Daily Cup of Tech

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:

1. Continued running even when power goes out.
2. Can (carefully) move a computer to a different room or location without shutting it down.
3. Laptops do it, why not desktops?
4. 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.
5. 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!

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5 Responses to “Gadget Idea - Standard Computer Power Supply with Built-In UPS”

1. M@tty Says:
   May 8th, 2008 at 5:37 pm

   Try these

2. Simon Hobson Says:
   May 9th, 2008 at 9:22 am

   Been 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.

3. hb Says:
   May 27th, 2008 at 4:49 am

   Simon@

   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.

4. Adnan Says:
   May 3rd, 2009 at 12:51 pm

   Yes 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.

5. David Says:
   October 7th, 2009 at 5:44 pm

   I don’t think computers are the only place a built-in UPS design makes sense. Clock radios, smoke alarms, boom boxes, etc. Anything you leave plugged in all day, but might want to take on the road with you. Anything you leave plugged in all day, but might need to rely on during a power outage. UPS circuits ought to be ubiquitous and cheap.

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