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Recently, I wrote about the APC Back-UPS 650VA, which is designed to provide backup power in case of an unexpected power outage at home. However, its battery backup can only support up to 390 W. While that is ideal for a TV, a router, and a few chargers, it is not enough for a powerful gaming PC, which can easily consume more than 500 W.
What is a UPS and how does it work?
You probably already have an idea based on what I mentioned earlier, but if you have never heard this term before, UPS stands for Uninterruptible Power Supply.
A UPS is designed to activate when something happens to your home’s electrical network, such as a power outage. When that happens, the system automatically switches on so the devices connected to the battery backup can continue running for a few minutes. This gives you enough time to save any files or properly shut down your equipment.
Normally, a UPS has several outlets, meaning AC outputs. Some of them provide surge protection only, while others offer dual protection, which includes both surge protection and battery backup from the UPS.
What is the best UPS for a gaming PC?
If you are looking for a strong and reliable backup solution, one of the best UPS units is the popular CyberPower CP1500AVRLCD3. This is a high capacity UPS with multiple AC outlets, making it ideal for safely backing up a gaming PC and a monitor.
How many battery backup outlets does the CyberPower UPS have?
This specific model includes a total of 12 outlets, but six of them only provide surge protection. The other six offer full protection, meaning both battery backup and surge protection.
The six battery backed outlets can support a combined load of up to 900 W. Considering that a gaming PC with a high end GPU like the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 could consume around 700 W, there would still be enough backup capacity to add a monitor as well.
With the APC Back-UPS 650VA, this would not be possible because it is limited to 390 W of battery backup.
The six outlets that only offer surge protection work similarly to a power strip, but with better protection. This means you can connect chargers and devices that generally do not require battery backup and are less likely to suffer damage during a power outage.
How long can the CyberPower CP1500AVRLCD3 run during a power outage?
It depends on how much power is being used. For example, if the connected devices are consuming around 450 W in total, you could get about 12 minutes of backup time. If the load is close to 900 W, the time drops to around 3 minutes.
That is still more than enough time to properly shut down a PC and prevent damage to internal components.
How do you know when the CyberPower CP1500AVRLCD3 switches to battery backup?
It is actually very easy to tell. This CyberPower UPS activates a loud alarm when the battery backup system turns on, meaning when it detects a power outage in your local electrical grid.
The alarm can be a bit annoying, but it is the best way to make sure people notice that something is happening, rather than letting the battery drain without shutting down the equipment properly.
Does the CyberPower CP1500AVRLCD3 come with a warranty?
Yes. It offers a warranty similar to the one provided by APC by Schneider Electric, another well known UPS manufacturer. For this model, the warranty lasts 3 years and also includes equipment protection coverage of up to $500,000 per connected device.
Interested in this UPS? Pick it up here on Amazon!
We are influencers and brand affiliates. This post contains affiliate links, most which go to Amazon and are Geo-Affiliate links to nearest Amazon store.
My name is Joel! I love to read, I go to university like most people my age.
In my free time I usually train boxing, I love music, I also know how to play the guitar and the harmonica.