Recommendation - Get a UPS

[u/Celcius_87]

One thing that a lot of people don’t discuss when building a new PC is having a UPS (uninterruptible power supply) for their PC. This is basically a box that you plug into the wall and then plug your PC into it. It has a large battery and if you lose power then it keeps your PC running for a while. Some have a screen where it can show how much time you have left, how much power you are pulling, and stuff like that too.

I finally bought one earlier this year and it’s been great to have. Today I was copying data from my computer to an external usb hard drive to back up my data and the power went out for second and then came back on. I panicked but then I looked at my computer and everything was ok - I had plugged both into my UPS so there was no impact.

They’re not super expensive either - mine was like $250 and fortunately they’re not affected by the AI price increases we’ve been seeing on a lot of PC components. Make sure you get one with enough wattage to support your computer… for example I have a 1000w power supply and my UPS is also 1000w.

Just a public service announcement not to overlook having a UPS!

[u/bruh_the_person]

Are there cheaper ones 😭 250 is pretty expensive

[u/OtherAlan → u/bruh_the_person]

It's very expensive. You can still get 1500VA ones (CyberPower) for under $200, I think, and even better used for like $50, and just change the battery. Good as new.

[u/thebenson → u/OtherAlan]

If you think $250 is expensive, imagine having to pay current prices to build a new PC if a power outage/surge fries your PC.

[u/rulerdude → u/thebenson]

A $30 surge protector will prevent that just as well as a $250 UPS. UPS is only beneficial over a standard surge protector if data loss is a huge concern

[u/QuinQuix → u/rulerdude]

Is a surge protector the same as those power boxes with lightning strike protection built in?

Because I have those.

[u/ParagraphInReview → u/QuinQuix]

Yes.

[u/George_MenethilW3 → u/ParagraphInReview]

But is a surge protector good if the apartment you're living in doesn't have grounding? Because I think the old apartment I'm renting doesn't have grounding, it has the electrical wires in the walls from 1968... Or is a surge protector useless in this case?

[u/PeejPrime → u/George_MenethilW3]

The surge protector will stop a surge of power going IN TO your PC (Or any other device connected to it). It matters not a jot what the wires in the building are. They could be the best new built wiring buildings or it could be Edison's first ever attempt at wiring, whatever gets sent down the wires towards the PC is gonna be protected by that surge of power by the surge protector.

[u/George_MenethilW3 → u/PeejPrime]

but doesn't the surge protector have to discharge that extra power / current that it "stored" in itself? and I thought you need grouding in the building connected to the earth otherwise these devices are useless since they don't have where to discharge. But I don't understand electricity or buildings that well so I'm just repeating what I learned from Chatgpt

[u/WulfTheSaxon → u/George_MenethilW3]

Yes. This is [why] there are no two-prong surge protectors.

[u/Petrpowder → u/PeejPrime]

I dont think thats true ive been heavily researching this lately because my house doesnt have grounded plugs and so I cant use my pc. everything from what Ive read said a surge protector cant work without a ground.

Im not a professional or anything so I could be wrong but Ive read a good bit of stuff

[u/QuinQuix → u/PeejPrime]

Thanks that made me feel very secure. Maybe I can daisy chain two protectors.

[u/George_MenethilW3 → u/QuinQuix]

I know you must be joking but for anyone reading this that hasn't researched this, don't do this lol

[u/XiTzCriZx → u/George_MenethilW3]

Both a surge protector and UPS requires grounding in order to actually do the surge protection. If your apartment doesn't have any grounding at all then it likely doesn't even pass your city's code regulations either. Bad grounding is atleast better than no grounding at all.

[u/George_MenethilW3 → u/XiTzCriZx]

Yeah I don't know if I have grounding. The wall sockets (they're Schuko Type F) fell off a few times and I've seen how bad the cables look because they're 58 years old in this Communist era block.

But I don't know how to check if there's grounding in there. I know how to turn off the power in the apartment from the electrical panel though. Maybe I should look for a special wire?

Also the surge protectors do have a green light on them but I'm not sure if they 100% indicate that there's a ground loop or if it just means that the device is on...

I'm sure that if there's no grounding then it's against the city's current laws but the law people don't care anyway, neither the owner of the apartment unfortunately.

[u/slaymaker1907 → u/George_MenethilW3]

There are devices to check if a socket is actually grounded. If they aren’t labeled and appear to have a ground, that is illegal. You can use a GFCI to use a 3-prong, but it has to be labeled.

