# G5-how many watts?



## rob morsberger (Aug 1, 2006)

Hi,
I just purchased a battery backup for my computers and peripherals.
How many watts does my G5 dual 2 consume with 2 internal drives?

Thanks for any help,
Rob


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## MisterMe (Aug 1, 2006)

Get the biggest UPS you can afford. I would not buy anything less than 650 VA.


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## rob morsberger (Aug 1, 2006)

Thanks.  I bought 2 830s.  I'm just trying to calculate with reasonable accuracy what I can connect to each UPS.  Besides the G5 I have a PC with a 350 watt power supply and an external drive or two that would get priority.  It would be good to know fairly precisely what the G5 uses so I can know what else to load up that UPS with.  Strangely, there is no mention of this spec in the manual.  Appreciate the help.


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## DeltaMac (Aug 1, 2006)

The dual-core G5 can come with up to 1KW power supply, and remembering a previous thread, planning should be for up to 13 or 1400 watts for a UPS for the G5 system alone.


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## rob morsberger (Aug 2, 2006)

Wow.  No kidding?  That's a bit scary from an environmental point of view.
I had no idea.  So...good I got two then.  Thanks.


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## billbaloney (Aug 2, 2006)

What?  I don't think so.  See Apple's specs here.   The hungriest configuration, according to Apple, maxes out at 604 W.  Do you have independent information to the contrary?


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## rob morsberger (Aug 2, 2006)

Ah, count on the house pianist to come to the rescue.  Thanks for that info, exactly what I hoped to find in my manual.  Good...that is very informative.


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## DeltaMac (Aug 2, 2006)

billbaloney said:


> What?  I don't think so.  See Apple's specs here.   The hungriest configuration, according to Apple, maxes out at 604 W.  Do you have independent information to the contrary?



No, but that article is 2 1/2 years old, and the power supplies in the G5 at that time were either 450 watt or 600 watt, which roughly matches up with max power consumption figures in that article. The current PowerMac G5 has either 710 or 1,000 watt power supplies.


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## billbaloney (Aug 2, 2006)

This article is from March of this year, and indicates even lower wattages than the original article I pointed to.

According to that piece, a quad 2.5 GHz G5 maxes out at 405 watts.


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## DeltaMac (Aug 2, 2006)

billbaloney said:


> This article is from March of this year, and indicates even lower wattages than the original article I pointed to.
> 
> According to that piece, a quad 2.5 GHz G5 maxes out at 405 watts.



Good find!
But I wonder where you see the figure of 405 watts?  the linked article shows 550 watts (still a nice low figure for the quad system..)

but, I have always heard using the power supply capacity as one rule of thumb for determining a good fit for a backup power system, such as a UPS, and not a power consumption estimate...


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## billbaloney (Aug 2, 2006)

Whoops, 550, totally -- 405 was a complete spaz.  The interesting part here, though, is that according to Apple the overall wattage required seems to have decreased through subsequent models, not increased.

I hear what you're saying on power supply capacity vs. power consumption numbers as a decent indicator for determining UPS size.  And the power supplies for G5 Quads are definitely a full kilowatt.  Just don't talk yourself into getting a 2500 VA monster if you're not totally convinced you need that much.

It's also worth consider exactly what you want to attach to the UPS.  Anything that writes data should be on stable power; other things generally just need protection against voltage surges.

Here's a helpful article on determining proper UPS capacity, directed at Mac users.


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## rob morsberger (Aug 3, 2006)

Thanks DeltaMac.  I forget exactly when I got  my G5 but it's probably been a couple of years or so.  Is there any way to tell for sure if my model conforms to the older specs sited?


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## webexplorer (Oct 24, 2006)

Please explain to me about the UPS battery and runtime.  Here is for example:

Typical recharge time:  3 hours

Typical Backup Time at Half Load:  11.9 minutes

Typical Backup Time at Full Load:   3.5 minutes


I have no idea what is the different between those loads.  I only think of how long the battery last after the main power is cut off.


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## webexplorer (Oct 24, 2006)

rob morsberger said:


> Hi,
> I just purchased a battery backup for my computers and peripherals.
> How many watts does my G5 dual 2 consume with 2 internal drives?
> 
> ...



What is the brand that you bought?

I have a Belkin F6C1000-TW-RK (Battery Backup with Tower). 

I have an Apple desktop G5 dual and a 20-inches LCD monitor for this backup battery.   I highly recommend that you do not plug your printer on your battery backup.  It will drain a lot of energy, and the backup will fail if you plug the printer on the battery unit.

webexplorer


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## rob morsberger (Oct 24, 2006)

webexplorer said:


> Please explain to me about the UPS battery and runtime.  Here is for example:
> 
> Typical recharge time:  3 hours
> 
> ...



Quite simply the UPS will back up longer if you have less drawing on it. The more power you are drawing from it, the less time you have when the power outtage occurs.  HTH.


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