Looking for a good UPS

[MC23]

Hi everyone, I'm looking to buy a UPS to protect my setup. I've watched several videos and read guides, and I've got a general idea but still have some doubts.

 

I'm leaning toward a line-interactive UPS with pure sine wave output, since my power supply (RM850X) has active PFC. After reading a bunch of post, I believe that I'll get an Eaton UPS. My configuration includes an i5-12600K with air cooling and an RTX 5070 Ti. My goal is to keep the PC, monitor, and possibly the router running for 3/5 minutes during a blackout, so I can shut everything down properly.

 

I've read about the non-1:1 relationship between VA and W, which leads to my first question: before choosing the capacity, is there a reliable way to measure what my PC is actually consuming at any given moment? I want to avoid oversizing it unnecessarily or, worse, getting one that's too small.

 

I also have a major doubt about using a UPS with a power strip. I currently use a BESTEK power strip with independent switches and surge protection: I've read several posts about connecting filtered power strips downstream of a UPS. I'm not clear whether the issue with filters conflicting occurs only with simulated sine wave UPS units or if I risk causing damage even with a pure sine wave one. I tried reading some more technical articles, but given my limited knowledge of the subject, I didn't understand much: should I repurpose the power strip for other use and get a "dumb" one to connect to the UPS? Should I avoid plugging a strip into the UPS altogether?

 

I'm looking for a product with the following characteristics:

1. quietness: this is the most important one. The PC is in my bedroom and I hate electrical buzzing or fans that sound like turbines, so I'm looking for the quietest UPS possible, even if it costs a bit more
2. size: having limited space, a compact model would be ideal, but this has lower priority than quietness.

 

My budget is 250-300€.

 

I hope i provided enough info. TYIA!

[Dutch_Master]

1 hour ago, MC23 said:

Eaton

 

1 hour ago, MC23 said:

budget is 250-300€

Sorry, those do not go together in the same sentence  

 

Instead, look at a used APC (Schneider) UPS, but be aware you'll always have to replace the batteries! (and those get expensive really fast!  )

 

Also, mind that a UPS does NOT mean you can continue gaming 4evah, it's really only meant to allow you a shutdown period to close programs, store data and control the shut down of the PC. For anything other, your budget is way, waaayyy underpriced

[Potatoes__]

From what exactly do you want to protect yourself? UPS would make sense if you live in a place with very frequent blackouts and power grid failures and you work with sensitive data that might get corrupted due to an unexpected power cut. If you just want to make sure that your game is saved or something then trust me it's not a worthwhile investment.

 

But with general instability in the grid and power fluctuations and whatever you would be just fine with using a good power strip, quality power supply, and maybe a much cheaper voltage stabilizer unit. And I also recommend looking into voltage relays (or voltage protector, whatever the right name for it) that just cut off power if the voltage in the grid becomes too funky, because it's usually better to just cut the power to your PC rather than zap it with 320v. Those are either installed together with your breakers or plug into a socket.

[MC23]

4 hours ago, Dutch_Master said:

 

Sorry, those do not go together in the same sentence  

 

Instead, look at a used APC (Schneider) UPS, but be aware you'll always have to replace the batteries! (and those get expensive really fast!  )

 

Also, mind that a UPS does NOT mean you can continue gaming 4evah, it's really only meant to allow you a shutdown period to close programs, store data and control the shut down of the PC. For anything other, your budget is way, waaayyy underpriced

 

I can find some Eaton UPS with 4xDIN sockets at ~200€ where I live (eg: 5E1600UD). I don't want to game, I just want to have the time to properly shutdown my PC, as I said 3/5 minutes max.

 

1 hour ago, Potatoes__ said:

From what exactly do you want to protect yourself? UPS would make sense if you live in a place with very frequent blackouts and power grid failures and you work with sensitive data that might get corrupted due to an unexpected power cut. If you just want to make sure that your game is saved or something then trust me it's not a worthwhile investment.

 

But with general instability in the grid and power fluctuations and whatever you would be just fine with using a good power strip, quality power supply, and maybe a much cheaper voltage stabilizer unit. And I also recommend looking into voltage relays (or voltage protector, whatever the right name for it) that just cut off power if the voltage in the grid becomes too funky, because it's usually better to just cut the power to your PC rather than zap it with 320v. Those are either installed together with your breakers or plug into a socket.

I experienced a lot of blackouts in 2025, they're generally really short (usually power is back after 30/40 secs) but sometimes last longer. I want to buy a UPS to manually shut my PC down, and possibly to keep alive the modem for as long as possible to have fast wifi for when that happens and I'm in smart working (not mandatory since I can use hotspot). Note that in SW I only use the company laptop and I can go to a pub to charge it when needed.

