Your equipment is essential to your workflow and hobbies alike. Whether you are a small business user tasked with ensuring the safety and constant operation of your devices or a gaming enthusiast who spends a lot of money on components, it is important to prevent potential damage in any case. That is where CyberPower comes in with their brand of Uninterruptable Power Supply (UPS) units designed to give you peace of mind in the event of a complete outage. But which one is the best one for you? Today we are looking to find out which battery backup device is the best for your needs. From small systems to larger networking cabinets, there are a ton of different units so let’s take a look.
What Is a UPS?
First, we must understand why these types of devices are important in the first place. A UPS is essential to maintain temporary electrical throughput in the event of a power failure. Internal batteries provide some time for you to properly shut down your system, so you don’t lose important information or experience device failure. The amount of time you have is directly related to the devices plugged in and the wattage they pull. So, picking the right unit to meet your power demand is key.
Aside from adding a level of battery backup protection, these UPS units also offer surge protection capabilities, preventing electrical damage in the case of sudden electrical fluctuations. Voltage spikes and brownouts are both examples of how power can easily be disrupted, and these UPS units are designed to combat both scenarios amongst others in a variety of environments.
Additionally, most of these UPS units split the available outlets, confining them to support either surge protection only or surge protection with battery backup capabilities. This allows you to properly assess which device is the most important. Critical systems like your computer would go to the battery backup outlet while maybe a mobile device charger, printer, or less essential item would go to the surge-only outlet.
Compact and Discreet
Let’s start small here. Devices like the ST625U feature a compact footprint while still offering great utility for low-powered setups like point-of-sale stations or even entertainment centers. They often have multiple, standard NEMA 5-15R outlets while also incorporating other connectivity options like USB-A or USB-C ports as well as scalable performance profiles.
Power wise, these types of devices have a pretty low ceiling, maxing out at around 900VA at 500W. It doesn’t seem like a whole lot, but considering the wattage of a terminal or what a TV with a gaming console could produce, these are quite suitable for a number of scenarios.
In my hands-on experience with the ST625U, I noticed several neat features from the core design to the performance. It has a 625 VA at 360W profile spanning across eight NEMA 5-15R outlets. Four are for surge protection only while four are for battery support and surge protection. Two USB-A ports delivering 2.1A are great for charging devices or supporting USB peripherals like a low-powered fan or light. There is also an easy-to-access cover that gives you access to the internal battery compartment if you ever need to replace the lead-acid battery.
While this is great for smaller systems, this isn’t necessarily the greatest choice for something demanding like a gaming rig or a workstation desktop. If your entertainment system has additional bells and whistles like a high-powered receiver, I couldn’t even suggest the ST625U’s bigger brother, the ST900U for this case. While that can handle more robust setups, it’s not the ideal one. Instead, we would jump to the next higher-tiered product.
Tower of Power
A step up from the previous item is the CP1500PFCLCD PFC Sinewave UPS. Power users who are connecting multiple power-hungry devices will find this model to be incredibly useful. It has a tower-like design which allows you to place it in various well-ventilated areas like entertainment centers or the side of your desk. It offers robust connectivity options and allows you to easily monitor your throughput at a mere glance. This makes it the absolute best UPS for gaming enthusiasts and media lovers.
Many tower-based UPS units tend to share similarities with each other. They are often standing upwards with a range of connectivity options on the rear panel. This one changes the paradigm a bit, giving you an LCD screen along with a few buttons and even USB-A and USB-C ports. You can also modify what information is shown on the LCD screen which provides you with real-time data while the ports are reserved for charging mobile devices.
Meanwhile, the back pane of the UPS features even more options. A total of 12 NEMA 5-15R outlets are present, six of which offer surge protection with the remainder supporting surge protection and battery backup. There are also a few other ports including network input and output, serial connections, and even an expansion port so you can add a utility card of your choice.
While there are multiple options available with scaling power profiles, it is important to make sure you have the right one for the right job. Devices like the CP1500PFCLCD are great for handling medium-rated gaming setups that tend to float around the 850W consumption, leaving some extra headroom for a monitor or two.
There is only one more model that is available before we start heading into the next tier and that is OR1500PFCLCD UPS unit. It also features a smaller footprint and less outlets, but it offers a bit more headroom in terms of power. The smaller size makes it convenient for areas where room is limited. It also features a black and white LCD display with a few buttons but removes any presence of USB ports. If you are looking for power with very basic functionality, you can’t go wrong with this one.
High-Grade Performance
As a complete departure from the previous tiers, we have the third, high-powered rackmount UPS units. These heavy and robust units are typically designed for unique scenarios outside of the home and traditional office. They not only support higher-powered devices, but they also have additional features like alarms, access to business-grade management software, and more.
While units like the PFC Sinewave 2000VA UPS offer a higher wattage ceiling suitable for home theaters and workstations, it is mostly used for handling more demanding equipment. Don’t let this stop you from grabbing pro-grade audio equipment though. Devices like network switches, telecoms equipment, and low-grade workgroup servers benefit the most from these types of UPS units. This model features a total of six NEMA 5-15R outlets for low-impact devices as well as two NEMA 5-20R outlets for electrically demanding devices, supporting 125 VAC at 20 amps. This is one of the best UPS units for network switches that utilize Power-Over-Ethernet (POE) protocols often found in switches made for communication or surveillance.
In my hands-on experience with the PFC Sinewave 2000VA UPS, I found it to be quite heavy, so I wouldn’t plan on using this in your regular home. It also has a nice display which can provide you with more information in real time. Additionally, it can be easily mounted within a network rack if you have one. Otherwise, it can still stand on one of its sides. The LCD display can even be rotated to accommodate that position.
Industrial-Grade Power
Now, what if you do want something extreme? Perhaps too extreme for the typical household or small business? Well, CyberPower has you covered there as well. The OL10KRTHD Smart App Online UPS is a 10,000 VA, 10,000 watt, and 157-pound behemoth! This is a completely unique device designed for the high-grade industrial areas. It comes with four NEMA L6-20R and two NEMA L6-30R locking outlets as well as dedicated relay output connections and output terminal block. You can also monitor the device and establish various protections thanks to the SNMP/HTTP remote management protocol.
CyberPower managed to create a wide range of solutions, whether you have a low-powered system or a massively demanding sever farm. If you’re looking to protect your equipment, and add an additional layer of safety, CyberPower has you covered. Make sure you hit the links above for more information such as specs, and if you have questions or comments make sure you leave them below.
