I know this is more hardware related, so please let me know if I should move this post elsewhere.

I built my first server earlier this year, and put buying a UPS on the back burner. Unfortunately for me, this might have already been my biggest mistake since going down this rabbit hole. The rental I’ll be in for at least another 10 months has some questionable wiring (a lot of rooms/outlets wired to the same breaker), which I believe has created some electrical anomalies and possibly killed some of my computer components. The memory on my PC went first, and now the 7-month-old PSU on my server is toast.

Bear in mind, I am not an electrician, so I could be entirely wrong on why this has happened. Regardless, it’s time I invest in a UPS. I have searched forums, blogs, YouTube, and cannot find consistent pros and cons for any of the big manufacturers. It seems like APC and CyberPower are the two big consumer grade manufacturers, which is probably what I should be looking at.

Here is what my server currently consists of:

Type Item Notes
CPU Intel Core i3-10100
CPU Cooler Thermalright Peerless Assassin
Motherboard MSI MAG B560M
Memory Corsair Vengeance LPX 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-2666 CL16 Memory
Storage Crucial P3 1 TB NVME SSD X2
Storage Hitachi Ultrastar He12 12 TB HDD
Storage Western Digital Ultrastar DC HC520 12 TB HDD X2
Case Fractal Design Define 7
Power Supply be quiet! Pure Power 12 M 550 Replacement until I finish the RMA process on the dead power supply.
OS Unraid
Estimated Wattage 238W I have not tested this personally, but I will say the server is never really being stressed all that much.

Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated!

  • thayerw@lemmy.caEnglish
    2·
    3 days ago

    Despite some of the comments here, I suggest that you don’t overthink it; just buy an APC Back-UPS 600VA and be done with it. You have relatively low power requirements. The UPS will provide some surge protection (490J), several minutes of uptime, and a USB connection for automated shutdown.

    The 600VA unit is less than $100 USD and replacement batteries are about half that. I’ve been using several of this same model for years without issue and we have many brown/blackouts being in a rural BC community. The batteries have lasted me 4-5 years.

    You can always plan for something more significant down the road, if your hardware or needs change, but this should do fine in the interim.

  • SuperiorOne@lemmy.mlEnglish
    1·
    2 days ago

    I have a APC Back-UPS 1600VA. It powers two desktop PC/Server, a monitor, and router. So far, it gets the job done.

    The biggest downside is; battery is not user replaceable, at least it’s not straight forward like the other models. If possible, prefer a UPS with the easy battery replacement option.

    • RegalPotoo@lemmy.worldEnglish
      2·
      2 days ago

      Yup, this - batteries are consumables. They have a service life of ~2-5 years depending on load. If the manual doesn’t tell you how to replace them then it’s basically ewaste already

      • variants@possumpat.ioEnglish
        1·
        2 days ago

        Haha the one I got was like 300 bucks off and when I plugged it in it had 0 hours on it so it was brand new. Been running fine for almost 3 years now. It cane with the warranty and free one year of their online service thing

  • mipadaitu@lemmy.worldEnglish
    1·
    3 days ago

    I’ve been running a pair of cyberpower systems for over a decade. I had to replace the battery in each of them once, but they’ve been working great.

    I assume newer ones use some sort of Li-Ion battery tech, but mine are just plain old Lead Acid.