(Part 3) Reddit mentions: The best computer ups units

Ok, so there are a lot of things I'd probably change :)

​

Motors - SabotageRC Booty 2306-2300kV, they're cheaper and significantly higher quality than the DYS you're looking at (they are made by DYS, as well, but with much higher quality components and build quality)

​

ESC - beware Racerstar. Some things they OEM and you get a good product for a good price, but others you get significant drops in quality. I would pay a few cents more apiece and get Spedix ES-20 Lite ESCs.

​

VTX - the one you selected is decent, but your soldering skills need to be up to par, the wires come undone from the VTX extremely easily and are incredibly difficult to reattach. I would recommend a few dollars more to get an AKK VTX with either larger pads or a connector.

​

VTX antennas - There are better ones out there. Lumenier Axii is one of the best and most durable (and significantly lighter), pagoda antennas being slightly better in some regards but more fragile.

​

Radio - The Turnigy Evolution is about the same price now and is a better choice than the FS-i6. Still uses the Flysky AFHDS2A protocol, so it will work with the receiver you selected (and there are now others that are good, as well). If the phonebook style radio appeals to you, then the i6 is the only cheap choice, but keep in mind it is a CHEAP radio, not an inexpensive one.

​

Wire - I would suggest ordering some 14, 16, 18, 20, 22, 24, 26, 28 gauge wire from Hobbyking (as much as they suck, they're the only place that sells lengths of wire inexpensively). Getting 1m of each wire in both black and red should only be 10-15 bucks IIRC.

​

Power supply for charger - get a supply that is at least 19v and 200 watts, like this: https://www.amazon.com/MEAN-WELL-LRS-200-24-211-2W-Switchable/dp/B00YMA7I7C/ it is a few dollars more, but you can also run your charger at its full output, which will come in handy for charging your batteries in a timely fashion.

​

Soldering iron - get a quality one, you're going to need it. https://www.amazon.com/Weller-WLC100-40-Watt-Soldering-Station/dp/B000AS28UC/

​

You should also get some no-clean flux: https://www.amazon.com/MG-Chemicals-milliliters-Pneumatic-Dispensing/dp/B00425FUW2/

​

Decent solder: https://www.amazon.com/MAIYUM-63-37-solder-electrical-soldering/dp/B076QF1Y85/

​

And a tip cleaner: https://www.amazon.com/Hakko-599B-02-Wire-type-soldering-cleaner/dp/B00FZPGDLA/

​

That should get you well on your way - still on a budget, but you'll hate yourself WAY less when you go to build it and have decent equipment. :)

I have an APC 1500 UPS.

APC Smart-UPS 1500VA UPS Battery Backup with Pure Sine Wave Output Rack-Mount/Tower (SMC1500-2U) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B007ZT2KV6/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_Ie38BbXJYPAM3

I got it from dell for less than that because I had a bunch of rewards points from ordering stuff through dell business credit.

I have it mounted on the bottom of my rack because it’s super heavy.

My devices are not plugged into the UPS. They’re plugged into PDU’s which go into the UPS.

I’m using two of these.

StarTech.com Rackmount PDU with 8 Outlets with Surge Protection - 19in Power Distribution Unit - 1U https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0035PS5AE/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_4f38BbNGK7QE4

There are 0u ones that mount on the side of the rack as well. They’re more expensive. Those are the least expensive new PDU’s you’ll find.

A few of my customers at work have this UPS.

CyberPower OR500LCDRM1U Smart App LCD UPS System, 500VA/300W, 6 Outlets, AVR, 1U Rackmount https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000XJJN60/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_3i38BbR8SWEXS

It’s worked pretty well. It doesn’t have the ability to connect via the network or do any outage management stuff without being directly plugged in via usb. You can purchase an additional card for that. The APC is more advanced and has higher output, but higher cost.

The cyberpower does not have replaceable batteries, which are consumables and will need replaced every few years.

These smaller ones typically power a router, network switch, access point, and perhaps a small office nas device like a netgear readynas 3138.

At work we use these or bigger.

APC SMT2200RM2U 2200VA RM 2U LCD 120V Smart-UPS https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004F09D0O/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_Bl38Bb6QQM1W4

They’re super nice. Management card is additional. These require 20 amp circuits and receptacles or higher. You can use the software (webpage) to power cycle a group of outlets. Pretty neat stuff. But you do pay for the neat stuff.

> Ugh I don't really want to spend $20 that could be going into a UPC.

