How to Choose a UPS for Your PC (and Ride Out Brownouts)

Brownouts and voltage dips are a fact of life in many parts of the Philippines, and a sudden power cut can corrupt files or even damage a drive. A UPS (uninterruptible power supply) keeps your PC running on battery long enough to save your work and shut down properly, and its AVR smooths out low and high voltage before it reaches your equipment.

VA vs watts: read the second number

A UPS is labelled with two ratings, for example 750VA/410W. The watt figure is the one to compare with your equipment. Add up what you will plug into the battery outlets (PC, monitor, router) and choose a UPS whose watt rating is at least 25 to 30 percent higher than that total.

• Office or school PC with one monitor: usually well under 200W.
• Mid-range gaming PC with a monitor: roughly 300 to 450W while gaming.
• High-end gaming PC or workstation: 500W and up; check your power supply and graphics card.

Sine wave or simulated?

Budget UPS units produce a stepped approximation of mains power on battery. That is fine for most office PCs. Many modern power supplies with active PFC (most 80 Plus units in gaming and workstation PCs) work best on a pure sine wave UPS, which is what the APC Back-UPS Pro sine wave models provide.

For office and home PCs

APC

APC BVX700LUI-MS Easy Back-UPS 700VA/360W, 230V, AVR, USB Charging Universal Sockets

₱3,575.00

APC

APC Back-UPS BX750MI-MS 750VA/410W UPS | AVR | Universal Sockets

₱8,450.00

APC

APC BX950MI-MS Back-UPS 950VA/520W, 230V, AVR, Universal Sockets

₱10,700.00

For gaming PCs and workstations

APC

APC BR1200SI Back UPS Pro BR 1200VA/720W, Sinewave,8 Outlets, AVR, LCD interface

₱28,400.00

APC

APC BR1600SI Back-UPS Pro, 1600VA/960W, Tower, 230V, 8x IEC C13 outlets, Sine Wave, AVR, USB Type A + C ports, LCD, User Replaceable Battery

₱32,200.00

APC

APC Back-UPS Pro BR1500GI 1500VA/865W UPS | AVR | LCD | 10 Outlets

₱32,500.00

Tips

• A UPS is for a safe shutdown, not hours of work; expect minutes of runtime at full load.
• Do not plug a laser printer or an electric fan into the battery outlets; they draw far more current than a UPS is built for.
• Batteries wear out; plan to replace them every few years, sooner in hot rooms.
• Install the free APC software over USB on supported models so the PC shuts itself down if you are away.