Is UPS necessary for gaming PCs? The answer is yes; they offer a number of benefits that may make them worth the investment. Firstly, a UPS can protect your gaming PC from power spikes, which can cause major damage to your system. A good quality surge protector can help, but a UPS offers the best protection. Secondly, it provides backup power during outages, allowing you to save your progress and not lose any valuable data. Thirdly, it can reduce the amount of input lag experienced while gaming. This is because the UPS prevents surges that can disrupt the connection between the PC and monitor or cause the monitor to flicker. Fourthly, it can be used to power certain gaming accessories, such as external hard drives, when necessary.
Protection Against Power Surges
When it comes to protecting your gaming PC from power surges, there is no substitute for a quality UPS. No matter how good the surge protector you have connected to your system, it is still possible for it to be damaged in a strong power surge or be overloaded. Even if you have high-quality external hard drives with their own surge protection, they are still vulnerable to power surge damage. With a UPS, you can be sure that your system is well-protected against power surges.
It’s not just power surges that can damage your system; brownouts and blackouts can also damage your hardware. A UPS prevents these power outages, allowing you to continue gaming uninterrupted and saving your valuable progress and data. Furthermore, quality UPSs will also provide protection against power sags, which can cause voltage drops, leading to poor gaming performance or even system crashes.
Reducing Input Lag
Input lag is a common issue for gamers, especially online gamers. It refers to a delay between a user’s action and the results of this action being visible on screen. If the connection between a PC and monitor is disrupted by power surges, the monitor can flicker or reset, leading to increased input lag. With a UPS, the connection between a PC and monitor is less likely to be disrupted by power surges, therefore improving gaming performance and reducing input lag.
A UPS can also reduce latency, which refers to the amount of time it takes for a given action undertaken by a user to reach the server. Latency is critical in online gaming as it is the amount of time between a user taking an action and the server being able to react to it. The fewer obstacles in the way, the better the latency will be. With a UPS, you can be sure that there are no sudden fluctuations in the power supply that could cause latency issues.
Powering Accessories
While a gaming PC is usually capable of powering certain accessories, such as external hard drives, if the system experiences a power outage, these accessories will also be affected. With a UPS, you can continue gaming without worrying about losing power to your accessories. A UPS will usually provide ample battery power to keep your accessories running until the power is back on.
The battery power of a UPS can also be used to keep your system running if the power supply from the wall is disrupted. This can be beneficial in certain scenarios, such as in the event of a surge when the system needs time to reboot. A UPS will provide the power you need to keep the system running until it can be rebooted.
Conclusion
In conclusion, a UPS is a useful tool for any serious gaming PC enthusiast. It provides numerous benefits, such as protection against power spikes, backup power for outages, reduced input lag and powering of accessories. With all of these advantages, it’s easy to see why having a UPS is a must for any gaming PC.
