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Big Mac · 04:34 AM

I'm trying to figure out whether or not it makes sense to buy a UPS for my desktop. I'd need a pretty beefy one to drive my high end PC and multiple monitors, and while I'd like one I usually find other things to do with money I'd otherwise spend on one. It seems nice to have in theory but less than important in practice since it's not the year 2000 anymore (when California was experiencing rolling blackouts and getting scammed by Enron) and my electricity seems to be pretty stable (a couple of short term black outs a year at most in recent years).

iMOTOR · Feb 14, 2011, 04:28 AM

Unless you’re running a server, a ups is probably not essential. I used a Belkin ups for several years until the battery went out, now I just use a surge protector. I think it’s better to have a ups on your network modem and Airport, then you still have internet on your notebook if the power goes out.

CRASH HARDDRIVE · Feb 14, 2011, 05:32 AM

It really depends on your needs- I use UPS's on my computers that I rely on for critical work: home office, servers, and all computers I use at work. I've had a UPS save my bacon maybe once a year, but even then it's generally been a local power issue (IE: blown fuse) more often than an actual blackout.

You can easily get by on just a decent surge protector.

Personally, I prefer a good UPS unit more for the clean power they provide than the backup protection. One can be a help if your home has older/crappy wiring. One of my friends' houses has old wiring, and they had constant computer problems until they started using a UPS and now everything computer related works perfectly.

ghporter · Feb 14, 2011, 07:21 AM

I have everything I can run through an UPS. TV and stereo, network hardware, iMac, everything. I don't run a bunch of things in a failure, but I want the opportunity to shut things down gracefully. I use a combination of 350 and 500 VA units.

One reason I go to this trouble is that I've had surge protectors fail to protect equipment in an admittedly extreme situation: lightning struck a light pole two houses down and induced enough of an overvoltage surge in telephone lines, power lines, TV cable, etc. that just about everything plugged in was damaged. Except the one computer that was on an UPS...

Atheist · Feb 14, 2011, 08:20 AM

Living where I do it's a must. As with Glenn, I have all of my electronics running through a UPS. I've got a 1500 VA unit in my office. Gives me enough time to finish up whatever I'm working on and gracefully shutdown the machine. It also stabilizes the voltage since mine will frequently fluctuate. Kinda freaky watching the input voltage bounce up and down (it has an LCD display).

The Godfather · Feb 14, 2011, 10:14 AM

UPS for my HTPC and projector. It makes sense because they are so cheap since they started being manufactured in China.

Doofy · Feb 14, 2011, 11:52 AM

Doof has everything on UPS units.

OldManMac · Feb 14, 2011, 11:57 AM

UPS for everything in my computer room. iMac, laser, scanner, TV, 4 external hard drives. I don't lose power a lot, but power variables happen frequently.

andi*pandi · Feb 14, 2011, 12:01 PM

Lots of folks use UPS then...

Which ones are good?

Doofy · Feb 14, 2011, 01:50 PM

Originally Posted by andi*pandi

Lots of folks use UPS then...

Which ones are good?

I was on the Belkin for a while, only to discover how good they weren't at a time I needed them. No indication of faulty/used battery before the cut - just a complete failure during it.

I've since moved to APC. One of my favourite companies, since they're absolutely spot on with service issues and their products are sound (from my experience).

olePigeon · Feb 14, 2011, 02:11 PM

Can't go wrong with APC.

FireWire · Feb 14, 2011, 04:52 PM

Only one document saved is worth the purchase. I'm a student and I can't afford a lost paper during finals. I've been using APC UPS since my first computer and I recommend one to all my friends/family. For less than 100$, I think it is worth it. Plus, as someone else pointed out, it also provides a cleaner current so the parts may last longer. Surge protector will only protect against over-current, not under-current.

seanc · Feb 14, 2011, 05:52 PM

Originally Posted by OldManMac

UPS for everything in my computer room. iMac, laser, scanner, TV, 4 external hard drives. I don't lose power a lot, but power variables happen frequently.

Laser printer? No don't do that. They put too much load on UPSes.

subego · Feb 14, 2011, 08:20 PM

Yup. APC.

My power is rock solid, but whoever did the wiring in my apartment didn't read the part where you're not supposed to put two whole rooms and a bathroom on the same circuit.

ghporter · Feb 14, 2011, 09:17 PM

APC and Tripplite pretty much invented the consumer UPS market. CyberPower isn't bad, but I'm not thrilled by their warranty. I'm just skeptical about Belkin's UPS units.

Subego, your apartment didn't meet code when it was built. Have you pointed this out to management? I'd do it to cover myself when (not if) something untoward happens and a Bad Event strikes you, your stuff, or the apartment. "I told you three times, in January '11, February '11 and April '11 that these rooms were all on the same circuit, so I think you should pay my renter's insurance deductible and fix the wiring..."

brassplayersrock² · Feb 14, 2011, 09:23 PM

Originally Posted by OldManMac

UPS for everything in my computer room. iMac, laser, scanner, TV, 4 external hard drives. I don't lose power a lot, but power variables happen frequently.

Laser?

ghporter · Feb 14, 2011, 09:29 PM

Yeah, a laser printer warming up will overload almost any UPS. I have a dedicated circuit for my laser printer so it doesn't load down lights or anything else. That may be overkill, but my laser printer is the only piece of electronics that plugs into the wall and is not on an UPS.

brassplayersrock² · Feb 14, 2011, 09:31 PM

Oh... I thought he wanted a UPS for his tank of sharks with freakin' laser beams on their heads located in his office or something.

