Legit Reviews

I already have a surge protector, but since i'm putting together a new system which will cost me a good deal of money i'm wondering if i need an UPS for better protection during a blackout, power outage, etc. Is having a UPS better than having a surge protector? If it is i'd like to hear some UPS suggestions and what do i look for in a quality UPS, i've heard that APC and Cyberpower are good brands.

I currently own this surge protector:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6812120302

In addition to to the system specs in my signature i also have a sound card, speakers, 22" CRT monitor and an external hard drive, and i'm also getting 2 optical drives, floppy+ card reader and may add another 8800GTS at a later time. Basically i need a UPS that will give me 5-6 minutes to shutdown my computer. So what do you guys think?

I would check out APC Model 750 BB has surge back-up and will also protect phone and modem from surges lighting and power spikes until you own an APC or the like UPS you have no idea how dirty you incoming 110 volt line is or how low the power gets in peak use in the summer I have seen as low as 98 volts on hot summer days Check it out.

So you think i'm better off with UPS instead of a surge protector, huh? In that case, do you think this model will be give me the 5 to 6 min i need to shutdonw? Also in the product description at newegg it mentions a rechargeble battery, how do i recharge it, do they provide a recharger or i have to buy it?

And i want you to clarify something for me, you mentioned that 110v line may be dirty, what exactly does it mean and how can it affect my system?

By dirty he means that the wall socket wont be outputting a steady 110v. It may flux up and down around this amount. The current surge protector you have will stop it from going to high that it might damage your PC (most UPSs will do that too). But if the line drops too low voltage the PC will have a tendancy to not run as good (I'm not sure if the PSU can compensate for this by just sucking up more Amps or if something worse happens).

But basically the UPS will 'clean' the power going into devices plugged into it, it does this by lots of electrical magic, and relying on the battery or capacitors when the voltage drops too low, voltage dropping low is called a brownout I think.

The way UPSs work as a backup power source is via batteries. It will charge itself when its plugged in to the wall and supplying power to your devices. And then when the power cuts out it will use the batteries till they run out.

Dan

Interesting, i had no idea that the 110v line fluctuates like that, i have 3 computers in my house (and other appliances) and never experienced any problems. Though in the summer time i think it does drop below 110v cause everyone has their ACs on and we has blackouts in some parts of the city.

As far as which UPS to get, i went to APC's website to look around and they have this option where they can recomend a UPS for one's system, i punched in my specs and they gave me 3 options (from the cheaper to more expensive): BE750BB suggested by doghucat, BR800BLK and BR1300LCD (with an LCD display). I'm probably gonna go with BR800BLK , it's only $20 than 750BB, gives me a little more wattage and probably more time to shutdown my system. And it's a top-selling item on newegg so it's proably a good unit.

I would say buy the best you can, you dont need to plug in the Lcd as you can automate the shutdown procedure through the software. I use 2 1400 2u ups from APC and 2 1000 smart ups and a backup-ups 500cs for the kids system. My home server will get (tested) 45 minutes of battery time. Just because nothing ever happened before doesn't mean it never will. I had a simple brownout fry 2 systems and a monitor at work that were on quality surge suppressors.

how long should the battery in a UPS last?

after a little over 3 years mine is giving me a bad battery light.. so i was thinking it may need to be reconditioned or something, but i dont know how to do that and a new battery is only $20.

buy a new battery

All rechargable batteries have a certain amount of recharges before they stop charging well... I see it most with electric shavers. Eventually they just wont hold a charge at all and become something heavy that weighs down your trash bag. To fix the problem, you need a new battery

yes, like i daid buy a new battery, i dont know what type of battery is in an electric shavers, but i dont think its a lead acid battery which is what most quality UPS systems have. Much better to buy a new battery (or UPS unit) and some of the vendors have trade ins. You can find sites to recondition batteries but IMO it is not worth it. Here is one for reconditioning APC's with prices
http://www.nooutage.com/UPS-APCrecond.htm

Darkstar wrote:I would say buy the best you can, you dont need to plug in the Lcd as you can automate the shutdown procedure through the software. I use 2 1400 2u ups from APC and 2 1000 smart ups and a backup-ups 500cs for the kids system. My home server will get (tested) 45 minutes of battery time. Just because nothing ever happened before doesn't mean it never will. I had a simple brownout fry 2 systems and a monitor at work that were on quality surge suppressors.

I can spend about $100 to $150 on a UPS, i would have been able to spend more but the new system components really drained my finances. So you think i should get the one with the LCD display, it's somewhat more than i want to spend ($189) and it weights a ton (30 lbs), but it seems to have a lot of features. By the way, I've read that APC's software kinda sucks, people recomend to use Win XP UPS management feature, how true is this ?

Sams Club has the APC BN1250 for around $150 I believe. I have it and love it!

Your 22" CRT is the main problem - that puppy will suck juice like there is no tomorrow. You might have to go with a bigger UPS, or just plug the monitor into the surge outlets and not the battery backup outlets.

Mike

Mike, you make a very good point, that CRT monitor is a power sucker, however, i want to have it protected by a UPS as well, in your opinion how many watts should a UPS have to let me shutdown my system and monitor, i need just 5 or 6 minutes? I'm strongly leaning towards BR1300LCD, it has 780W, just like the BN1250 you suggested, do you think that will be enough?

Apc has an online wizard that you can select your system and monitor , etc to see the recommended UPS. i think either one would do the job if you just need enough time for a shutdown.

http://www.apc.com/tools/wizard/home/zoneForm.cfm

Yep, that's what i used and they gave me those 3 models i mentioned above, as far as the monitor they don't even have 22" and CRT monitors in their configurator, only 20 to 21" and they just call non-LCD monitors monitor so i think that means CRT. According to them the BR1300LCD model will give me 27 minutes, i think that's an overly optimistic estimate though, but like you said it should give me enough time to shutdown. Also what about their software, is it any good or should i just stick with XP UPS management?

They go all the way to 26"LCD's

Their software works fine for me, only problem is if you have an Exchange server.

Thanks for your help, i think i'll get 780W LCD model, even though it is a bit more than i want to spend, but it'll give me some peace of mind knowing that my system will be safe.

barfly wrote:Yep, that's what i used and they gave me those 3 models i mentioned above, as far as the monitor they don't even have 22" and CRT monitors in their configurator, only 20 to 21" and they just call non-LCD monitors monitor so i think that means CRT. According to them the BR1300LCD model will give me 27 minutes, i think that's an overly optimistic estimate though, but like you said it should give me enough time to shutdown. Also what about their software, is it any good or should i just stick with XP UPS management?

27 minutes - lol - hell I only get around 25 on mine with a 19" lcd ;)

Any UPS is better than none! I wont build a computer without one anymore.

Mike

good luck - let us know what the real world time is hen you get it and have it all charged up and hooked up.

I bought this one:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6842101141

APC Back-UPS BE500R 500 VA 300 Watts 8 Outlets UPS - Retail

My review:
The slightest flicker in the lights causes this thing to click over to backup power instantly, buzzing and clicking noisy, and sometimes it even sets itself off. It also causes the lights in my apartment to flicker, creating its own power surges.

I had to unplug and move 2 lights in my apartment to different outlets, one of them to this unit itself, because anytime the lights would flicker, this backup unit would constantly, non-stop turn on and off, click, click, click, until i shut my lights off manually. Im sure the Wiring in my place sucks, I get constant surges in Florida, but this backup unit should seamlessly jump to backup power, not CAUSE a fluctuation in my power, creating its own brown-outs and false switchovers. ugh.