Frankly, it's $20. I know that's worth more to some people than others but if you can't afford it then you can't afford it. Wait an extra two weeks and then purchase it. If you have enough money to purchase a UPS for your electronics you can spare $20 to measure your usage correctly. Plus it's a great tool to have on hand. Like others have said, you can always borrow it from a friend too.

> Your PC max out at 105 W? Idle or stressed?

Not just my PC, PC and NAS. That's idle, under load (GPU benchmarks) it goes up to about 240W. That's with a pretty low power GPU though (550ti), one SSD. You can gamble with estimates people online give you but unless you find someone with your exact setup the numbers will be different. Close enough? Maybe, but that's a risk you'll have to be willing to take.

Also, where's this $100 number coming from? Here's a perfectly good UPS at 850VA/510-Watts for $76 in the US with free two day shipping..

i just bought this model, a cyberpower st900u, for 75 dollars from amazon. here is a link:

https://www.amazon.com/CyberPower-ST900U-Standby-Outlets-Charging/dp/B07GZT2QW7/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=cyberpower+st900u&qid=1564108495&s=gateway&sr=8-1

sadly, i had a real power outage but the unit performed like a champ. not happy about the outage, but the UPS did its job well. My NAS remained up, and in fact alerted me that it had swtiched to battery power. Nice job there Synology! At 500 watts it could power your synology for a good while if that's all that is on it. This model does have a usb port and cable to communicate with the NAS too. Configurable in hardware/power. i'm very happy with it so far. Had it for about 2 weeks.

For myself, the deluxe option wouldn't be worth it. If you wanted to print ABS a lot you'd still need to enclose it further on the front/back etc.

I know a lot of people are huge fans of the auto bed leveling stuff.. I've had the 12" i3v from them for quite a while now and to me, auto bed leveling isn't worth the cost to me. It stays trammed pretty dang good. Sometimes the z home shifts a bit and I'll stop and restart a print to adjust it up or down a tad but once you get the hang of what the first layer is supposed to look like it's a super quick and easy adjustment.

Although, I will take a beef with Makerfarm in that they still recommend a 30A power supply for their 12" models. imho, It's really insufficient as the bed itself uses somewhere around 25A. Buy a 40A supply or since it's using a relay simply run a separate 30A power supply for the bed itself. The silly thing is buying two 30A supplies is usually cheaper than buying a single 40A supply.

970W for 5 minutes is quite a lot, are you sure you'll need that much?

If you do, the cheapest I'd trust would be something like this https://www.amazon.co.uk/PowerWalker-1350W-1500RT-Uninterrupted-Supply/dp/B005CR91MY/ref=sr_1_1?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1463485758&sr=1-1&keywords=VI+1500+RT. Has pure sine wave inverter, and although the datasheet doesn't give a proper power vs battery time curve I reckon it should be fine for 5 minutes.

On most UPSes the fan will run only when either running from the battery or when it's in voltage boost/buck mode, which shouldn't happen often if your area's mains supply is decent. And yes, the fans usually are pretty loud when running from battery, it's quite a bit of power to dissipate considering they're usually pretty bad for efficiency, since it's cheaper that way, and a small high speed fan again because it's cheaper than having a massive heatsink or even a bigger slower fan.

If cutting down maximum load run time to 3 minutes is acceptable then something like this would do https://www.amazon.co.uk/PowerWalker-1500-1050W-Pure-Sine/dp/B00K2NR99K/ref=sr_1_14?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1463485558&sr=1-14&keywords=ups

Paying more for a fancy model such as one from APC is nice, it'll likely last longer, but it's not really necessary if you only expect it to be needed a few times a year. Battery life expectancy won't vary much between models, and budget brand UPSes are often easier to find replacement batteries for if you do need to replace them, as they're more likely to use standard sizes.

You're right! I do wish we had a battery backup =(

But I did some research a little while ago, and I found a few products on Amazon that could be helpful - if you search "12v battery backup" you'll find a few results like this one for less than $30, that lets you operate without electricity for a little while.

DISCLAIMER: I haven't tried it myself, so I can't promise that it will work, or that they're safe, etc. - just wanted to show you a potential inexpensive solution might be out there!

I wanted enough juice to be able to keep the internet running for a couple hours after a power outage so I used some online calculators and made some educated guesses and determined I needed 1500VA. I was originally looking at a 1U form factor, but I found that 2U form factors use "standard" size replaceable batteries. Having a true sinewave as opposed to simulated sinewave output was nice, but not a dealbreaker. I narrowed down my search to this and this Cyberpower: https://www.amazon.com/CyberPower-OR1500PFCRT2U-Sinewave-System-Outlets/dp/B003OJAHVQ/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=cyberpower+1500va+2u&qid=1573238125&s=electronics&sr=1-3

The CyberPower was just a little cheaper but I like how this connects to the internet and lets you know the battery condition and when to replace them. And I bought into the APC reputation a bit. So far so good.