[Potatoes__]

48 minutes ago, MC23 said:

to keep alive the modem for as long as possible

Oooh separately on this, I'm not sure whether they are available in your country but I got myself a separate little UPS thing specifically for my router and the optics box. Its the size of a power bank and can power stuff through DC connectors rather than inefficient AC power supplies. Mine is called Marsiva KP2 Pro if I recall correctly and so far it works like a charm, the longest blackout I got recently was around 8 hours and it powered the PON receiver, the router and a Pihole server running on Pi zero for the entire time. It costed me around $50 or something but probably you won't need such an uptime tho so maybe you can get something cheaper.

 

I would however double-check if your internet connection stays up during the blackouts, cause if the provider's hardware has no backups and also gets cut then you won't have the connectivity even if you power on your router. We have optical networks here and they still work even during the blackouts as long as you have a PON terminal and can power it, while the regular ol' ethernet connection goes poof.

[Potatoes__]

Btw gonna throw in an option but I'm not sure it would be cost effective for your case.

 

You know those mobile power station things like Ecoflow and whatever? Those can serve as a UPS too, and with a much higher runtime and added value compared to a regular UPS. But those can be expensive and may be on a louder side when under load. I have a big honking Bluetti backup for PCs and an Ecoflow for 3D printers, both react instantly to a power cut.

[manikyath]

4 hours ago, Dutch_Master said:

but be aware you'll always have to replace the batteries! (and those get expensive really fast!  )

dont buy the official batteries, pretty much every UPS i've seen has some standard size lead-acid batteries, which can be had from good brands for at most like 60-ish bucks, and from 'less premium' brands for 20-ish bucks.

 

20 minutes ago, Potatoes__ said:

 

You know those mobile power station things like Ecoflow and whatever? Those can serve as a UPS too, and with a much higher runtime and added value compared to a regular UPS. But those can be expensive and may be on a louder side when under load. I have a big honking Bluetti backup for PCs and an Ecoflow for 3D printers, both react instantly to a power cut.

if you want to do this on a budget, meanwell has a series of "UPS inverters" to do exactly this, you can just combine them with some old e-bike batteries (or a stack of lead-acids) and you're good to go.

 

----

 

on topic:

general rule of thumb for buying a UPS:

- pure sine is ideal, but stepped approximation "will do" if the budget is tight.

- measure the 'worst case' power consumption of your setup (run the heaviest game you have, something along that line)

- double the value you measured (because headroom is necessary if you want any runtime at all), and round up to the next value that is available for sale

- get a unit with at least a 24 volt battery, because lead-acid batteries are weird, doubling from 12 volts to 24 volts almost quadruples runtime.

- before you press buy, look up how to replace the battery. UPS batteries are essentially a consumable, if the process to swap it out is more involved than you want to deal with, look for something else.

[Potatoes__]

3 minutes ago, manikyath said:

if you want to do this on a budget, meanwell has a series of "UPS inverters" to do exactly this, you can just combine them with some old e-bike batteries (or a stack of lead-acids) and you're good to go.

Yup that's also an option, know people with this setup, but it usually comes with added inconvenience in maintenance and placement options and some safety concerns honestly. I'd advise against Li-ion batts because those things are scary if they get overcharged/overheated/abused/shorted, while LiFePo should be bit more tame.

[manikyath]

8 minutes ago, Potatoes__ said:

I'd advise against Li-ion batts because those things are scary if they get overcharged/overheated/abused/shorted, while LiFePo should be bit more tame.

that's why i say old e-bike batteries, because those should be protected enough to be considered safe.

[OddOod]

2 hours ago, MC23 said:

time to properly shutdown my PC, as I said 3/5 minutes max

I'd just grab an APC or Cyberpower, then connect the USB cable to the PC and set up the auto shutdown.
Fun fact, if you do this, the Steam Hardware Survey records your rig as a laptop because it has a battery connected

[GuiltySpark_]

35 minutes ago, OddOod said:

I'd just grab an APC or Cyberpower, then connect the USB cable to the PC and set up the auto shutdown.
Fun fact, if you do this, the Steam Hardware Survey records your rig as a laptop because it has a battery connected

Yup. Stats show up in HWiNFO for tracking too. 

 

Very happy with my Cyberpower CP1500PFCLCD for a single desktop/display solution. 

 

I'll always suggest it when these threads pop up.

[OddOod]

8 minutes ago, GuiltySpark_ said:

Cyberpower CP1500PFCLCD ... I'll always suggest it when these threads pop up.

Hard agree
I did have the unfortunate circumstance that I bought 6 for various deployments around the house in the early pandemic era and now they ALL need new batteries, but that's a fact of lead acid batts, not the fault of CP