Cooler Master 500 PSU amperage?

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what will happen if you are using a APC Back-UPS RS 800VA 230V with Cooler master extreme power 500w (RP-500-PCAR) PSU

the label behind my UPS says it has a 3.5A max output where as my PSU's input requirement is 6.3A@230Vac. i have been using this setup for almost 2 years but now my UPS has stopped working. After powering on the UPS continuously beeps and the red "overload" indicator starts flashing (the technical support confirmed its a permenant damage and requires replacement).

the website has conflicting information on the ammpere rating, the manual and the rear (www apcmedia com/salestools/ASTE-6Z7V4E_R1_EN.pdf) of my UPS mentions it's 3.5A but the technical specs here www apc com/resource/include/techspec_index.cfm?base_sku=BR800-IN says the output is 6A.

now which is right and where can i find the exact details of my UPS. tried to contact the online chat support but there is no representative and the email response link is also down.

so could low ampere ouput cause damages to PSU? after the replacement can i continue using the same UPS or should i choose a higher specification model please help

Vivek

sorry this is a double post, i changed the subject which resulted in a duplicate post
 
The 6A rating you see as part of the technical specs is for the connectors, not for the output power of the UPS IMO.

Insufficient power will not damage your PSU as much as it will damage your UPS via an overload. This is probably why it is not working anymore and the "Overload" light is flashing. Your PSU will try to pull as much power as it needs to convert to DC, and nothing more. Have you recently upgraded your system with a more powerful GPU, CPU or more HDDs? That may be the reason for the overload.
 
Just plug the computer straight into the wall outlet and see if it runs well for a few days. So many people don't use any power back up and they are clueless about how those cheap surge protectors don't protect anything. When you have the time and money, buy another UPs... or simply replace the battery
 
I would recommend using a power strip with good surge protection instead of plugging the PSU directly into the wall. Some protection is much better than none at all.

I would only recommend a UPS if you routinely do very important work that needs to be saved manually rather than automatically (as in MS Office) and you run the risk of corrupting or losing it if the computer switches off without warning.
 
The question is "What is a good surge protector?"
If brethart lives and computes in an area prone to power blackouts/surges or electrical storms, then he should invest in a good UPS. I have a feeling that his old UPS just needs new batteries. I use an old (2000) APC Smart UPs 1000. It has two 12 volt batteries that last about 5 years at 25 to 50% load. A UPS is a natural AC line conditioner too. Surge protectors do not supply conditioning, and after just one surge, the surge protector could be "burned out" giving no warning... and no further protection. They should be replaced every six months or so
 
Agreed; that is why I stated that some protection is better than none at all. Good surge protectors are insanely difficult to find. They do exist however, but are expensive, and last far longer than the usual cheap MOV-based strips.

Power conditioning is not a strict requirement for PSUs; it's more important for sound systems and such where line noise can have noticeable effects on the output. This is especially true if the system in question is pulling about 50-60% of the total rated power output of the PSU.

But yes, if the OP lives in an area that has frequent blackouts or power surges or any other electrical problems, an SPS\UPS would be best.
 
"Power conditioning is no biggie for PSUs; it's more important for sound systems and such where line noise can have noticeable effects on the output"...

Very true Rage,
SL Waber used to make great surge protectors... They were expensive, but we used them for our portable sound gear. Every time I ask one of my customers if they use a surge protector, most of the time all they have is a multi-plug extention cord with a light on it... Those cheap MOV (Metal Oxide Varistor) protectors are the ones that "open" after the first surge, rendering them to only provide the protection of a simple extention cord or wall outlet.

Tripp-Lite bought out SL Waber:
http://www.tripplite.com/EN/products/product-series.cfm?txtSeriesID=92&CID=1&gclid=CNvB2-jtwZsCFSgYagodVVC4BQ
 
thank you Rage & Tmagic,

The 6A rating you see as part of the technical specs is for the connectors, not for the output power of the UPS IMO.

Insufficient power will not damage your PSU as much as it will damage your UPS via an overload. This is probably why it is not working anymore and the "Overload" light is flashing. Your PSU will try to pull as much power as it needs to convert to DC, and nothing more. Have you recently upgraded your system with a more powerful GPU, CPU or more HDDs? That may be the reason for the overload.

