What brand of uninterruptible power supply for PCs do you use and why

Back in the day I used APC power supplies but they started failing rapidly so I switched to Tripp-Lite and had great success for years but like the APC I am noting they are not lasting as long as they used to they just stop working. I use the larger Tripp-Lite in my server racks and have zero issues with them and experience excellent runtime when on battery.

I’m looking to change. My current Tripp-Lite model I am using is the OMNIVS1500 but I want to try something different. Suggestions?

APC is Schneider Electric now so the quality probably went south or they want you to replace more often(same with other brands).

Tripp Lite is Eaton now one of the good brands for UPS backup.

https://www.tripplite.com/

You can possibly replace the batteries if the UPSes are still in good order.

I use CyberPower for non critical machines and they work fine.

Usually these last about 5 years.

Obviously, I am biased, so take me with a grain of salt. Just looking at the OMNIVS1500 model and making the assumption a 1500VA, 120 Volt AC / 60Hz line interactive UPS is what you’re looking for, we’ve gotten some good feedback on the SMART1500LCDT including from a Spicehead or two I’m hoping chimes in soon! But frankly, if you’re looking at a new UPS, I’d suggest just starting from scratch and considering what you need from a load and runtime perspective too. Sometimes you may be oversizing (and therefore overpaying in many cases), so if you can give a quick rundown of your requirements that’d help.

We also have some updated local USB/serial software a couple of Spiceheads have beta tested coming soon with some cool new features (lot of “network card” features in free software). I’m expecting that software to go live within a month.

I’m also a bit curious as to what failures you’re noticing and how long you’re current UPSes are lasting now vs how long they used to last. Sometimes drilling down there will lead to some interesting findings. e.g., heat can be a big cause of premature battery failure. All else equal, AGM SLA battery life gets cut roughly in half for every 15 degrees F above 77 degrees. I don’t want to derail this thread, but feel free to DM me, start a new thread, or reply here if I can help with this.

Thanks for chiming in David. Oddly enough I rarely have a battery go out (2 since I started working here in 2006) it’s the entire UPC just dies and decides to not power on ever again. As for longevity I replaced a UPS last week that we purchased in 2010. Still have quite a few in place that old and I don’t know how the batteries still hold up fairly well when the lights go out. As we replace those older ones with the newer ones we do good to see 3 years out of the newer models. Just seems like the quality isn’t there any longer.

Most of the UPS’s run a Dell PC, an LED monitor or 2, a VoIP phone and maybe a basic speaker set. Some people charge their cell phones on them also. We have a strict policy about plugging anything else up to a UPC. If it’s not mission critical to work it goes into a surge protector and into the wall socket.

I used to use APC on just about everything and had no complaints, but most of my PC-type UPS units are now Tripp Lite. Good value. Work when needed. Batteries easy to replace, and decent status displays. Sufficient outlets, too, though I’d prefer one or two more UPS-supported outlets (the gray half are just surge suppression, so you always have to mind what you’re plugging in and where.

Do you want to try something different because of a specific issue or just wondering if there is something even better?

I presume you mean the unit has failed and needed to be replaced entirely, and not that the batteries need replacement or that it does not support the equipment long enough during a power interruption.

I’ve got four Tripp Lite SMART 1500LCDTs between home and office that have been in service for about 4-5 years now. I’ve had to replace the batteries but when the power drops, they’ve kept up my equipment for several minutes before I have the systems shut down gracefully.

The one doing the heaviest lift is supporting a Ryzen 5950 system with a 1000W PSU, GTX3080Ti, RAID 1 HDD drives, 3 monitors, and a Synology NAS with a DX517 expansion. Shockingly, the last time I had a power outage, it ran for just under 20 minutes (wasn’t gaming though). Still, enough time for me to close up what I’m doing at a leisurely pace and shut it down. That’s more than I can expect from a 1500.

I don’t know which Tripp Lite you have/had, but if it wasn’t the SMART1500LCDT, I’d give that one a try if it is the right size for your needs. We’ve had some 5000 APCs at work for racks and another that supported just a comm rack, and one of each of those had electronics failures and had to be replaced.

Personally prefer APC for home though at work we are using Tripp lite. My friend’s house years ago pretty much verified why I love APC. His house got a direct hit from lightning. Everything on the APC survived and was still working as well as the APC unit itself after the strike. Everything on other backups/surge protectors through the house fried. Though I don’t know what other ones he had, I Just know only the APC survived. Everything else went zap lol

I’ve used APC, Eaton, Cyberpower and Tripp-Lite in the past few years.

What gets me trying different brand is the gawd-awful bad software they all seem to have. Not intuitive at all - some so confusing you can’t tell if you are setting a timer to shut down a device or to turn off the UPS itself. The Tripp-Lite software has been a nightmare at multiple locations - having to uninstall/reinstall the software almost monthly before it sees the UPS - stuff like that.

I know APC doesn’t get a lot of love lately around here but they have been rock solid for me and my current choice - even after the recent network card firmware “bug” issue. My big complaint with APC is the software for their BackUPS models - it won’t install on a server OS. Sometimes there just isn’t a need for a $500+ Smart-UPS and a BackUPS would be fine if could be monitored properly. Only other issue is their NMC3 card management interface is SLOW SLOW SLOW. Like 5+ seconds to do respond to each click. Previous versions of the card worked fine.