I'm deciding whether or not I should spend $200 on a PFC UPS for my new computer. There have been times when the power randomly goes out while I'm using my computer and that really scares me because I'm afraid of data loss and file corruption and possibly hardware damage.

With that being said, I plan on getting the Cyberpower units, probably the 1500 model, not sure if I should get PFC or AVR models. The former is more expensive and pure sinewave and the latter is simulated. Not really sure if there's any benefit of spending more for the PFC model over the AVR. My last UPS unit from them lasted me about 3+ years before it died out on me.

Do the majority of you guys here run with UPS or without?

52 minutes ago, captain420 said:

Do the majority of you guys here run with UPS or without?

I do, some brands, but mostly Cyberpower UPS,s on all computers, and even Internet/phone system, from 750 to 3 KVA.

Edited August 13, 20205 yr by RamonB

Aaron,

I normally live in Indonesia ... back in Australia for Corona survival purposes and up there I live through almost daily power failures.  As a result, and before I invested in a UPS is replaced two motherboards, a few power supplies, RAM sticks, modems and a GPU.  I then invested in my first UPS which was taken out by, you guessed it, a power fail. I followed that with an AUD 970.00 UPS which was taken out about 8 months later with a power failure and that has been replaced by yet another (cheapie) UPS. So essentially, i have exchanged component failures with UPS replacements.  To be absolutely fair though, these failures have been the result of a combination of constant brownouts and power failures. I have always used a good quality surge protector as well, but that, to the best of my knowledge, is only good for spikes in power and not for brownouts.

The actual reason, I believe, for all the power problems is that only basic maintenance has been carried out since Indonesia became a Republic and the Dutch pulled out.  In essence, there has been relatively little new work (other than repairing breakages) done since Independence.

Unfortunately, I can see no alternative at the moment and "it is what it is"  

In Australia, (I brought my flight computer) I am thoroughly enjoying a respite as the power is incredibly stable here.

Regards

Tony

I do. Highly recommend the use of a good UPS. And if you have frequent power outages or surges it’s also a good idea to install a surge protector just upstream the UPS so it gets protected as well.

Cheers, Ed

9 hours ago, captain420 said:

I'm deciding whether or not I should spend $200 on a PFC UPS for my new computer. There have been times when the power randomly goes out while I'm using my computer and that really scares me because I'm afraid of data loss and file corruption and possibly hardware damage.

With that being said, I plan on getting the Cyberpower units, probably the 1500 model, not sure if I should get PFC or AVR models. The former is more expensive and pure sinewave and the latter is simulated. Not really sure if there's any benefit of spending more for the PFC model over the AVR. My last UPS unit from them lasted me about 3+ years before it died out on me.

Do the majority of you guys here run with UPS or without?

 

Without in the UK, Midlands area. Mains supply is pretty stable, blackouts very rare. Line seems stable. Not really required for me.

If you are getting reasonably frequent brownouts, blackouts, surges etc... then yes, may be a worthwhile investment. 

Yes -- on my flight sim machine I have an old one -- an APC BackUPS RS-800.  

I think it's worth it, as flight sim people we have expensive hardware and a UPS is a small $$ compared to everything else.

Yes, and a NAS backup system.

Belt and braces.

 

Living in Florida with the constant lightning my power flickers, surges, and goes out all the time so I use a UPS.  Be careful picking one though, the cheap ones are notorious for lighting on fire if they end up actually having to power something.  Its also best to get one that always runs off the battery, it will minimize spikes to your power supply.    

I use an APC SMC1000C UPS, which outputs a pure 60 Hz sine waveform. The equivalent of what the power company provides. Many less-expensive UPSs output a pulsed waveform that could potentially damage sensitive equipment.

On 8/13/2020 at 1:25 AM, captain420 said:

There have been times when the power randomly goes out

Yes, get one if this is an occurrence at your location, your concerns are valid.