XPS 8930, any UPS recommendation?

UPS is good if you want uninterrupted operation.  I bought one from Amazon for $200 next day delivery.  It helps during summer time when thunderstorms may cause power trips.  New unit is nice looking.  I recall it is a good name brand APC.  It is good for critical service.  

I concur with @redxps630. I have an APC UPS for my 8930 and smaller units for the protection of my home entertainment system. Not only do they provide power in an outage, but they also warn you of serious voltage fluctuations. I had the transformer out on my utility pole start failing, and voltages rose to 137 volts (they should be 117-126 volts). My first indication of the problem was all of the APC UPS units squawking warning beeps.

APC USP products have served me well for almost two decades!

Just my two cents.  Have a great day.

Regards,

Phil

Make sure the UPS you get is a "true sine wave" type. Some units produce a sawtooth waveform, which may not work well with computers and electronics in general. 

Do you need one? Personal choice, but if you had a power failure and that caused the PC to power off 'at the wrong time', you could be open for a RE-INSTALL of Windows and/or lost data.

It is all due to OPEN files and if writing same at that point in time.

Buying a UPS is something that takes some knowledge... first and foremost, how many devices are you going to connect to it? This translates into UPTIME on the battery. However, you will need to have at the minimum the PC and the Monitor... and some other devices possibly like powered speakers even.

All that translates into HOW LONG you can stay up. Some if not all UPS's come with a utility, and one of the settings (I've got APC and CyberPower ones) is at what percentage of the remain power should the utility SHUTDOWN the PC?

One SPECIFIC requirement for a UPS is you MUST get a PFC type, NOT an AVR one....

I have a Cyberpower on my XPS8940. CP1000PFCLCD, and it is a 600W unit. Dell sells it at almost $200, but Amazon is about $35 less.

Now I have my XPS and Dell 32" monitor connected to it. The battery Runtime is about 30 minutes, but fluctuates depending on my actual power draw from using the PC. The utility states I pulling 118W's doing NOTHING, not a single thing but when I type into the reply it jumps up to 122W's. With a corresponding drop in run time of course.

I also have an AVR UPS on my modem and router. When my house loses power, the ISP's Internet, which the servers and distribution point it not close by and may even be on battery back up as well, is working. Since those 2 are low draw devices, I can stay up for a long time and use my iPad if necessary to do things.

I'll say this, if you live in an area of frequent power drops or even over or under voltages, having a UPS is a good idea.

I have a 8930 desktop. We have a generator due to frequent power drops in the area.  That does not help with the desktop, router and modem.  I got the power strips with battery backup. That helps with the modem and router, but not the desktop.  It still shuts down abruptly, in the middle of editing photos. I now have a Cyberpower CST135UC2 which I got from Costco for $130. 

Of course that one will not work! (https://www.cyberpowersystems.com/product/ups/battery-backup/cst135uc2/) as it is an AVR type. You NEED a PFC one, such as the CP1000PFCLCD (https://www.cyberpowersystems.com/product/ups/pfc-sinewave/cp1000pfclcd/). Dell PC require (and many other vendor PC's) a SINE WAVE UPS, called PFC, not AVR.

@ispalten​ : Both the Amazon link and the cyberpower link mention that CP1000PFCLCD  uses AVR???

@ispalten​ I just had a power blip this morning.  All lights went out. The generator kicked in after a few seconds. My desktop did not shut off. The UPS seems to have worked.

@Hokie_Shankar​ 

You are LOOKING at the wrong definition.

Look at the Automatic Voltage Regulation, and they are indeed the same.

However, look at the Sine Wave Output, they are different, and the difference between AVR and PFC Sinewave it what counts.

The one you have:

--------------

Simulated Sine Wave Output Provides a manufactured waveform output to supply cost-effective battery backup power for equipment that does not require sine wave output.

-------------

Note the last part, "battery backup power for equipment that does not require sine wave output"

What I have and has the "PFC" in the name:

=================

Sine Wave Output The UPS generates energy that is identical to, or cleaner than the utility company’s power grid. Benefits include low total harmonic distortion, minimal electrical noise, and optimal line clarity.