6A rating for connectors? i can see it is the rated output in the technical specs.
I am not bothered if my ups is damaged due to overload i am more concerned if its the right one & will it in anyway cause damage to my PSU.
well i have not connected any new device or upgraded recently, the ups would still go to overload even without a single device connected.

here's one of the feedback i got on apc-forum

"user Rau:

6.3A @ 230 = 1449W!

This number printed on your PSU is just telling you this PSU can draw as much as 6.3A when you turn it on for the first time during the day, when the PSU is cold and it happens in mileseconds then the PSU comes back to its steady state which is far below 6.3A

500W @ 230V = 2,17A + 20% due to efficiency losses, is still below 3.5A.

Don't worry, your 800VA UPS is capable of feeding your PSU that I also assume is not even close to supplying all its 500W power."



Just plug the computer straight into the wall outlet and see if it runs well for a few days. So many people don't use any power back up and they are clueless about how those cheap surge protectors don't protect anything. When you have the time and money, buy another UPs... or simply replace the battery

i knew a friend who did that, he had a high end system but he wouldnt buy an ups. could be for the same reason.
my pc is working fine, i am using it through surge only connector in my ups now, i am still waiting for the technical guy from apc to visit.

The question is "What is a good surge protector?"
If brethart lives and computes in an area prone to power blackouts/surges or electrical storms, then he should invest in a good UPS. I have a feeling that his old UPS just needs new batteries. I use an old (2000) APC Smart UPs 1000. It has two 12 volt batteries that last about 5 years at 25 to 50% load. A UPS is a natural AC line conditioner too. Surge protectors do not supply conditioning, and after just one surge, the surge protector could be "burned out" giving no warning... and no further protection. They should be replaced every six months or so

the power problem is not so frequent say 4 to 5 times during the month. but more than anything else i am concerned about my hard drive & backupdrive as i have a lot of data stored in them and i suppose in the long run it could damage the harddrives if not for an ups. i only use the battery time to save my work & shutdown the pc.
mine is just 20months old so there is still a long time before i go for a battery replacement.

i am yet to find out the exact specification of my model, the technical support does not have a clue. i am getting some great insight from you people.

thank you again for all the response

Vivek
 
6A rating for connectors? i can see it is the rated output in the technical specs.
I don't believe that's true. Note that it says Output Connections, not Output Rating or anything similar. The fact that it specifies the plug also leads me to believe that it's a connector rating rather than an output rating. Indian plugs are usually rated for 5A though, so you may very well be right.

The only surefire way to confirm would to contact tech support or to check the output via an ammeter and other testing equipment.:(
Good luck and let us know how it goes.
 
you are genius. as you were saying it’s the rating for the connectors. the tech support guy too told the same,

first I called the local customer support, they said its output is around 8-12A (I wasn’t surprised). I asked him if he was joking, he said he's from the IT department (it means they have absolutely no clue about technical stuff), said he would reconfirm again from the engineers which he did after putting me on hold for almost 15mis, this time he was slightly closer, reduced it to 2.5A. Realizing my mistake I politely hung the phone.

This is the kind of service we get here in India. It costs almost the same here as in US but we don’t get the same service.

below is the response i got on the apc forum which I would like to share it


Here is what I got regarding the BR800-IN. The product is divided into two kinds of outlets it does have the Battery Backup and Surge Side and Surge Only side. These two kind of outlets do have a maximum amperage that you can pull.
• Surge Only Outlet (1) - this single outlet can provide a maximum of 2.5A.
• Battery Backup and Surge only outlets (4) - the maximum combined amperage that these outlets can provide is 3.5A

With regards to the 6A that you see on the technical specifications of the UPS. It means that you need to provide an outlet with this specification - India 3-pin 6A and you can connect an equipment into this UPS that is using this kind of plug - India 2/3-pin 6A. It's like the NEMA standard that we are following here in the US. Our Back-UPS product line requires our customer to use a NEMA 5-15R.”


He happens to be from the technical support-US

another interesting response…..


There's a bunch of other names for this type of wave like squared wave, rectangular wave, simulated wave... they're all the same. The person or people who take care of the APC website must have wrote it at diferent times and diferent people sometime tend to use diferent terms.

The 3.5A is the correct one since according to the basic Ohms law:

230V x 3.5A = basically 805VA”


Its really wonderful you guys know so much about electricity, thank you for all the information it was really helpful.

Vivek
 
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