Do I really need a sine wave nobreak?
Posted by eggerlandshells@reddit | buildapc | View on Reddit | 27 comments
I just bought a Nobreak, and I found out it's not sine wave, they warned me it can cause damage to mt PC.
I just want to use it when power is on, I don't want to use it in battery mode for long periods, if power in my house goes down, I will just turn off my PC, that makes it safe to use even if it's not sine wave, correct?
I heard that this warning is outdated and modern fonts work without sine wave just fine, correct?
Pure-Gear7176@reddit
I'll take a guess... If you call UPS a nobreak you could possibly call AC a sinewave. DC output UPS obviously won't work with AC input PSU
Happy_Sea4257@reddit
you don't need a UPS at all
mnemonicmonkey@reddit
TIL UPSs are called no breaks en español.
Also tends to refer to standby UPSs.
Raderg32@reddit
No, they aren't. They are called SAIs (Sistema de Alimentación Ininterrumpida)
Never heard of them as nobreak, ar least in Spanish. Don't know what they call them in Portuguese.
MacDaddyBighorn@reddit
If your PC has active power factor control (PFC) it can be damaged if it doesn't have a sinewave input. Or the PC might not behave properly. It really depends on the power supply you have in the PC and the stepped/simulated output waveform from the UPS. I've experienced this and mine shut off immediately or became unresponsive, so I'd recommend getting a different one if you can.
eggerlandshells@reddit (OP)
Even if there are risks, the risks will only apply during battery mode, right?
MacDaddyBighorn@reddit
Yes, usually they run off of line power until they lose it, then that's when you find out if it'll work or not.
windowpuncher@reddit
Or you could just unplug the thing and actually test it after you get it, and then return it if it doesn't work for you.
davvblack@reddit
go except that your psu might get toasted by that
windowpuncher@reddit
Your psu won't care at all about a square wave vs a sine wave for like 5 minutes unless you bought the cheapest thing you could find.
overand@reddit
Yes, but that's the only time the UPS is actually relevant.
metroshake@reddit
I thought they provided cleaner input in shoddy brown out areas
zarco92@reddit
No. Maybe so in portuguese, but in Spanish it's a SAI (Sistema de Alimentación Ininterrumpida).
Simulated sinewave is fine in most cases.
npatronilo@reddit
In europe portuguese we just use the english abreviation UPS.
Curun@reddit
A what?
Sinewave is recommended due to ultimately having better efficiency for something like a PC that already consumes a lot of power, and they are built with better components.
But not absolutely necessary
jestermx6@reddit
My guess is nobreak = uninterruptible power supply
Curun@reddit
Ok but what do modern fonts have to do with a UPS?
Representative-Let44@reddit
In spanish at least the word fuente is commonly used both for fonts and PSU's
tomster10010@reddit
font of power, hell yeah
omnichad@reddit
Typo on the wrong language keyboard setting or translation of a typo in native language.
jestermx6@reddit
Yeah that one stumped me so I left it alone lol. More translation issues or a typo is my best guess.
Adjective-Noun-nnnn@reddit
I've been using a UPS without a sinewave output for many, many years and have never had an issue. I have only ever had one PSU fail and it was due to a lightning strike. I'm using a UPS so brief power sags don't shut down my PC, so it's only relevant for a few seconds every few weeks.
acewing905@reddit
Needing a true sine wave UPS is "old wisdom" that doesn't apply to modern power supplies
FurnitureCyborg@reddit
Some power supplies will only work with a sine wave UPS so if your isn't compatible then the PC will just shut down on battery power. It is easy to test though. With the computer on, unplug the UPS. If the computer stays on when the UPS is unplugged, then you are good to go.
Capt_Vandal@reddit
It won't damage your PC. The Power Supply Unit inside or PSU has active power filtering and brown out protections, as long as it's a good rated PSU like 80+ Gold standard rating or higher.
However a Skne Wave UPS (No Break) would make life on that power supply easier, and also increase power efficiency as well. Not to mention the benefits of having backup power yo safely save your work and shut down.
ObjectiveOk2072@reddit
Sine wave is better, but not necessary. Your PC will be perfectly fine with a battery backup that does not produce a perfect sine wave.
ChronoZaga@reddit
I just Googled nobreak and learned that’s another word for a UPS. So thanks for teaching me something I didn’t know!
All of your assumptions are correct. You don’t need sine wave, it’s just a nice to have feature if it’s not too much more money. I have heard that if you’re trying to charge your UPS off of a gas generator that it won’t charge unless you have sine wave, but that’s a pretty limited and extreme use case IMHO.
I paid extra to upgrade to sine wave, and I do not recommend it. Totally just more money for a feature I will never use.