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!
APC is cheap garbage.
If you are concerned about the power quality causing damage, you want an online or double-conversion UPS. Those ones don't even bother trying to condition power, they run off the battery all the time.
I don't have a whole lot of experience, but Eaton has been reliable. People also recommend Tripp-Lite and Cyberpower but they've always seemed cheap to me.
APC makes low end offline UPS units, which are cheap garbage.
They also make line interactive and online ups units, which are decidedly not completely garbage.
I pick up line interactive APC units from used locations like eBay, and go buy off label replacement batteries. Haven't had any problems with them so far.
To date, over the last ~10 years of running a homelab, I have used mainly SMT 1500 units, one was a rack mount. I've recently upgraded to an SMX2000. I've replaced batteries, but never a UPS, and never any server components due to power issues. I've run servers ranging from a Dell PE 2950, to a full c6100 chassis, plus several networking devices, including firewalls, routers and PoE switches. Not a single power related issue with any of them.
Tripp-Lite is owned by Eaton though