You must use a sine wave UPS with these PSUs.
No you don't. That's a fallacy perpetrated by the marketing departments of pure sine wave UPS makers. There is a lot of "marketing" hype about "pure" sine wave output UPS. Don't fall for it! That's all it is,
marketing hype by those companies who make pure sine wave UPS trying to take the market share away from APC.
Any 1/2 way decent AC/DC power supply can handle the "stepped sine wave" or "stepped approximation" waveform just fine. They have for the last 25 years with no problems so there is no reason to believe the much more reliable and robust power supplies of today can't either. They are much more capable at handling power line anomalies than PSUs of yesteryear.
And that's not just computer PSUs, but the power supplies for our modems, routers, switches, monitors and more. The only time you really
need a "pure" sine wave output UPS is when used to support highly "sensitive" health monitoring and life support equipment as found in hospital intensive care units.
All computer and networking devices use DC voltages. It is actually easier to make a clean DC voltage converted from a stepped approximation sine wave than it is from a pure (round tops) sine wave because less filtering is required.
Do not forget that 99% of the time, our UPS is not "on-line". That is, it is not acting as a battery backup, except during a total power outage. It is just "in-line" acting as a sophisticated "automatic voltage regulator" (AVR). It is really for the AVR that we need a "good" UPS. Backup power during a full power outage is just the icing on the cake. But even then, power supplies do just fine with stepped approximation outputs (see:
http://kerchner.com/electrical/sine wave.htm).
BTW, a surge and spike protector is little more than a fancy and expensive extension cord as they do absolutely nothing for abnormal low voltage events like dips (opposite of spikes) and sags (opposite of surges), or long duration sags (brownouts) - any of which can cause your electronics to suddenly stop, resulting in possible corruption. And for "extreme" surges and spikes, a surge and spike protector simply kills power (if working properly) to your components. That's hardly good for your computer, drives, or data.
Note the following from two makers of quality power supplies,
Seasonic FAQ.
What type of UPS does Seasonic recommend?
Seasonic recommends a UPS with a pure sinewave output; however, a high quality simulated sinewave UPS from a reputable manufacturer could also be a possible solution to be used with our power supplies.
EVGA Knowledgebase
Question / Issue
Do EVGA Power Supplies support UPS backup devices that support Line-Interactive AVR UPS which uses a simulated/artificial sine wave?
Answer / Solution Yes, all EVGA power supplies support UPS backup devices.
In regards to this concern, the high voltage coming from a UPS backup device may damage the PSU.
1. EVGA power supplies that support active PFC, and the IC can sense the voltage of main capacitor. -If the voltage is too high(over 380V), the PFC will be protected.
2. The main capacitor can stand higher voltage around 420V(more than the voltage comes from UPS)
The only reason pure sine wave UPSs have gotten a lot of attention lately is because the prices have FINALLY come down so they are within reach. That and aggressive marketing from makers of such UPS. Since they have come way down in price in recent years, they have become competitive. So if you find one and the price is right, go for it. I don't have anything against them. Just don't believe you need it, or that it is better for your connected devices.
FTR, I live in
Tornado Alley where we frequently have severe weather. Total power outages are not everyday, but they are not rare either - especially in my 100 year old neighborhood where the utilities are not buried. I have a "good" UPS with AVR on all my computers in the house, and my home theater audio equipment and big screen TV. I also have one on my garage door opener and even one in the bedroom for the alarm clock and electric blanket! And none are pure sine wave.