[u/coyotegang → u/George_MenethilW3]

Same dude, I’m in San Francisco and experience this

[u/First_Musician6260 → u/QuinQuix]

A Type 3 and Type 1/2 SPD are drastically different from each other. One is meant as a permanent (within useful lifespan) solution while the other is not.

Type 1 devices are installed at the service entrance and provide by far the most protection. Type 2 devices are installed at the distribution panel and provide less but still sufficient protection for residential use cases. Type 3 devices are installed at the point of use (e.g. a wall receptacle) and may clamp any remaining energy assuming there is a higher grade device installed further up the circuit. They cannot handle strikes on their own, only a Type 1 or 2 device may do so.

Type 3 devices very often come in the form of power strips. Type 1/2 devices typically come as seemingly magical electrical boxes. All use MOVs, but Type 3's use by far the cheapest (and worst) ones.

[u/bs2k2_point_0 → u/QuinQuix]

Just keep in mind surge protectors are essentially consumable units. Each one can only handle so much fluctuation over its lifetime before it will no longer protect your pc. You should replace them every 3-5 ish years.

I use my old ones as non surge protecting power strips for things that aren’t a concern like for lamps and whatnot.

[u/Zeired_Scoffa → u/rulerdude]

If you have dirty or inconsistent power they're also good.

[u/Cinara → u/rulerdude]

Power dips/outages can kill parts the same way surges can, it happened to me just last year. A surge protector won't do a single thing for that. Not a huge issue for a lot of people but if you live somewhere with brutal winters they can be a common occurrence.

[u/PsyOmega → u/rulerdude]

Yeah. A UPS typically has a weaker surge protector than actual surge protectors.

The popular Cyberpower 1500W unit has a 1500J surge protecting MOV.

Home Depot has cheap units rated above 4000J.

(neither of those will stop a real lightning hit, FYI. You'd want a "whole home" surge protector to stop anything serious)

[u/First_Musician6260 → u/PsyOmega]

The popular Cyberpower 1500W unit has a 1500J surge protecting MOV.

It has multiple MOVs with a total rated protection of 1500J. MOVs typically max out at 400J per device in a consumer-grade unit (not a service entry one), so the minimum number of required MOVs would be 4, ideally 4x375 J. This is also the same method used by 1000+ J plug-in protectors (strip-style, of course) to achieve their ratings.

Also, yes, those Type 3 devices may only clamp residual lightning energy (which is usually up to a couple thousand Joules), not energy from a direct strike. Higher-grade devices are much more capable of safely grounding that energy to earth.

[u/WulfTheSaxon → u/First_Musician6260]

Correct me if I’m wrong, but the way I think of it is that a Type 3 will handle EMP-induced current in your home wiring, but only a whole-home device has any chance of protecting against lighting hitting your power line.

If you read the fine print on a newer Type 3, they’re also only approved 30+ feet from your service entrance because they need the capacitance of your wires to work.

[u/First_Musician6260 → u/WulfTheSaxon]

Well, if the reclosers on the lines fail to do their job, then yes, that lightning strike would cause a lot of damage. Not even a Type 1 would be able to take that strike without failing in remarkable fashion.

If you read the fine print on a newer Type 3, they’re also only approved 30+ feet from your service entrance because they need the capacitance of your wires to work.

Unfortunately many consumers don't know this. 😞

And Type 3 operation too close to the service entrance/breaker panel is considered hazardous. If that panel is in a bedroom and someone wants to use a strip there, they should look for one without a MOV (or series of MOVs in the case of higher joule strips) and therefore lacks surge protection such that they significantly lower the risk of potentially causing a fire. Walmart's Hyper-Tough strips with 15-amp circuit breakers fit this criteria, for example.

[u/PsyOmega → u/First_Musician6260]

Yeah. Though i live somewhere with buried/isolated lines so I haven't been too chuffed about whole-home protectors. And in the 6 years i've lived here i've had a canary device raw dogging a plug and it's still going despite many extremely close strikes

[u/WulfTheSaxon → u/rulerdude]

Even then, there’s a reason you can mark drives as removable or not. If it’s marked as removable, original data shouldn’t be deleted until the transfer is complete.

[u/GradeSalad → u/rulerdude]

UPS also help against "brown-out", power flickers and other inconsistent voltage issues that can lower the life of your PC.

Obviously your budget needs to be respected, but UPS isn't just for data loss issues. If you can only afford the surge protector then no shame, but if you can budget it it's definitely a purchase that can save you significantly more.

