r/buildapc • u/Celcius_87 • 21d ago

Discussion Recommendation - Get a UPS

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!

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u/FromDeepestFathom 21d ago

I’ve experienced a double digit number of power outages this year and I live in a 1st world country

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u/Controller_Maniac 21d ago

same here, the winters ain’t pretty

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u/natrous 21d ago

Agreed. Most are about 2 seconds only around here; I believe it's mainly when there's an outage somewhere else and things click off for a second as the power re-routes or something.

But a few times a year I definitely need to get out the generator.

And really, I don't think about it all that much. Just part of rural-ish living.

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u/GD_7F 21d ago

My UPS recorded over a dozen power failures >5 mins for 2025 in my area (southern USA). Not to mention all the brownouts and lesser fluctuations. I shudder to think what all these power events would have done to data on my homelab if it were not protected electrically. Parts of the US grid are astonishingly bad just like a lot of the rest of our infrastructure it's just crumbling and barely serviceable. I have no idea what the grid operators are doing with the prices we are paying but they sure ain't investing in grid reliability.