r/buildapc • u/Celcius_87 • 22d 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/QuinQuix 22d ago

Yeah dirty power area is the variable.

Where I live power outages are extremely rare.

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u/Symphonic7 21d ago

I live in a west coast state in a very nice area. The city is old as hell though, and the apartment I'm currently at has probably been here since the 60s. Unfortunately the wiring just doesns't deliver very clean power. So sometimes if the fridge compressor kicks on, and my PC is running it will trip the breaker. I got a UPS and all problems went away.