Which UPS for 2009 Mac Pro Octo

[noushy]

Power usage

Nano, I was not stating that my entire system was using 900W, just that on the APC unit, the usage is between 600 and 900 (3 lights). It is running the computer, 30ACD, 8 Drive sata array, speakers, gigabit switch and router, and a few misc items like time capsule. That means the Mac Pro does not exceeed 900W even loaded up with a fair share of peripherals. However, I can tell you a 700W APC unit reaches overload on my 2008 MacPro with 2x20ACD, and a 1000W APC works fine. And I do have a killawatt unit, if you really want to know the power consumption.

Noushy

 

[nanofrog]

Nano, I was not stating that my entire system was using 900W, just that on the APC unit, the usage is between 600 and 900 (3 lights). It is running the computer, 30ACD, 8 Drive sata array, speakers, gigabit switch and router, and a few misc items like time capsule. That means the Mac Pro does not exceeed 900W even loaded up with a fair share of peripherals. However, I can tell you a 700W APC unit reaches overload on my 2008 MacPro with 2x20ACD, and a 1000W APC works fine. And I do have a killawatt unit, if you really want to know the power consumption.

Noushy

wfmcvideo seemed concerned over power usage. I was responding to the last line of post 24 about power measurement equipment.

I use RAID as you do, and know it can consume some power. Your's doesn't seem bad to me (likely closer to 600W), given the number and type of devices you listed.

 

[wfmcvideo]

Mac Pro wattage test results

I bought the handy Kill A Watt power tester from NewEgg since no local retailers had a similar item. I have now tested my computer under varied circumstances from all idle to full speed ahead (multiple apps running while rendering video, actively utilizing all 4 internal HD + 2 ext HD, and running both optical drives). According to the test device, my '07 Mac Pro is drawing from 258 Watts idle to 300 Watts maxed out. Add to that my 2 TB Ext Raid HD (only 22w), dual 22" monitors (44w each!) and Airport Extreme (10w) and I'm running around 420 of my 450 Watt capacity. I haven't run into any problems in the last 10 days with this configuration, but based on others advice I think I'll upgrade while I can to the next level of UPS. After all, I've still got 5 open outlets on the UPS yet to fill!

 

[nanofrog]

I bought the handy Kill A Watt power tester from NewEgg since no local retailers had a similar item. I have now tested my computer under varied circumstances from all idle to full speed ahead (multiple apps running while rendering video, actively utilizing all 4 internal HD + 2 ext HD, and running both optical drives). According to the test device, my '07 Mac Pro is drawing from 258 Watts idle to 300 Watts maxed out. Add to that my 2 TB Ext Raid HD (only 22w), dual 22" monitors (44w each!) and Airport Extreme (10w) and I'm running around 420 of my 450 Watt capacity. I haven't run into any problems in the last 10 days with this configuration, but based on others advice I think I'll upgrade while I can to the next level of UPS. After all, I've still got 5 open outlets on the UPS yet to fill!

420W out of 450W won't leave you much time. And as the batteries age, it becomes less.

Definitely a good idea to up the capacity.

 

[jtbell]

Smart-UPS is the way to go.

These units are supported by OS X with no additional software. Just plug in the USB cable, and you'll get a UPS option in the Energy Saver prefpane that will let you configure shutdown parameters, without any additional bloatware from APC.

I have that option (with shutdown parameters) under OS X 10.5.7 with an APS Back-UPS 1300 XS that I bought yesterday,

With a 2008 8-core Mac Pro that has 3 internal HDs, and a 23" Apple Cinema Display, and the DVD drive running, and one external HD running, I'm drawing 175-180W, with a shutdown time of about 27 minutes.

 

[damado]

I have the APC Back-UPS 1500 XS w/ LCD that I got from circuit city going out of business sale for $80 and it works well powering the mac pro in my sig along with my 30 inch ACD, modem, router and some other stuff.

I had a triplite from costco used for my 52 inch LCD tv and it blew out after 2 years.

I also have a much older long tall thin APC Back-Ups 1500 XS. It failed on me after about 3 years, called APC and they quickly shipped me a new one and now it's supporting my LCD TV.

That's my experience. I support the APC 1500 XS.

 

[nanofrog]

...It failed on me after about 3 years, called APC and they quickly shipped me a new one and now it's supporting my LCD TV.

That's my experience. I support the APC 1500 XS.

WOW! Now that's customer service.

 

[itou]

i bought the APC BACK-UPS RS 1500VA LCD (865 Watts) and it's powering my mac pro (2008) and my ACD display. had a couple power outs this month and no problems with it. it's big though and it gets quite hot.

 

[nanofrog]

i bought the APC BACK-UPS RS 1500VA LCD (865 Watts) and it's powering my mac pro (2008) and my ACD display. had a couple power outs this month and no problems with it. it's big though and it gets quite hot.

I have the same unit.

