Heyo, just had a power cut.
I've always thought about getting a UPS since i really don't want my PC getting damaged by a dumb power related issue, and some work on the power lines in my area has brought the thought up again that i should get one, but i have some questions maybe some of you with UPS's can answer.

How long do they last? I've seen some manufacturers say the battery lasts 3-4 years, which isn't very long considering how expensive they are.

What are they like to use day to day? Do they make noise, do they generate heat, are they annoying in any other ways?

I'm using a gaming rig and two monitors but i don't know how much power that consumes in general, the PSU is 850W but obviously i'm not maxing it out all day, so add the two monitors and 850 - 1000w should cover it?

Any help would be appreciated, i only usually get one or two power cuts in a year and i've never had a major issue resulting from one so i may just carry on without, please share your thoughts.

I just started using one for my gaming PC last year. My PC has a i7-12700k, a RTX 3080, and two monitors. When I'm playing a game, my UPS says I'm using 600-700 watts. My 900W/1500VA UPS can keep everything on for a little more than 10 minutes when the power goes out, enough time to shut down my PC if I think the power isn't coming back on soon. If my PC is idle, the UPS can keep it powered for about 40 minutes. I keep it next to my desk on the floor so the only noise I hear from it is a loud clicking when it switches to battery. Most of the time, it's silent.

I have this UPS specifically. I got it for about $220 and the replacement batteries are $80 but it came with a new battery already in it. You're supposed to replace the battery every 3 years. The only annoying things about this UPS are 1) the display only stays on when it's showing how much time I have left on the battery as opposed to any of the other display options and 2) it's VERY hard to pull cables out of the back. It's a workout for my forearms whenever I have to unplug something.

It's cheaper than the video card I had at the time (a 1070ti) and I was worried about my card getting fried from the frequent brownouts I have during the summer time. I'm sure you can find a slightly older and cheaper model. I think I was looking at a CyberPower UPS before I got the APC one, but it was out of stock everywhere and I didn't want to wait a week to buy it. However, if you're looking for something that will let you play PC games for several hours without power, you're probably going to spend a lot more than $200.

I have a UPS, but I do not have a full understanding of how one works, so keep that in mind as I am not an electrician.

I've been using one of CyberPower's 1500VA/900W models since late 2019, with a desktop (9900K/2080 Ti/750w Corsair PSU), 34" 3440 x 1440 100 Hz monitor, a lamp, and sometimes an additional 24"1080p 60 Hz monitor, one console or another, and a 15" Surface Book 2; not all at the same time or even on a daily basis, but I'm mentioning them to give an idea of how many paces that I've put my UPS though over the years. According to the readouts that my UPS is giving, my load capacity with the desktop and ultrawide monitor is pretty low, and the battery capacity is still high.

My best guess is that it's working a move advanced power strip with short term battery backup where the intent is to safely shut down your electronics or to offset the chances of bricking your electronics during a BIOS update or installing custom firmware due to a loss of electricity; as opposed to trying to use the battery backup to continue playing or working as you would with a portable power station (where Jackery seems to be a reputable brand in that space). When it's receiving power, it don't make noise, generate a relevant amount of heat, cause any electrical interference with audio equipment (since I realized that I have mine sitting next to a subwoofer) and I doubt the the battery is seeing much activity (for better or for worse given my ignorance of sealed lead–acid batteries compared to my layman's/consumer level understanding of lithium-ion batteries). When the power goes out, it makes a distinct buzzing noise and gives a readout of how much battery life it has left, which of course will vary depending on how demanding your electronics are. For example: With my desktop at idle, I have about 45 minutes. While playing a game that puts my system to work like Cyberpunk, 8 minutes.

@mobiusfun: That's great info thank you, yeah i'm only interested in shutting it down safely and the bonus surge protection.

A problem i'm seeing is that being in the UK getting replacement batteries seems a bit sketchy, and expensive, i can see a lot that will work with APC but they don't list the compatibility very well and they're all third party.

How about this:

My experience from working in IT (over a decade at this point) is that UPS batteries often kick the bucket much sooner than you'd expect, depending on the power situation at your place and the brand of UPS.

If it is just surges/dirty power that you're worried about, a solid (not super-cheap) surge protector might be enough for you.

If you are looking to keep your PC running in the event of an outage, a UPS isn't a bad idea at all. Just make plans to replace the battery every 1-3 years. I've seen batteries hit 4 years before, but have also seen multiple batteries killed by dirty power within 12-18 months.

It might be an obvious point, but they are also heavy (as they are basically little car batteries). You'll need to factor that in to wherever you're planning on placing the UPS.

@silens: I do have a quality surge protector, i figured it was the least i could do if i was going to have expensive gaming PC's, i'm more worried about the damage or loss of files that might occur from a power cut, not that that's ever happened to me before.

Had another power cut yesterday but i'm going to go without for now, if it happens a couple more times i'll seriously consider getting one.

I've been very lucky - my larger APC UPSes have held onto their battery for well over the 3-4 year point.

I currently have the APC Back-UPS Pro 1300VA. Very little heat generation, good footprint, a lot of outlets.

If you have a mission-critical PC (mine does double duty as my business workstation and my personal machine) I would never be caught without a UPS. I bought a large enough capacity one that I never have to think about having enough headroom. Right now as I watch a video and type this post my Ryzen 7 5900X/3070/2 monitor system is drawing 130V and has 39mins of runtime if it were to go onto battery.

Electrician here. I use a lot of Eaton and Tripp Lite units for work. When you're in the market for the smaller, home user versions they're a lot more dependable than APC or Cyber Power in my experience. Change that battery out between 2 to 3 years for the best results. They can swell up so large that it's difficult to remove.