Choose Thermaltake Smart SE 530W or Cooler Master G550M for lower price - Thermaltake offers better value and modular cables, and Cooler Master is all-around nicer (much better performance, long 5 year warranty, quieter, modular, cheaper)

A UPS will absolutely correct brown-outs, and a surge protector will not. However, a UPS that small will likely not be able to supply enough power for all the equipment you describe, and may shut down unexpectedly if it switches to battery mode while the system is heavily loaded. I would expect your computer tower alone to be able to pull 275-300 watts under gaming load, and a monitor is probably 25-50 watts on top of that. Speakers and peripherals won't add much more, but you're still looking at 300-350 watts.

At an absolute minimum I'd go for something like this APC, but a few bucks extra on something bigger might be wise.

These are decent. Won't keep you up for long when the power goes out, but you can protect the PC, Monitor, Modem and Router with good sine wave power.

Not cheap though. Way cheaper than new equipment all the time though.

If it is for just a modem try this one. We bought it for my wife's mother, who's in her 70s. She is in South Florida where it seems like a hard rain cuts the power every time. Since we got it for her, everyone in the family had bought one. They love that the battery can be removed for a phone charge.

APC Back-UPS Connect Lithium Ion UPS with Mobile Power Pack, USB Charging Ports for Echo and Network Routers (BGE50ML) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B013JHYQNC

Price drops to the $50s all the time, just keep an eye on it.

2+ hours of network backup and surge protection power keeps you connected to the internet during storms and outages

Convenient mobile charging via three USB ports, including a smart charging port that recognizes connected devices to maximize charging speed

Removable Lithium-Ion battery pack charges a smartphone five times before needing to recharge itself

When li-ion battery pack is removed, unit functions as a pass-through power source to connected devices. Battery Backup functionality is restored when battery pack is re-inserted back into the unit and recharges.

Two Rotating AC Outlets (3 prong-compatible)

[SBC ONLY]

​

So when I ordered my APi, I didn't realize that the only real way to power this was with the breakout board. Am I missing something? Is the breakout board the best way to do this. Should I get a breakout board just so I can get power to it? Seems odd that the 'optional' breakout board is the only clean way to power this thing... feeling a bit letdown right now.

​

I wanted to purchase this super small Mean Well switching 5v Power Suppy. But now I don't know how to get the power to it without the breakout board. All the pins to power are on the UNDERSIDE. Seems so wrong.

​

https://www.amazon.com/MEAN-WELL-RS-25-5-Supply-Single/dp/B00DECXUD0/ref=sr_1_8?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1549744235&sr=1-8&keywords=5v+switching+power+supply

​

1. When you wish upon a star
   
2. The Incredibles!
   
3. The Circle Of Life because I always find myself humming the first part for some reason lol.
   
4. Android

Hmm, very interesting! I had never really looked at these because of cost, but I'm seeing a newer model on Amazon for ~350$.. Now looking to spend that much, but that's not too bad for a future purchase I guess.

It looks like the older models had an external Anderson connection, but thse newer ones (for example: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B077Y62GSJ/ ) have a different connector (I've never seen this one before, maybe it's proprietary? Not sure). Though, it also seems these aren't the XL ones either.. :/

Yeah, I didn't put too much thought into that one. This one is available on Amazon: http://www.amazon.de/Thermaltake-SPS-530MPCBEU-Smart-PC-Netzteil-Watt/dp/B00BDB28HS/ref=sr_1_1?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1415459546&sr=1-1&keywords=Thermaltake+Smart+SE+530W

Are you sure 530W are enough? PCpartpicker lists 600W in their 800$ build: http://pcpartpicker.com/guide/y2V323/800-gaming-build

500+ va will be fine. A basic ups like this will work fine unless you need any extra features. https://www.amazon.com/CyberPower-EC650LCD-Ecologic-Outlets-Compact/dp/B00DBAAJQ6/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1511888863&sr=8-4&keywords=650va+ups

Good question - thanks for asking! Most of them are Dead Zebra Android Mini Series 03 figurines. Two of them are from Series 01, if I remember correctly.

Here's Dead Zebra's official shop, but I bought them off of Amazon.

I obtained a majority of them when two other friends and I split the cost of a case of 16 blind boxes stuffed with the little guys. That was a fun day.