=================

Yes, for very brief power drops (doesn't have to drop completely off, or very fast off/on) and AVR will work.

The REAL test is to pull the power plug on the UPS and see if your PC still stays on... mine does... AND the Settings have a TEST function. Try that and see what happens (same as pulling the plug).

You are fooling yourself, a very quick time of a power drop (might have been a lowering of the voltage that the PSU can handle even or didn't cause the UPS to take over).

It is your PC, but if a PC powers off when some file write operations are going on, the file(s) could be corrupted, and it if it the 'right' one, you might not be able to boot requiring an OS re-install.

Google PFC vs. AVR for more info if you don't agree/trust me. I assure you, run the Self-Test yourself and see if your PC stays up.

@ispalten​ : I don't know what to say.  The Cyberpower website says that this model is suitable for desktop PCs for a safe shutdown.

Note that I am not trying to run the desktop with UPS for extended period of time. I'm just looking to keep the PC running while the house power switches to the generator.  This seems to do that.

I did run the self test and the PC stayed on and the result was a pass.

I pulled the plug off the wall and let the desktop run off the UPS for 5 minutes. No issues.  The UPS said that it'll power the equipment for 70 minutes.

I do understand the difference between true sine wave and simulated sine wave.  I also know that it is a must to have pure sine wave for sensitive electronics. All I'm saying is that my simulated sine wave unit is doing what I want it to do.

Granted that I could spend the  extra $50 for peace of mind and get a pure sine wave unit.

Wow. over 70 minutes of run time? Neither of our 1000A/600W will even come close to that time (30 min. it the max +/-). Considering you have about 30% more power, wonder why? We have the monitor's included.

Also, I've just had a short power drop and nothing, no lights or unprotected device went off, but the UPS's did:

[Power Panel Personal Power Event Notification]
Open: 2024-07-14 17:39:39
Power Event Notification: Battery is discharging

[Power Panel Personal Power Event Notification]
Open: 2024-07-14 17:39:42
Power Event Notification: Battery stopped discharging

3 second drop...

When I had an AVR on the XPS8700 I had it dropped with any power change.... surprised you don't lose power?

@ispalten​ 

I have the desktop plugged into one of the critical load outlets as shown. There's a powerstrip plugged into the other critical load outlet into which  2 4k monitors and the standing desk are plugged in.

@Hokie_Shankar​ 

Not that I don't believe you, the Runtimes are quite different.

See, on the links to my unit and yours there is a RUNTIME, and this is what mine is (Table, not the graph, at the bottom of the page):

For your unit:

You would at 70 minutes only have a power draw of maybe 80 Watts? Whereas I have around 130 Watts draw on average.

The Utility will show you your power draw on the home page.

I am wondering if the difference could be the video card? I have an Nvidia discrete card that draws a lot of power, more than a PC without one for sure.

Not sure why the 2 top ones are critical, and the bottom 3 are not for the Surge + Battery??? Manual didn't state why/if they are different (or I missed that?)? Odd.

All I know, and I have a Cyberpower AVR unit here and it could not keep an XPS8500 or XPS8700 running we lost power and it switched to the battery.

Also, 8930's do have different PSU's included, maybe you have one that is not a PFC one? See https://www.dell.com/support/manuals/en-us/xps-8930-desktop/xps-8930-setup-and-specification/power-ratings?guid=guid-4b78eb73-cdce-4ffd-abd7-cd6c3cf62ad9&lang=en-us

@ispalten​ That is accurate.

I have a Nvidia 4060 card in mine (the base 8930 has a 1050 ti).

When I showed the 70 min available run time. I was not running any intensive applications that put a high load on the UPS. It was around 100W.  Just to test, I opened lightroom to edit a photo which drew 202w instantaneous and the available run time at that instantaneous load, the available run time was 26 minutes.



I have replaced many components in my 8930 from the original box. The power demand is higher and hence I replaced the power supply with a EVGA 750-BP.  Internet discussions show that this power supply has a built in active-pfc and hence a pure sine wave is not required.