Last time I cranked up the graphics settings in Cyberpunk 2077 and had my uninterruptable power supply alarm go off. The new power supply I bought was working fine, but pulling too much juice for the battery backup. I needed to search for UPS for RTX 3090.
It was time to replace that UPS too. There is no way I’m going without the protection for that expensive GPU. Brown outs and power surges do not play well with these expensive electronics. I’ve learned the hard way before.
Finding the Right Power Rating
My previous uninterruptable power supply was a CyberPower ST900U Standby UPS System, 900VA/500W, 12 Outlets, 2 USB Charging Ports, Compact.
That was more than enough for my RTX 2080 setup, but the RTX 3090 was just pulling too much. It would not always pop the load alarm on the UPS, but it would start whining after hours of play and during busy scenes.
Since I replaced my previous PSU with a new 1000W, I needed to figure out how much battery backup I needed. To do that I used the suggestions I found on the web to multiply the wattage of my PSU by 1.6 to get the amount of VAs I needed.
That would have been 1600VA, but the most I could really find was 1500VA (that was not completely ridiculous) and I knew this is a very conservative estimate. The 1500VA would likely be more than enough.
I decided to stick with Cyberpower uninterruptable power supplies since all the other units I bought from them have worked well. The model I ended up choosing was a true beast. Maybe the perfect UPS for RTX 3090.
The Uninterruptable Power Supply Beast
Although my 1000W PSU would technically need a 1600VA UPS, I knew I would likely never use that much power. I ended up choosing the CyberPower CP1500AVRLCD Intelligent LCD UPS System, 1500VA/900W, 12 Outlets, AVR, Mini-Tower Black. This thing is a beast and about half the size of my tower. It has a nice LCD display with a bunch of modes, but you can read more from the product page. My main concern was that it worked.
As hard as I push it, this uninterruptable power supply has plenty to give (only 3 out 5 load bars). I’m keeping it just for my PC tower. This will give me plenty of wiggle room for any USB devices I plug in. It will also help with an eventual upgrade for the CPU/Motherboard. The rest of my peripherals, like my monitor, will use my old UPS.
If you don’t already have a UPS for your expensive computer equipment, then I highly suggest you get one. Protect them from power surges and drops. I’ve gone through 3 PSUs and at least 1 motherboard before I learned my lesson. Learn from my mistakes.