Wanna get a U.P.S. need help

[Jonathan W]

So I'm trying to get a U.P.S. for my workstation/gaming rig at home. Power here is pretty reliable but we do occasionally get really bad wind/rain/ice storms and I would like to know that my systems will be safe especially with how cheap these units seem to be...

I have about a $150-$200USD limit

According to the PCPP list I made here https://pcpartpicker.com/list/XN2tM8 my system uses about 500W [rounding up to next highest 100] so what kind of system should I look at which would give me about 5 minutes of safety for my system?

Also does the battery beep when it loses power even if everything connected to it is turned off?

[vanished]

I think you're correct with your assessment of power consumption, but then, I have to wonder why do you have a 1000 W PSU?  If you want to still have the ability to tap that potential, you'll want the UPS to be 1000 or more

 

If you choose not to go that route though, something like this would be sufficient:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00429N192/

I would recommend it, or something better.  Also I would recommend looking for "PFC" or "pure sinewave" - it ensures that it will actually work with your PSU, since UPSes that do not offer this may cause some PCs to reject the power they produce, effectively making them useless.

 

Also, with regard to the unit above, specs can be found here: https://www.cyberpowersystems.com/product/ups/cp1000pfclcd/

Keep in mind that with any UPS, runtime is incredibly non-linear, meaning that going from 50% to 100% of its rated output will cut your runtime down by a lot more than half!  For this reason, if you want to ensure a long runtime under load, it doesn't hurt to get an "oversized" one.

 

[SwingLifeAway92]

If you have decent local Ecycle place/places nearby check them out sometimes you can get a good enterprise ups for cheap depending on luck and area.

[unknownmiscreant]

Get a decent one. My cheapish one 'crashed' today for some reason. Lost power to both our servers and my desktop.

[kb5zue]

22 minutes ago, Ryan_Vickers said:

I think you're correct with your assessment of power consumption, but then, I have to wonder why do you have a 1000 W PSU?  If you want to still have the ability to tap that potential, you'll want the UPS to be 1000 or more

 

If you choose not to go that route though, something like this would be sufficient:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00429N192/

I would recommend it, or something better.  Also I would recommend looking for "PFC" or "pure sinewave" - it ensures that it will actually work with your PSU, since UPSes that do not offer this may cause some PCs to reject the power they produce, effectively making them useless.

 

Also, with regard to the unit above, specs can be found here: https://www.cyberpowersystems.com/product/ups/cp1000pfclcd/

Keep in mind that with any UPS, runtime is incredibly non-linear, meaning that going from 50% to 100% of its rated output will cut your runtime down by a lot more than half!  For this reason, if you want to ensure a long runtime under load, it doesn't hurt to get an "oversized" one.

 

Sometimes, depending on where you look, finding a good UPS that delivers a "pure sine wave" can be difficult.  Most battery type UPS employ a battery or batteries and they are not conducive to pure sine waves instead producing a "somewhat" rounded square wave.  If you do go shopping for a good UPS, make sure it includes some decent caps in it to smooth the signal.  It may cost a few bucks more, but IMHO, well worth it if you value your equipment as all the rest of us do.  Good luck in your search.

[Prox1ma]

How long do you want to run your PC. If its just for a few mins or less than an hour, just the UPS will be fine. If you want to run it for a long time and other utilities along with your PC, you may have to get a separate secondary power supply along with your UPS. Like an inverter with multiple batteries or a generator. Some UPS allow you to connect more batteries but inverters can usually connect more, bigger ones and can run longer. Pure Sine Wave is a must if you are using electronics. Don't get non sine wave inverters/ups

[Jonathan W]

22 hours ago, Ezilkannan said:

Some UPS allow you to connect more batteries

https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B0002935BA/_encoding=UTF8?coliid=I3O0U6M1ZH5LUO&colid=5QDCV9IAW0TZ

I found this one that does that. Which I think is pretty dope

22 hours ago, Ryan_Vickers said:

