Gadget Idea - Standard Computer Power Supply with Built-In UPS
UPS devices have become so cheap these days that everyone should have one on all of their computers. What surprises me is that nobody has designed a standard computer power supply with built-in UPS capabilities.
Some of the advantages of such a design include:
- Continued running even when power goes out.
- Can (carefully) move a computer to a different room or location without shutting it down.
- Laptops do it, why not desktops?
- Only the critical devices (i.e. the computer) are on the UPS and not other non-essentials like monitors and printers. This will allow for a longer running system without power.
- The ability to gently shut down the system from a hardware (not OS) perspective.
If any of the readers out there are hardware developers and would like to pick up on this idea, feel free. Just drop me a line to let me know how the idea pans out!
4 Responses to “Gadget Idea - Standard Computer Power Supply with Built-In UPS”
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M@tty Says:
May 8th, 2008 at 5:37 pm -
Simon Hobson Says:
May 9th, 2008 at 9:22 amBeen done - at least 2 decades ago ! I can remember these being available back in the days when standard PC power supplies had a big red switch sticking out of the side and a (switched) power socket on the back. Someone did a UPS/PSU combo (just like the GlobTek ones the previous commenter linked to) - and it even powered your monitor via the socket on the back. The batteries went in a spare drive bay.
I guess they never caught on - IIRC they weren’t ‘cheap’.
I’m not too sure of the value of an internal UPS (especially without outlet socket) now - my desktops aren’t any use without a powered monitor, and my home server isn’t any use without the network switch and ADSL Modem etc.
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hb Says:
May 27th, 2008 at 4:49 amSimon@
I think that Tim idea is not to replace UPS, but to have the capability to hibernate (just an example) the PC in case of power problem without losing any data.
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Adnan Says:
May 3rd, 2009 at 12:51 pmYes I also agree with Tim idea. It should be a part of computer system. Becuase I am living in pakistan where we always facing power shutdown problme. If my Desktop system have a internal UPS then it helps me alot to save my data. I requred UPS only to hibernate the system not any backup required.
Can anybody tell me is there any external or internal UPS that only hibernate my PC. I don’t need any backup time.