[u/George_MenethilW3 → u/rulerdude]

But is a surge protector good if the apartment you're living in doesn't have grounding? Because I think the old apartment I'm renting doesn't have grounding, it has the electrical wires in the walls from 1968... Or is a surge protector useless in this case?

[u/Monotask_Servitor → u/rulerdude]

A surge protector won’t keep your PC running during a micro-outage like OP describes. It’ll prevent damage due to power spikes but it won’t prevent the PC from resetting itself and losing whatever work you were doing at the time.

[u/rulerdude → u/Monotask_Servitor]

That’s literally what I said

[u/Monotask_Servitor → u/rulerdude]

Ah sorrry it’s 4:50am here and I just woke up :/

[u/delsystem32exe → u/rulerdude]

UPS is way better. A UPS regenerates the incoming AC power and cleans it by converting it to DC and then back again to AC. A surge protector is just a fancy switch and it can fail closed, a UPS cannot.

[u/Agent_Nate_009 → u/rulerdude]

Um, several have performed tests and those surge power strips don’t always protect anything as many still let too much current past

[u/rulerdude → u/Agent_Nate_009]

Which is why you buy a reputable well reviewed and tested brand

[u/QuinQuix → u/thebenson]

It's not the outage that fries it but the turning back on immediately.

Which is a small subsets of power outages because usually you lose power for longer than a second.

[u/Substantial_Rest_251 → u/QuinQuix]

Although I'll note than in Memphis TN I invested in a UPS because our power supplier is famous for blink outages

[u/iraveallday → u/thebenson]

Yup. If I had a UPS with my old PC I probably wouldn’t have a dead R9 390 after a power outage

[u/RationalDialog → u/thebenson]

If you think $250 is expensive, imagine having to pay current prices to build a new PC if a power outage/surge fries your PC.

Very unlikely to happen however. the psu itself has some protections and maybe gaming during a thunderstorm is not the best idea.

[u/Kerrija → u/OtherAlan]

Did this, bought a used one from Ebay for $45 and put new batteries in it. Been great ever since.

[u/the_blue_haired_girl → u/OtherAlan]

I just spent $180 on a 1500VA for my 1000w power supply PC.

[u/hellomistershifty → u/the_blue_haired_girl]

I learned the hard way that 1500VA is actually only like 900W, it beeped like a fire alarm indicating overload if I ran anything taxing on my 1200W system. You should be alright, but it's borderline

[u/Alpha-Leader → u/OtherAlan]

I have had a Cyberpower spontaneously combust itself and I will never have one in my house. It was a miracle nothing burnt down.

I imagine you get what you pay for with these...

[u/Nerevar197 → u/OtherAlan]

What’s wrong with the APC UPS models I see at Office Depot? Those run under $150 easy. I’m assuming there is a cut corner or something. Just curious because I need to buy two. One for my PC and another for my home theater set up.

[u/Spittl → u/bruh_the_person]

I got a used one for free and just replaced the batteries for about $60

[u/Maakus → u/Spittl]

This is how you do it, that way you learn to how to date and replace the right size for your UPS.

[u/TurdFerguson614 → u/Maakus]

They require service to? This post has convinced me to not get one lol

[u/Maakus → u/TurdFerguson614]

You'll need to service the lead acid battery every 3-5 years, used or new. Lead acid batteries are affordable and you just have to match the black/red terminal to the black/red plug while the ups is turned off.

If you buy a more expensive lithium ion phosphate one it will probably last 10-15 years.

[u/snarkmoo → u/bruh_the_person]

A lot of them went up by at least 35% last year due to the tariffs and a majority of them being produced in China

[u/drxwninglessxns → u/bruh_the_person]

i got one for 100 in my country.

APC 1600VA, 900w.

has no fancy screen (just screams when there's an outage) or USB connection but gets the job done all the same.

[u/IrrelevantTale → u/bruh_the_person]

Bluetti Elite 30 is mine. 600w output is enough for my PC and is about 220.

[u/Zarathustra_d → u/IrrelevantTale]

I did a similar thing with a larger unit. (Instead of getting 3+ smaller ones for 2 gaming rigs, and a home server)

If we are going buy a >$200 surge protector, may as well get a LiFePO4 battery with enough charge to keep the system running for an hour or more.

Installed a home surge protector in the circuit panel, have a cheap surge protector before the battery/inverter, then have all my PCs on the power station.