Mine doesn't seem to get that hot, though I would call it warm at times. Though it does have plenty of room around it for air flow. The small fan on the rear can't move that much air. Typical load is under 300W.

It's covered me a few times, especially on brown-outs. So I'm really happy with it.

 

[Flash SWT]

For those with the APC BACK-UPS RS 1500VA LCD, any problems with noise? Does the fan run all the time or only when on battery?

My wife bought a APC Back-UPS XS 900 (I think this was the model) on sale at Fry's but the tiny little fan ran non-stop and was so annoying we had to return it. After searching online we found numerous similar complaints with the model.

 

[nanofrog]

For those with the APC BACK-UPS RS 1500VA LCD, any problems with noise? Does the fan run all the time or only when on battery?

No noise issues so far. I've noticed the fan running when wall AC was active as well. I presumed the charging cycle was active, and didn't pay it much attention. No beeps, loud fan sounds, nothing of any note at all.

 

[kirreip]

For those with the APC BACK-UPS RS 1500VA LCD, any problems with noise? Does the fan run all the time or only when on battery?

Same here with the APC BACK-UPS RS 1500VA. No noise when on AC power.

 

[uberamd]

At work we have a Smart-UPS 1500 (http://www.apc.com/resource/include/techspec_index.cfm?base_sku=sua1500i) rated for 980 watts. We have 6 servers running on it and it gets up to 85% load capacity at times, but averages around 70%. So use that as a bench, if you are looking at a 700 watt system, for a single computer not including the monitor, you should be fine unless you are doing very intense work, even then you should be fine. Hard drives pull very little power, so its down to graphics and cpu.

Just be smart and remember to install software to monitor the thing. No point having a UPS if you don't set the systems up to power down in event of a power loss and low battery.

* 3 of the servers are dual core Xeons. One has dual 2.5GHz Xeon, the other has dual 2.0GHz Xeon. The third is two 1.8GHz Xeon.

 

[Flash SWT]

Thanks everyone

Well to round this thread out I ended up purchasing the APC BACK-UPS RS 1500VA LCD from Amazon. Thanks to everyone who chimed in with advice.

 

[Loa]

Hello,

I'm also looking to buy a UPS, and the APC BACK-UPS RS 1500VA LCD 120V looks like what I need.

But as I shop for it on the net, I'm confused about the RS and XS designations. I can't find the XS on APC's site, but I find it all over the net. The images match, but why this code?

Can someone explain what's up with the XS?

Thanks

Loa

 

[Flash SWT]

But as I shop for it on the net, I'm confused about the RS and XS designations. I can't find the XS on APC's site, but I find it all over the net. The images match, but why this code?

Can someone explain what's up with the XS?

Here are the specs for the XS on APC's site:
http://www.apcc.com/resource/include/techspec_index.cfm?base_sku=BX1500LCD

Notice it is BX1500LCD vs. the BR1500LCD that I bought and has specs here:
http://www.apcc.com/resource/include/techspec_index.cfm?base_sku=BR1500LCD

Here is what I was able to find on the differences:

http://www.amazon.com/RS-vs-XS/foru...AUW9ZJTB67OE/1?_encoding=UTF8&asin=B0000936B6

This old thread just seems to quote the Amazon reviewer:
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/435193/#6

Comparing the specs they look pretty similar except for the Data Line Protection section.

.

 

[Loa]

Here are the specs for the XS on APC's site:
http://www.apcc.com/resource/include/techspec_index.cfm?base_sku=BX1500LCD

Notice it is BX1500LCD vs. the BR1500LCD that I bought and has specs here:
http://www.apcc.com/resource/include/techspec_index.cfm?base_sku=BR1500LCD

Here is what I was able to find on the differences:

http://www.amazon.com/RS-vs-XS/foru...AUW9ZJTB67OE/1?_encoding=UTF8&asin=B0000936B6

This old thread just seems to quote the Amazon reviewer:
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/435193/#6

Comparing the specs they look pretty similar except for the Data Line Protection section.

.

Thanks for this info! It seems strange that a company would ma ke two such similar lines...

Gonna go and look for a RS model then!

Loa

 

[Black107]

That seems way off. I have a 2.26 octo with the 4870. I've had it plugged in to my kill-a-watt since I got it. It is around 260 watts at idle. The max I've seen is around 350 watts.

Yeah I dont know where these guys are getting crazy wattages from. I can see if they're plugging tons of other peripherals and monitors in, but my Octo 2.66 w/ 3HD's and a GTX 285 + Apple Cinema 23" showed a max of about 370 on my Back-UPS RS 1500LCD.

This model is great (aside from having to resolder the negative battery lead which snapped off as soon as i took the battery out to connect it). However when running on battery power, my MacPro's power supply buzzes. Even if the computer is off, it still buzzes (and according to the UPS's LCD, drawing somewhere between 20-40 watts). When I plug the UPS back into the wall (comp on or off) the buzzing stops immediately (and the load drops to 0W...?).