Not who you asked, but I've had an APC BackUPS XS 1300 that I purhased in 2009. It's rated for 780w and a quick check shows that I'm using ~286w right now idling on my desktop and running my low power home server (i3, 6hdd, not much else). My PSU can do 1.2kw, but it just doesn't usually -idles around 200-300w for most work.

I used to use it to run my modem and wifi, but I moved to a 1Gb fiber provided that doesn't run UPS in my building network closets, so it's moot. They go down when the power does anyway. Now it just runs a monitor, server, and desktop. Server gets the USB connection to the UPS so it shuts down gracefully if needed.

I replaced the batteries once in 2013 for $30 and it's getting to be about time for another replacement here soon.

Since mine is older and discontinued now, I think you might want either the BR1300G or the BR1500G. If you get the latter you can get an external add on battery that triples battery life and doesn't require and ghetto car battery mods.

Extra plus with UPS - it has what's basically a built in kill-a-watt if you ever want to check wattage of your attached gear.

Here's a good sized line interactive:

• http://www.amazon.com/APC-SMT750-Smart-UPS-750VA-120V/dp/B002MZW5KE/ref=pd_sim_sbs_e_1?ie=UTF8&refRID=09CYA57T4E5FHVVMGJSM
  
  This is cheaper for some reason
  
• http://www.amazon.com/APC-SMC1000-Smart-UPS-120-Volt-Uninterrupted/dp/B007ZT2K9I/ref=pd_sim_e_5?ie=UTF8&refRID=0ZG9EHBNQ6GCKQF1R4C7
  
  Cheaper still
  
• http://www.amazon.com/APC-BR1000G-Back-UPS-Uninterruptible-Supply/dp/B0038ZTZ3W/ref=pd_sim_e_6?ie=UTF8&refRID=06JV495JTE4BVMG6MAH8

6 hours is a stretch. But some options I like, unless you're okay with a 1U or 2U rack mounted one (can actually be cheaper).

• https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0779LDRWZ/ref=psdc_764572_t3_B00DW2J7SY
  
  
• https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06VY6FXMM/ref=psdc_764572_t1_B0779LDRWZ
  
  
• https://www.amazon.com/APC-Back-UPS-Connect-Charging-BGE50ML/dp/B013JHYQNC/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1549436829&sr=8-3&keywords=Li-ion+UPS

I don't know how big of a device you'd want, but something like this should work.

There is a very real possibility that at some point, your system was hit by a bad power surge, which fubar'd your PSU and things attached to it (GPU, motherboard, etc).

You can try another GPU, maybe either integrated if your system has one (remove the GPU card and run off the motherboard), or picking up a cheap GPU on ebay or amazon just to test out and see if your systems is still functional.

Unfortunately, if you have no luck testing with either the iGPU, or picking up a replacement GPU, then most likely other components of your PC got shorted out also.

Whether you get things working or end up having to buy/build a new PC, be sure to get a good UPS to protect your PC.

Example: https://www.amazon.com/CyberPower-EC850LCD-Ecologic-Outlets-Compact/dp/B00DBAA696/

I am very partial to APC, but if you have 20 amp circuits then you could do something like this and just get the one unit. http://www.amazon.com/APC-SMT2200RM2U-2200VA-120V-Smart-UPS/dp/B004F09D0O/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1408173958&sr=8-1&keywords=SMT2200RM2U

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B00DBAAJQ6

Using a pi connected to it via usb with http://www.apcupsd.com/ running for home assistant to pull stats from. Also allows me to automatically gracefully shut down systems when battery is low in the event of a power loss, and I get handy email alerts when the power goes out :)

This is what I just recieved from Amazon yesterday: APC UPS 1350VA Sinewave UPS Battery Backup & Surge Protector, APC BackUPS Pro UPS (BR1350MS) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0779QFRRT/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_N26JBbMRD99KF

You just need to add up the Watts on your devices and make sure to buy one large enough.

The manufacturer web page has a calculator for sizing it.

You might need a new power supply.

Might also want to look into a power line conditioner or something like this: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0779QFRRT

This is different than a regular UPS/battery-backup because it filters power whether or not it runs off the battery.

I would think you would want something like this that way you have a little overhead and can run wires from it to both the LED strip and to the Arduino

I've got one with a USB and a USB-C port on the front. It's definitely geared towards higher-end consumer as opposed to businesses though, so lots of shiny plastics. One of these: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0779QFRRT/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_wfW3DbPN2FVFB

I have a APC ES 550 USP, and it runs great, but for your needs and price you should look at the APC BR1300G.