Oh well.

subego · Feb 14, 2011, 09:51 PM

Originally Posted by ghporter

Subego, your apartment didn't meet code when it was built. Have you pointed this out to management?

I probably should, but I try to foster an "I won't bother you, so you don't bother me" type relationship with my landlords. Ultimately, I use enough juice that if the wiring had an integrity problem, the place would have been a smoking ruin by now. They just put the wires in the wrong places. I've got wall switches which have two separate circuits going into them too.

brassplayersrock² · Feb 14, 2011, 09:54 PM

subego, as a semi landlord myself, the best tenants are the ones that point things out. That way my folks and I are sure that things are smoothed out so when the folks move out, and new ones move in, there aren't unknown problems for us to find and deal with, and not able to rent the space out since we're fixing the problem.

subego · Feb 14, 2011, 10:05 PM

I never said I was a good tenant, just one who doesn't bug you.

Eug · Feb 14, 2011, 11:20 PM

I also use multiple UPSes.

One big one powers my 27" iMac, VDSL2 router, and some backup drives.
One smaller one powers my external monitor and other backup drives.
A third one powers my Windows 7 PC.

I consider it critical. Nothing hurts worse to be in the midst of something and to lose the work. Yeah, I back up regularly, but it's not as if I backup everything every 5 mins.

I don't back up my printers or TV, but I'm considering getting a fourth UPS to backup my multifunction printer with fax.

I do the same thing at work. I almost laugh when we get a power outage at work (and that's about 2-3X a year). People come out of their offices bitching and moaning about the work they lost, whereas my machine is still running. And then I tell them to pay $50 to get a UPS on sale at Dell or whatever, and they never do. Rinse, wash, repeat.

Cold Warrior · Feb 14, 2011, 11:26 PM

Two UPS here. One for a couple Macs, external HHD dock with drives, and iPhone charger. The second runs cable modem and airport extreme, mostly for clean power and surge protection, because if we lose power in the neighborhood (very rare), cable of course goes out.

ghporter · Feb 15, 2011, 07:57 AM

Since this has evolved into a serious hardware discussion, I'm moving it to the Peripherals forum. Discuss on!

osiris · Feb 15, 2011, 11:20 AM

I have a few really nice UPS units, Smart UPS APC 750VAs, but the big hassle is dealing with the batteries. They don't last very long - about a year, and they must be replaced. This gets pretty expensive, and annoying as all hell (the beeping during failure).

One for the fridge, one for the Mac Pro, router, and landline cordless phone, and another for a couple of smaller iMacs.

The only two times I've seen them kick in is during a power spike (they regulate power as well), and a black out that lasted under a minute. With the smart units you can configure the UPS via USB.

Probably should get those batteries tho...

msuper69 · Feb 15, 2011, 04:30 PM

Here's my UPS:

Kohler Power: 20RES: 20 kW: 20RES: Residential Generators: Residential Home Generators

Well, that's what I hope to get someday.

For now I have 3 APC UPS-PRO 500s:
APC BACK-UPS PRO 500VA USB 120V UPS

I bought these back when I got my Cube. I've had to replace the batteries 2 or 3 times over the last 10 years.
The replacement batteries are about $40. They even provide a pre-paid box to return the dead batteries for recycling. Very good service. I'd buy APC again.

turtle777 · Feb 15, 2011, 06:59 PM

3 UPSes here.

1 iMac, 1 TV and stereo, 1 for MBP.

-t

cgc · Feb 15, 2011, 08:28 PM

I considered the same thing but wound up getting a high quality surge protector that came with a replacement guarantee for connected equipment. APC has a nice UPS size calculator on their website if you go that route.

jmiddel · Feb 15, 2011, 10:48 PM

Originally Posted by subego

I probably should, but I try to foster an "I won't bother you, so you don't bother me" type relationship with my landlords. Ultimately, I use enough juice that if the wiring had an integrity problem, the place would have been a smoking ruin by now. They just put the wires in the wrong places. I've got wall switches which have two separate circuits going into them too.

No, subego, this (smoking ruin) will happen at some point in time we can't calculate. 19 years after I bought my house, a switch in the garage with that exact problem started overheating. Thank goodness I caught it in time, a few more hours and swoosh!

Sorry for interrupting the UPS topic, but this is dangerous.

Y'all have convinced me. Although we have pretty steady power, I buying a couple of APCs to regulate the current and prevent stray surges to fry my stuff.

Arty50 · Feb 16, 2011, 06:51 PM

I bought a CyberPower unit over a year ago for my Mac Pro and it's performed flawlessly. I live in an area that sees some pretty serious storms and frequent brownouts, and it's turned out to be an excellent purchase.

Veltliner · Feb 18, 2011, 02:57 AM

I bought an APC unit from Amazon after discussion this subject here on MacNN.

Very good experience. Has saved my computer from crashing at least four times in the past four years.

Those nice, little flickers in the electric networks (Only in California, baby!) would every time crash my Mac.

I think I paid something like $80 on Amazon, including shipping.

You don't need a big unit, just enough juice to safely shut down your computer or bridge drops in power for a few minutes.