I would be ok with the computer buzzing during the 1 minute it would be under battery power (I'm at work all day, so if the power goes down, there's no point in keeping the computer running, I just want it to shut down properly), however the fact that the computer STILL buzzes even when off and the UPS is on battery power is concerning. The thought of my computer's power supply buzzing for hours at a time until I come home is not pleasant, as no one truly seems to know what effect a simulated sine wave has on an APFC power supply.

It is because of this issue (and ambiguity) that I've decided I need to upgrade to a Smart-UPS for peace of mind. Now the only question is, do I try and squeak by with a 750va model (again, considering I have it set to shut down almost immediately -- 1 minute after switching to battery) or do I go with a 1000va or 1500va model?

Keep in mind that you want the UPS to stay going for a few minutes with the power out. My 2008 Pro runs for 22 minutes with 8 dev/nulls going (max CPU) on an APC smart UPS 750VA.

See this interests me because if you can get 22 minutes out of that thing, it means I could for sure get at least 5. The biggest question is do you ever get overload warnings?

 

[Black107]

An update for you all:

I went and bought an APC Smart-UPS 750va (SUA750). Hooked up my 09 2.66 octo w/ 3 drives, GTX 285, and a 23" cinema display, and this has plenty of power. As I'm typing this, I unplugged the UPS from the wall and it says I have 16 minutes of battery. I tried waking from sleep and starting cold on battery power, no overloads. Generally speaking, the load indicator lights sit somewhere between 2/5 and 3/5 most of the time. If I fire up Fallout 3 or Crysis on PC, it jumps up to 4/5, but even under that load, if I unplug, its still fine.

One note though: the PSU still buzzes under battery power, despite the SUA750 outputting a true sinewave. So I've come to the conclusion that there's nothing we can do to prevent buzzing. I got this model for $250 at frys (Only $50 more than the Back-UPS RS 1500 LCD). The USB reports everything fine, computer is able to stay asleep, and wakes up fine when I ask it to.

 

[noushy]

Su750

Nice UPS, but for $50 more, you could have had the SU1500 from tiger direct. Twice the capacity, 20% more money. I never get passed 3 lights (under 900w), and that is with 12 hard drives, a 2.93 octo core, speakers, a 30 ACD, and several other peripherals (hub, switch, router, cable modem).

Peace,
Noushy

 

[Loa]

Hello,

I got my APC BACK-UPS RS 1500VA LCD 120V about 3 weeks ago and I've been playing with it. I just wanted to add some data to the thread.

My current system: 2009MP quad 2.66, 8GB ram, 5 drives (4 raided 500GB RE3 + 1 Hitachi 1TB), 120GT with a 24in Apple LED display.

Here's the average watt useage I get on this system (only 1 user logged in).

Idle with display asleep: 95W +/- 2W
Idle with display on: 145W +/- 2W
With a regular number of apps (Safari, Mail, uTorrent, iTunes (playing an MP3)): 182W +/- 5W
While copying 700 files (1.6GB in total) from the RAID to itself, or with the Hitachi: 187W +/- 5W
While doing a disk and CPU intensive task (import lots of 3MB jpegs into iPhoto: all my cores at 90%): 212W +/- 8W
Playing World of Warcraft: 195W +/- 10
Intensive PS work on a 12MP image: 200W +/- 20W

Anything else someone wants me to test?

Loa

 

[Black107]

Nice UPS, but for $50 more, you could have had the SU1500 from tiger direct. Twice the capacity, 20% more money. I never get passed 3 lights (under 900w), and that is with 12 hard drives, a 2.93 octo core, speakers, a 30 ACD, and several other peripherals (hub, switch, router, cable modem).

Peace,
Noushy

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=708757&CatId=234

Looks like $420 to me...

 

[noushy]

TIgerdirect

They were running for $299 for 6 months. Tiger just raised the prices, but they still go on sale for $299 every time they run an ad. I can show you the proof.

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicat...asp?EdpNo=1237271&sku=A75-3002&srkey=A75-3002

check it for yourself, $299 on sale.

Noushy

BTW: you are welcome

 

[nanofrog]

They were running for $299 for 6 months. Tiger just raised the prices, but they still go on sale for $299 every time they run an ad. I can show you the proof.

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicat...asp?EdpNo=1237271&sku=A75-3002&srkey=A75-3002

check it for yourself, $299 on sale.

Noushy

BTW: you are welcome

It can go either way, just those that end up spotting (and ordering) at the non sale price, make loud complaints about it.

 

[noushy]

Cheap

Thanks Nano, you know me, always looking for a good deal! Want to make sure my friends on MacRumors get part of the action. I think the $299 deal is quite fair, about as cheap as you an find one on Ebay. I purchased a pair of SUA1500RM (rackmount versions) for about $350 on Ebay a year or so ago from Merisys, but they seem to have stopped selling on Ebay now.

Noushy