Thank you very much for your advice, I've decided on getting this model .

http://www.amazon.com/CyberPower-EC850LCD-Ecologic-510-Watts-Efficient/dp/B00DBAA696/ref=cm_cd_al_qh_dp_t

I’ve seen folks buy a small ups like : CyberPower CP685AVRG AVR UPS System, 685VA/390W, 8 Outlets, Compact https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00095W91O/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_hBDnDb3N6CEEB

I added up the max wattage of your stuff (guessing on the 24 switch and USG4P) and got a high value of 1000w (generous max). I would get something like these:

•This has a 7mIn runtime at 1000w, but you most likely won’t use the max wattage.
APC 1500VA Smart-UPS with SmartConnect, Pure Sine Wave UPS Battery Backup & Surge Protection (SMC1500C) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B077Y62GSJ/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_QtX7AbW4TGNXS

•APC Back-UPS Pro 1500VA UPS Battery Backup & Surge Protector (BR1500G) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003Y24DEU/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_rhX7Ab65SDWHN

The Back-UPS Pro allows for a battery expansion if needed. This one:

•APC External Battery Backup Pack for Model BR1500G (BR24BPG) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0047E5B90/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_MnX7AbGMCVXPT

Look more at the watts and runtime then volts. You can get rack mount versions but they will be higher cost.

"In addition, it safeguards electronics from commonly occurring power surges caused by storms, activity on the power grid, or high-powered equipment turning on and off."

I'm in the midst of a long-term timelapse right now. I ended up building my own intervalometer for it, since I wanted day of the week settings, as well as time of day and delay between frames.

I'm using a 5D mkII housed in a Pelican 1300. I modified the Pelican with a hole saw and a UV filter. The UV filter is screwed onto a step-up ring, which itself is epoxied onto the case. Here are some photos of the setup

Luckily I have power where I have this set up. For safety I also made a 12 volt UPS backup with a marine battery and a UPS power supply from Amazon.

The camera is powered with a DIY dummy battery, although there are commercial versions available. Power get into the Pelican with a watertight Switchcraft Mini-conn-x connector. I have someone who goes to the camera every couple of weeks to change the CF card and download the images to a hard drive. I pick up the hard drive every few months.

https://www.amazon.com/APC-Back-UPS-Connect-Charging-BGE50ML/dp/B013JHYQNC/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1504808279&sr=8-2&keywords=apc+modem+backup

I use this one dedicated for my router/modem. Works well, as you would expect.

Get something like this. I got mine for about $50 and it's saved my ass half a dozen times.

Here's a nice one on Amazon. Runtime/charge time, are variable, they depend on how much load is on the UPS during the power loss, and how much of a drain was on the battery after power comes back. Look at VA (VoltAmps) and Watts to compare, the higher they are the longer it can keep the PC running when the power goes out.

Don't go too cheap; anything under $50 probably doesn't have a user replaceable battery, and they need to be replaced every 3 or so years.

This is what Costco has:
http://costcocouple.com/cyberpower-battery-backup/

Here is the one I use now:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0779QFRRT/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_MqtQCb8KYS1HM

On the manufacturers web sites there are calculators to know what size you need for you equipment, and how long you want it to run before shutting down.

APC makes one (BGE50ML)

this

There's plenty out there.

What about packing it with one of these?

How is this UPS?

My build is this.

Have you tried one of these?

https://www.amazon.com/CyberPower-EC650LCD-Ecologic-390-Watts-Efficient/dp/B00DBAAJQ6/ref=sr_1_7?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1487535991&sr=1-7&keywords=Battery+Backup

https://www.amazon.com/APC-Back-UPS-Battery-Protector-BR1500G/dp/B0038ZU2FC/

https://www.amazon.ca/CyberPower-EC850LCD-Ecologic-Outlets-Compact/dp/B00DBAA696/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?keywords=ups%2Bbattery%2Bpackup%2B500w&qid=1559020549&s=gateway&sr=8-1-spons&th=1

sufficient?

Why not just get a regular low end UPS? Even the cheapest UPS should be able to run a router and modem for a half hour or more.

If you absolutely must have a "micro UPS," you could get one of these or these.

You can also buy a UPS that keeps everything you have up and running for long enough to shut them down properly, for under $100.

There's no reason you can't run everything off a single UPS, dude.

I am currently using this as a UPS with the PiHole plugged into the 2.4 amp port. I might have been using the wrong plug in the past though, we'll have to see how long of a run I get before it crashes again.