Best UPS 2023 – our top uninterruptible power supplies

If your setup suffers from power cuts but you don’t want that stopping you, then you need to find yourself the best UPS of 2023. These allow you to keep running even when the power cuts out to your home. Running on batteries that won’t stop you as long as you find the right choice for your setup.

Uninterruptible power supplies are made to allow you to run without mains power. They are a battery power supply for when you might experience any blackouts or interruptions. They can give you that valuable backup power to your desktop computer so you can save that file you’re working on and safely shut down your device.

So when it comes to the best power supply it’s a bit more simpler just for your PC. Now you have to consider factors like runtime and how much power you want running from it. If it’s powering the best PC for gaming or charging your laptop or phone. These all should provide good AC to DC power conversion.

For the best overall UPS, we have the APC UPS 1500VA, a tower surge protector perfect for power fluctuations and sensitive equipment. It does come with an LCD display for the status and control of the device. Along with an inbuilt AVR and audible alarms so you know what’s happening on the power supply front.

Now for the capacity and wattage, the APC comes with a 1500 VA or 865 W rating. This means that running it at the full load will have a runtime of about 3 minutes 39 seconds according to APC. This does give you a good time to save all that precious data from being lost and you can extend that more with an additional battery back.

For its outlets, you get 10 NEMA 5-15R outlets. Although all of them have surge protection, only half of them are under battery backup. So make sure to plug into the right one when setting up your devices in it so the right things stay live.

Now for another option, the best UPS for capacity and wattage, you can get the CyberPower CP1500PFCLCD PFC. Rated with 1500 VA and 1000 W, it does have a good run time. If you’re running it at full load, it does last 2.5 minutes with 900W getting 3 minutes and it continues exponentially. With half capacity getting 10 minutes and so on.

It does produce a simulated sine wave for its output, and surge protection does control those voltage fluctuations. Which you can use through the 12 NEMA 5-15R outlets. Six of these are connected to the UPS and six of them aren’t. Along with two USB ports, A and C on the front for ease of access.

On the front, you can find the LCD display and controls for it that can tilt up. It does also have automatic voltage regulation for good protection.

Now if you’re after a cheap option, the best budget UPS is the APC UPS BE425M. It does limit your options when it comes to how much it stores and runs for. As with only a 425 VA or 225 W capacity, it can’t exactly power your stuff for long. With only a 2-minute 35 runtime at max capacity, it does mean it’s not intended for hardcore use.

As such, it’s best saved for simple tasks and devices to power down and save anything important but you can’t finish your game off in that time. It has 6 outlets of the NEMA 5-15R variety, all of them surge protected but only four connected up to the battery backup. And without a screen, it is more like a basic power cord and quite simple but that does keep the cost down.

Best UPS 2023 things to consider

Power Connectors

Power connectors or outlets are the links between your hardware and the UPS. Having more outlets implies that you can connect more devices when there’s a power outage. However, be mindful that accommodating more devices to your UPS raises the maximum wattage demand. It’s crucial to verify that you’re not exceeding this limit to avoid disappointment.

You might also consider USB ports, like USB-C, that you can find on some models, as these can provide more versatile connectors to fit a large number of devices. So if it’s modems, routers, or even alarms systems you want to make sure you can accommodate all of them.

Peak Power Capacity

The peak power capacity, otherwise known as maximum wattage, indicates the highest level of power the UPS can supply to your computer during a power failure. A UPS with a larger maximum wattage permits running hardware with higher power demands when there’s a power outage.

This may not be significant for small entertainment PCs, but for large, intricate builds or server systems, a UPS with a higher maximum wattage is likely necessary. And note VA (Volt-Ampere) as many UPS write it out as is the same as Watts as a unit. So you want to make sure it can sustain the loads you run at the output voltage required.

Runtime

The duration of the power supply, or battery life, reflects the period your computer will stay powered up after your home loses electricity. A longer runtime provides more time to complete necessary tasks before your UPS runs out of energy.

For instance, most personal computers allow saving work within a couple of minutes after a power cut. Nevertheless, server systems may require more time for a proper shutdown, necessitating an Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) with extended runtime.

The runtime of your UPS will depend on how much you have plugged in and the amount of power they consume. And so the more you have in the less it will last.

Warranty

As with any significant hardware purchase, product assurance or warranty is a crucial factor to weigh in. It’s always advisable to opt for a longer warranty, ensuring protection against unexpected expenses should your UPS malfunction shortly after purchase. This way, if anything goes wrong, you’re covered for UPS repair.

Especially as they use batteries, these can degrade over time and cut down their capacity. As such it will be good to be able to replace them or swap it all out if it’s possible.

Surge protection

Along with being a battery backup, it also is the power supply for your system. As such it can be a surge protector for anything that plugs into it. And saves your sensitive electronics from if a power surge occurs. Which is an additional benefit from the ups battery backups you might opt to go for.