Page 2 - Physical Look - Hardware
The CyberPower GX950UC is an uninterruptible power supply, or UPS. It comes in the form of a rectangular prism with rounded corners and angled edges. Maybe I am not very creative, but I cannot imagine an UPS to take any other shape. The black plastic enclosure is simple and practical, being reasonably scratch and fingerprint resistant. In front, there is CyberPower's logo, followed by its 950VA rating. Above the CyberPower logo is a string of binary digits that reads "01000010 01100101 01101110 01101110 01100101 01110100 01110100". Translating that from ASCII code is "Bennett", but I have no idea who that is or what this means. If you know, please drop me a line, haha.
CyberPower added an RGB light strip in front near the top to enhance the GX950UC's gaming credibility, because everyone knows in 2026 that RGB LEDs instantly means gaming. It is not software-programmable, but there are fourteen pre-programmed light modes available to the user accessible via the lighting mode selector button on the right.
At the top, there are seven NEMA 5-15R North American plugs, five having battery backup and two that only has surge protection. The plugs are clearly labeled. One plug is spaced far out for large power adapters, but if you have more than one power adapter, you are out of luck. In this case, even if it is not recommended, you will have to use a power strip. Just be sure not to overload the GX950UC. More spaced out outlets would have been useful.
CyberPower promises 890J surge suppression and $125,000 USD connected equipment guarantee. The maximum usable power output is 510W. Therefore, CyberPower recommends against plugging in high power devices like laser printers and space heaters into your UPS. However, it is not that hard for PCs to exceed 510W under load nowadays, especially if you have the latest graphics cards. A more powerful battery is recommended to provide battery backup to high-end systems.
At 0.55 power factor, the GX950UC is capable of up to 950VA total power output. If you are unfamiliar with these terms, in AC power, there are three components to it, as there is a phase difference between current and voltage. This makes up the power triangle, which consists of the following: Average usable power (P, measured in watts), reactive power (Q, denoted as VA-R), and total power (S, written as VA). While they all have the same physical units, it is not the same thing as aforementioned. What we want is the average usable power with as little wasted reactive power as possible. The total power provided over the AC line is the magnitude of the two combined (sqrt(P^2+Q^2)). Power factor can then be easily calculated by P divided by S. The ideal value is 1.00, and pretty much all PC power supplies sold today have active PFC. This means your PC's power factor typically approaches 0.99 with a nominal load.
In addition to the seven NEMA 5-15R plugs, the CyberPower GX950UC also has a USB Type-A and USB Type-C power for charging your devices. These ports are only for charging your devices and cannot be used for controlling your PC for automatic shut down. I am a little confused by the USB power specifications though. The specifications table on CyberPower's website claims the total shared USB charge port amperage is 2.4A, while the USB charge ports are rated at 17W. In the datasheet PDF from CyberPower's website and the front of the box, they both state the USB Type-A port has 2.4A output, while the USB Type-C port has 15W output. This corresponds to the user manual, which says the USB Type-C output is 5VDC, 3A, while the USB Type-A output is 5VDC, 2.4A with total USB output at 5VDC, 3.4A. I believe the CyberPower's website is wrong, as 2.4A at 5VDC is only 12W. I believe the actual specifications are 2.4A for the USB Type-A port, the USB Type-C port can output up to 15W, and both combined are 17W.
The GX950UC's dimensions come in at 32.41cm in width, 13.79cm in height, and 7.01cm in depth. It tips the scales at 7.05 lbs, where most of the weight comes from its internal 78Wh sealed lead acid battery. This CyberPower UPS is reasonable in both size and weight.
Turn the UPS around, and you will see the buttons and indicator LEDs on the right side. The first button is the lighting mode selector button alluded to earlier. The lighting mode selector button allows you to turn the light bar on or off, cycle through the lighting modes, or dim or brighten the RGB light strip. The second button is the power button, which allows you to turn the GX950UC itself on or off by holding it down for approximately two seconds. Inside, an alarm will beep once when the UPS is turned on, twice when the UPS is turned off, and four times -- or basically continuously, since it is on repeat -- when the battery is low. The indicator LEDs include a power LED and wiring fault LED. The power LED will glow green when everything is normal. The wiring fault LED will glow red if there is a ground or wiring problem.
At the back, two keyhole mounting slots allow you to mount the CyberPower GX950UC to the wall. A 1.5m cable with a 45° NEMA 5-15P plug goes into your wall outlet.
The sealed lead acid battery can be accessed by removing two Philips head screws at the bottom of the UPS. The battery has a capacity of 6.5Ah at 12V, which gives it a nominal capacity of 78Wh. It charges to 90% in 8 hours and 100% in 72 hours based on CEC and Energy Star efficiency test standards. The battery can kick in in 8ms when a power failure occurs. 10ms or lower is recommended for sensitive hardware, but I have tested power stations like the BLUETTI AC70 rated at 20ms and it had no issues keeping my systems on. We will test whether the CyberPower GX950UC's 8ms performs as expected or not on the next page.
Out of the box, CyberPower recommends charging it for at least 8 hours before use. I find these numbers kind of funny, because we have been so spoiled by modern lithium-ion batteries that charge from zero to 80% in less than an hour. I understand the use of sealed lead acid batteries is due to cost, but I cannot imagine a 78Wh LiFePO4 battery to be that expensive in 2026. An LiFePO4 battery can charge much faster, perform better, and last longer, too.
Page Index
1. Introduction, Packaging, Specifications
2. Physical Look - Hardware
3. Test Results
4. Conclusion
