Much love goes into building an enthusiast-class PC, and nothing could ruin that relationship quicker than bad power. While most of us get by with nothing more than a surge protector, many of us would be just as upset if a brownout reset our systems in the middle of a game or any other important task.
Yet, the UPS industry isn’t as nimble as the computer component industry, and was caught ill-prepared for changes in hardware that have been occurring over the past few years. While CyberPower is the first company to launch a consumer-level UPS to support enthusiast-class hardware, there’s a lot to be said in favor of its enterprise-class rivals. Let’s consider a few things each particular UPS is good at:
Best Power Protection: Opti-UPS DS1500B
If all of our PCs were stashed away in server closets, the UPS DS1500B could be the best choice to protect them. Double-conversion topology does an almost perfect job of isolating a PC from fluctuations in the power grid, making this the best solution for ultra-sensitive components. Unfortunately, it’s far too noisy for an office or den, and far too expensive to suite the budgets of typical $2000 PC owners. This is, after all, an enthusiast-market comparison.
Best Run Time Value: APC SMT1500
The second-most-expensive unit in today’s roundup was also the second quietest and the one to provide the most battery run time for the money:

Even though its long runtime allows APC’s SMT1500 to top our value chart, most enthusiasts are unlikely to pay $442 to protect their $2000 system. Our preference for the SMT1500 is strong enough that if pricing was not an issue, APC would be getting an award.
Best Enthusiast Value: CyberPower CP1500PFCLCD
Priced around ½ that of the competing average, CyberPower’s CP1500PFCLCD is the only unit in today’s comparison designed specifically for high-end home users. Consequently, it’s the only unit cheap enough to appeal across the broader enthusiast market, and the only unit to qualify for our “Recommended Buy” award within that market. Added features are simply icing on the cake, since it’s the only unit to pass the market’s price sensitivities, in addition to our durability tests.

Quiet enough to go nearly anywhere in the home, an easy-to-use front panel controller even makes it suitable for backing-up less elaborate devices like home theater equipment, perfect for keeping broadcast news updates available during a storm.
A scant runtime is this model’s biggest downfall compared to enterprise-class rivals, yet enthusiasts are also more likely to finish their tasks within the several minutes of full-load power the unit provides. We told every manufacturer that this article would be a value UPS shootout for the enthusiast PC market, and that’s exactly where the CP1500PFCLCD excels.
- Power Protection Or Rage Prevention?
- Why So Pricey?
- APC Smart-UPS SMT1500
- SMT1500 Management Software
- CyberPower CP1500PFCLCD
- CP1500PFCLCD Management Software
- Opti-UPS Durable Series DS1500B
- DS1500B Management Software
- Tripp Lite SmartPro SMART1500SLT
- SMART1500SLT Management Software
- Test Settings
- Benchmark Results
- Conclusion
Would recommend it although they might be a bit costly but they perform really well.
You've also made me want to test my non-pfc ups with my 850hx, but my gaming rig and my workstation are an hour apart....
wrong
No it's not wrong, a small UPS equipped with a bunch of low-cost standard deep cycle SMF/gel-cell batteries is a lot cheaper than a big UPS that comes factory equipped with that capacity. APC's Smart-UPS units come with ~2700 VAh and their price tags start at about $8000. Sure they are also able to provide up to 40 kW power from the batteries but this is far more than needed for home use.
The problems that may arise is that the inverter circuit may be too weak to operate for longer durations which is a problem among low-budget UPSes. It may not be able to run equipment for hours since its intended use to deliver power from batteries lies within a time-span of maximum half an hour. A sign to look for is if the UPS has cooling fans. Those that don't have that are probably not constructed for longer durations.
Another problem is that many of these UPSes are equipped with circuitry that monitor the health of the batteries. If you swap the original batteries with batteries that have higher capacity they will need more time to recharge and the circuitry may misinterpret this as that the batteries are "dead" since they don't take the charge at the same rate as is expected from smaller batteries.
The recharge voltage of the recharger circuit may not match the recommended voltage of the standard batteries if you use cheaper open-cell batteries. I've been told that the electrolyte of open-cell batteries tend to evaporate over time if you feed them with a higher than recommended recharge voltage. The solution to this is to make sure that the ventilation is good and keep refilling the cells with distilled water. Sealed gel-cell batteries should have the same recommended recharge voltages as those lead batteries that are used in the UPSes.
The solution to the last two issues could be to put on an additional (smart) recharger on the batteries that is connected to them 24/7 and let the battery/recharger circuit sit behind a rectifier just to be on the safe-side. This may of course confuse the battery health monitor circuitry of the UPS making it think that something is wrong with the batteries. If I had the budget I would definitely try these things out.
I looked at them and if you want 120V power, they are good but if you want 230V then there is a problem. The models that provide 230V and are not crazily big (6 kW is far beyond household needs ...) use 12V as input. It's much better to use 48V or at least 24V as these setups with serially connected batteries can use thinner wiring. But this is an interesting option indeed since they come with an automatic utility power pass-through switch and a recharger.
In a word, "wrong" was the right answer. Ignoring everything else, for the simple reason that charge management isn't where it needs to be; you will destroy the UPS trying to charge and float anything behind 2x or 3x the normal capacity. There are vendors (apc is one of them at the entry level position in the market) that offer expandable runtime UPS solutions; if you are going to be relying on your backup and not just using it as a hobby project (there is nothing wrong with that) you are going to need a properly engineered solution.
I'd like to see Tom's test an old square-wave UPS, see if they can actually trigger an Active-PFC PSU shutdown on a swap to battery power. I'm guessing it won't have anything to do with the waveform coming out of the UPS.
And before you come back at me, I have a degree in Electrical Engineering, I actually have an educated basis for my beliefs.