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SSebeny · Nov 21, 2003, 02:41 AM

Hello all,

Hello,

I am currently considering buying an uninterruptable power supply since the power in my apartment building flickers out regularly causing unwanted restarts of my Mac.

I am leaning towards purchasing the APC Back-UPS XS 1000 (model BX1000) from a third part retailer. (Like Sam's Club or MicroCenter.) However, I would like to hear other's experiences with UPS's. I'd be interested in hearing your horror stories and successful purchases.

In general what does everyone thing of APC's products? How about their included software? Has anyone used the included software with Mac OS X 10.3, any problems? If the included software is not compatible with 10.3, is it expected that APC would release an update fairly soon?

I'll be anxiously awaiting any and all replies. Thanks!

zigzag · Nov 21, 2003, 03:41 AM

I recently bought an APC XS1500 and it has worked fine as far as I can tell - I haven't had any power outages to test it yet. It was on sale at CompUSA for $100 after rebate.

It comes with software but it's very limited - all you get is a window in System Preferences allowing you to choose how long to keep your machine running on battery power. There's nothing that allows you to monitor power usage. It works fine in 10.3 as far as I can tell.

subego · Nov 21, 2003, 03:58 AM

Originally posted by SSebeny:
In general what does everyone thing of APC's products?

Like 'em a lot. Closest thing to a horror story was my Smart-UPS 1500 battery went flaky after about 5 years.

Not much of a horror really

How about their included software?

Phfffft. I stopped bothering somewhere between 10.1 and Jag.

HTH

SSebeny · Nov 21, 2003, 09:58 AM

Originally posted by subego:
Phfffft. I stopped bothering somewhere between 10.1 and Jag.

Why? Isn't the software one of the more important aspects of the UPS? Isn't software required for the computer to automatically shut-down when the UPS battery runs out? Are you saying the software isn't any good, or that you don't bother because you don't need it? If you don't need it, then what else do you use? I don't understand how the UPS can be of any worth without software to interact with.

Back up 15 and punt · Nov 21, 2003, 10:00 AM

There are a lot of UPS's available and APC ranks as one of the better ones. I personally use a Belkin and it has software that is compatible with OSX. Keep in mind that you probably need to replace the battery in a UPS about every two or three years.

Macola · Nov 21, 2003, 11:05 AM

Also be sure to check the surge protection rating of any UPS that you buy to make sure it's adequate. The lower-end ones are notoriously poor when compared to dedicated surge protectors. I learned this the hard way after a lightning strike...

CambAngst · Nov 21, 2003, 12:38 PM

I bought a Belkin 1250VA UPS for my G5 Dual and I've been thrilled with it. Belkin doesn't advertise Mac-compatability on the box, but their Bulldog software (available for free via their web site) is excellent.

subego · Nov 21, 2003, 01:48 PM

Originally posted by SSebeny:
Are you saying the software isn't any good, or that you don't bother because you don't need it?

Both.

The software wasn't so much bad as it is feature deprived (compared to the PC). I can't beat them up too hard for this, I'm sure most of their consumer clients have PCs. My info is out of date, so the situation may have improved.

My main UPS powers three computers, so to get a really workable situation I'd have to get a NIC for the UPS, and then use a PC to manage it. Bleech. This may also have changed, I haven't looked.

Though I'm lucky to be fairly outage free, my power is filthy dirty. Cleaning that up is the UPS's main job. Should there be an outage, I'm not too concerned about not being here or asleep, I'd be more interested in the few minutes it gave me if I was actually working. This is doubly true since even a graceful shutdown would blow up what I normally use my network for (After Effects render engine). I know other bad things can happen from suddenly killing the power, but I keep pretty good backups, DiskWarrior is da' bomb, yadda, yadda.

hyperb0le · Nov 21, 2003, 04:59 PM

I've got an APC XS1500 as well (got it for my G5), and its been working fine. I havent even bothered to install the software since i don't need it, but i assume its fine.

zigzag · Nov 22, 2003, 12:43 PM

Originally posted by SSebeny:
Why? Isn't the software one of the more important aspects of the UPS? Isn't software required for the computer to automatically shut-down when the UPS battery runs out?

The APC software has the automatic shut-sown capability - it gives you a window in System Preferences to set the desired timing, and it communicates with the Mac via USB - it just doesn't offer a monitoring/history window on the Mac version. Some people like to be able to see exactly how much power they're drawing, whether there have been any outages, etc. I don't really care about all that as long as I'm protected.

zigzag · 01:34 PM

Also note that if you want full software support, there is a popular UPS shareware utility called PowerGuardian available:

www.powerguardian.com