iMac core i3 powersupply

Just got a new mac and wanting to protect it from the 3rd world power we have here in the D.C. area I went out and purchased a 600watt APC surge/backup power box.. OK I get it home and the instructions are written by someone with English as a second language. Next I have to surf the net to find tech support. This dude was very smart at least, but almost to a fault. His question leads me to this post.. It was:

"Does your Mac have PFCU?" a I think that stands for Power function corrected Unit. Personally, I never looked inside an iMac, couldn't tell you if its powered by little green mice, and don't really care. But, it seems to be important... sine waves and the like.

So does the Core 3i iMac have such a power supply?

My experience thus far is to tell others NOT to purchase APC since it only supports the windows world.


Thanks

KKKKFL

Macs, and most modern computers have a switched mode power supply that includes PFCU, otherwise Apple and other manufacturers would have to include different power supplies to every market that has different mains voltage.

The practical upshot of this is that I could buy an iMac from the states that has been running off 110V mains and plug it straight into by UK mains supply running at 220V without frying the machine.

Then I do not know what this Teckii was talking about. He said that if the Mac had PFCU in the power supply, the surge/backup would not work correctly. It had something to do with monitoring the sine wave, and if the power supply had PFCU slightest variations would cause the APC system not to work correctly.

Now I am really lost. Should I take the APC unit back and get something else?


KKKKFL

I think the apc should work fine. Its not a question of windows compatibility, Macs use normal power units just like PCs, I cant think of any reason why, if its a PC APC - it will not not exactly the same with a mac, since its a Power supply unit and has nothing to do with the exact type of computer and certainly has nothing to do with the OS