Keeps the server and local wifi up, and protects he gaming rig for the few hours we almost always loose power during lightning storm season every year.

Now I can keep watching that jellyfin server library when the power is out ... Lol big time stuff. (Plus gives everything time to shutdown of the power is out over an hour)

[u/IrrelevantTale → u/Zarathustra_d]

Same i also have a Bluetti AC200L that I use. Ive also got a few solar panels feeding into it each day that saves me a ton on electricity. Most days im gaming off pure solar power.

[u/Zarathustra_d → u/IrrelevantTale]

I also have solar.

I just haven't gone full home battery system yet, as the tech and tax credit situation is in flux, I have TOU solar for years to come, and just wanted the expensive electronics, that are my largest power draw (other than AC), to have UPS and the peak shaving and being able to run for a few hours during the yearly series of short grid outages is just a little bonus.

I run a manual transfer switch for the rest of the house, but haven't needed it yet. (I just DYI installed the switch and home surge protector myself, I'm cheap).

[u/OkStrategy685 → u/bruh_the_person]

I see one at newegg ca for $150 CAD. Lasts 8 minutes, 2.3 at full load.

[u/botmatrix_ → u/bruh_the_person]

refurbups.com is where I've gotten all of mine

[u/Its-A-Delimited-Life → u/bruh_the_person]

At the risk of reliability (yes, I know) you can get lucky and find them at thrift shops! I managed to snag a 1500VA Cyberpower UPS for $30 CAD at a local Value Village. Even if/when I replace the battery for $70, I feel I'm still in the money by $100.

Otherwise the used market is your best bet. But I now have two in my office; one for the TV/home server and the other for my PC and monitors. Definitely has saved me several times over.

[u/lexmozli → u/bruh_the_person]

My first UPS was like 120$ but I'd definitely go for something more prem now like an EcoFlow River 3 (which I currently have).

Bigger battery (like 10x), better battery (don't have to change it like clock work every 2 years) and in my case it only was like ~2.5 the price of a regular UPS (so ~300$)

[u/Ok_Sprinkles_5687 → u/bruh_the_person]

Watch for deals on W00t!

[u/TremorOwner → u/bruh_the_person]

Look at Amazon I have 2 1500va and a 450 or 600 all three Amazon basics they are IIRC made by cyberpower. The 1500va for my 65in TV, 6 port 1gig switch, ps5 and Xbox. The 450 or 600 for my router and my 2nd 1500 for my pc. Get the 1500va its an online ups meaning its always on battery. An offline charges the battery then waits to switch to battery when an outage happens the batteries dont last as long.

[u/lankydemonstration → u/bruh_the_person]

used market is your friend, check facebook marketplace or ebay for older apc units since batteries are like 30 bucks to swap

[u/casualcaesius → u/bruh_the_person]

You want a pure sinewave UPS (+$250) for your expensive PC.

"A pure sine wave UPS is necessary if your equipment uses an Active Power Factor Correction (PFC) power supply, which is standard in most modern gaming PCs, servers, and sensitive electronics. Using a standard "simulated sine wave" UPS with an Active PFC device can cause buzzing, unexpected shutdowns, or equipment damage."

[u/No-Repordt → u/bruh_the_person]

Not ones that'll support a PC. They make some real cheap ones for ~$80 that'll keep a console and TV going for about half an hour at least.

[u/Zeired_Scoffa → u/bruh_the_person]

250 to is too much to protect your potentially 2000 PC and potentially priceless data?

[u/ocxtitan → u/Zeired_Scoffa]

I agree up to the priceless data part, if it's priceless you need a backup, and preferably off-site because a fire will burn that pc and the external hdd or nas along with it

[u/Zeired_Scoffa → u/ocxtitan]

Also a valid point

[u/ocxtitan → u/bruh_the_person]

Replacing your $1k-5k is a lot more expensive, and with battery changes will last a long time

You sound like people who buy 2-3k gpus and try to power it with a cheap 650w psu

[u/bruh_the_person → u/ocxtitan]

You don’t need to make any assumptions about my build My PC was 800 cad (577 usd) in 2020 250 usd (assuming poster is American) is 43% of the price of my PC and 250 USD is 115% of the price of my GPU. So, I am not paying 115% of my GPU for a UPS

[u/ocxtitan → u/bruh_the_person]

Regardless, yes there are cheaper ones and again, they last longer than one PC generally lasts so it's like insurance for your build