I think you're correct with your assessment of power consumption, but then, I have to wonder why do you have a 1000 W PSU?  If you want to still have the ability to tap that potential, you'll want the UPS to be 1000 or more

I have a 1kW PSU because it was on sale for like $50 and my dad bought it for me  And I thought I was going to SLI my 980's so yeah lol

So why do you recommend that UPS other than the Sine Wave you explained? If my assumptions are correct [I horribly failed electronics in high school so forgive me] but if the battery on the one you posted is only 600W then won't it only give me a relatively small amount of time as opposed to this one that's like 950W?
https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B0002935BA/_encoding=UTF8?coliid=I3O0U6M1ZH5LUO&colid=5QDCV9IAW0TZ

I'm only looking to get a few minutes of extra time, maybe 5 minutes at the most [which is a LONG time I understand] while gaming so if/when I lose power while gaming i'll have time to stop what i'm doing, save, shut down, etc.

 

Maybe one that would also have the ability to say act as an emergency power bank for me to charge my phone or my Nintendo Switch or whatever other small devices from would be super cool too.

[vanished]

1 minute ago, Jonathan W said:

I have a 1kW PSU because it was on sale for like $50 and my dad bought it for me  And I thought I was going to SLI my 980's so yeah lol

Ah, alright, fair enough

1 minute ago, Jonathan W said:

So why do you recommend that UPS other than the Sine Wave you explained?

That one does produce a pure sine wave   But watch out, that company also offers non-sine wave ones that look very similar.

1 minute ago, Jonathan W said:

If my assumptions are correct [I horribly failed electronics in high school so forgive me] but if the battery on the one you posted is only 600W then won't it only give me a relatively small amount of time as opposed to this one that's like 950W?
https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B0002935BA/_encoding=UTF8?coliid=I3O0U6M1ZH5LUO&colid=5QDCV9IAW0TZ

Technically the wattage has nothing to do with how long it will last, but practically speaking there will be a larger battery in a higher wattage unit.

Checking the specs for that unit, it claims 4 mins of runtime at full load (940 W) and 11.4 mins at half load (470 W), which sounds decent, but I have no knowledge about how good that unit is compared to others.  It's not a brand I see often though.  Most people mention CyberPower, APC, or on the extreme high end, things like Eaton.

1 minute ago, Jonathan W said:

I'm only looking to get a few minutes of extra time, maybe 5 minutes at the most [which is a LONG time I understand] while gaming so if/when I lose power while gaming i'll have time to stop what i'm doing, save, shut down, etc.

That should be doable, that's what these are designed for: 5 - 10 mins of time to save and shut down.  If you want to run for an hour+ you will need a generator or something

1 minute ago, Jonathan W said:

Maybe one that would also have the ability to say act as an emergency power bank for me to charge my phone or my Nintendo Switch or whatever other small devices from would be super cool too.

The model up from the one I originally linked you does offer 2 USB ports on the front.

[Jonathan W]

35 minutes ago, Ryan_Vickers said:

It's not a brand I see often though.  Most people mention CyberPower, APC, or on the extreme high end, things like Eaton.

Tripp-Lite does most of their work in the small business/prosumer market afaik and I know them from my Dad who does I.T., we buy their network switches a lot, they're decently built and are cheap.

 

Ironically, you say that, and I've only ever heard of CyberPower from their boutique custom PC line

[vanished]

Just now, Jonathan W said:

Ironically, you say that, and I've only ever heard of CyberPower from their boutique custom PC line

Completely separate, unrelated company afaik that just happens to have the same name

[Prox1ma]

14 hours ago, Jonathan W said:

https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B0002935BA/_encoding=UTF8?coliid=I3O0U6M1ZH5LUO&colid=5QDCV9IAW0TZ

I found this one that does that. Which I think is pretty dope

 

Hmm, I haven't heard of that brand. Perhaps its popular over there? I myself use the APC Back-UPS BR1500G. I don't have batteries connected to the UPS. Instead, I have another 2.5 kVA inverter connected to two 150ah Tall Tubular Batteries, that gives me roughly 6-8 hours of backup under load.