners: one for negatives and the other for anything else
Perfection V700 or V750-M PRO - Power Consumption: 32W
Epson Perfection 4990 PRO or PHOTO - Power Consumption: 27W
Nikon COOLSCAN V ED, Super COOLSCAN 5000 ED, Super COOLSCAN 9000 ED
Total ~ 642 - 672 Watts
- Mike
Long version:
I need to know which type of Uninterruptible Power Source (UPS) would keep my brand new Mac Pro 2.66Ghz and its inside components healthy for the longest time possible. I'm not specifically asking for battery runtime, brand name, or model number here. But I would be happy to get any recommendations on that, too. I'm looking at Line Interactive UPS units (with either square wave, stepped wave, or sinewave output) vs. Double Conversion Online Pure Sinewave UPS units. Can a Mac Pro handle square wave output from a UPS for short periods of time (up to 10 minutes) or would that kind of output damage (even slightly) the computer? Down time is not a big concern if I'm given enough time to save my files and turn off the computer. 5 to 10 minutes should be plenty. I don't need to keep my computer online for hours or days at a time when the power goes out. I won't buy any UPS that won't at least protect against lightning, power surges and spikes, brownouts/sags, blackouts, and line noise. Automatic Voltage Regulation (AVR) will be required. Lightning is a major concern as I live in the Central Florida area (most lightning strikes in USA every year). I’m hoping an Interactive UPS is good enough since the Online Sinewave units I’ve seen for sale are very expensive.
I’ve contacted apple about this already and the guy on the other line said, “Apple has no specific recommendations about this sort of thing.” I’ve looked around the web and on this forum and I haven’t seen this specific question addressed. I will be using this computer for digital/analog hybrid photography.
I know someone will ask for this info so here is what I will plug into the UPS:
Mac Pro 2.66Ghz – 430 W (max. possible upgrade usage - barefeats.com)
Currently has 1GB RAM, will upgrade to 3GB this year and later up to 4 or 6GB.
2 hard drives 250-300 GB each
NVIDIA GeForce 7300 GT graphics with 256MB memory
crt monitor - 150 W sony trinitron 16 inch (may get a larger 19-21 inch one later)
lcd monitor - 40 to 60 W ? (not sure which one I’ll get, but it will be a 19 or 20 inch)
scanner – 27 to 32 W? – possibly 2 scanners: one for negatives and the other for anything else
Perfection V700 or V750-M PRO - Power Consumption: 32W
Epson Perfection 4990 PRO or PHOTO - Power Consumption: 27W
Nikon COOLSCAN V ED, Super COOLSCAN 5000 ED, Super COOLSCAN 9000 ED
Total ~ 642 - 672 Watts
- Mike
