[Indie]

Hi all,
I was going to get a surge protector, but someone recommended I get an uninterrupted power source (UPS). I've seen reconditioned ones on web for $25 to $45 or so but I don't know much about them. I don't need professional quality protection. Any advice on what to get or where?
Thanks.

[f1000]

I have an APC UPS. No problems so far.

[IceEnclosure]

Just bought one a few days ago..

I saw the Belkin and the APC units side by side and I went with a Belkin unit.

I got the F6C550-AVR Here, Belkin.com


� USB port for fast Plug & Play connectivity
� Included Power Management Software
� 3-Year Product Warranty
� $75,000 Connected Equipment Warranty
� Data Recovery Warranty
� 6 surge protected outlets, 4 with battery backup
� 890 Joules
� 330 Watt Capacity
� Easy access battery replacement door
� 28 Minutes of backup time
� Automatic Voltage Regulation for line conditioning and protection against brownouts
� 1-In 2-Out RJ11 Telephone/Fax Sur


and it happens to look real snazzy

[subego]

I've had a whole mess of APCs, and have never had a problem. Well, a battery conked on one after about 6 years. APC gave me a 50% trade-in. I wasn't expecting that.

My local computer store (Micro Center) will always have a UPS on sale, usually for 40-50% off. One week it's Belkin, the other week it's APC.

[Macola]

You should be aware that the surge protection on consumer-grade UPS is pretty minimal. I learned this the hard way during a lightning strike

[darthslacker]

I'm now in the market for a new UPS. I'm looking for something around a 550-650VA with a USB connection and software to automatically shut down the computer if I'm not around.

I looked through Belkin's downloads and they list software available through Panther. Has anyone tried the software with Tiger yet?

Or does anyone know of someone that does have software available for Tiger?

[tooki]

All of them with USB will work with the built-in UPS support that's been in Mac OS X for some time now.

The manufacturer's software sometimes provides more control, though. Both Belkin and APC have software for Mac OS X.

tooki

[JMII]

What size UPS power backups do you guys recommend for a dual 2GHz G5 workstation and a 21" CRT monitor?

Currently we have 550VA/330 watt (120 volts) units and they can't handle the load

Also what does the USB connection do? I've never connected it because the software supplied with ours said nothing about working with Macs.

- John

[tooki]

For a G5 with a big CRT, I'd recommend a very large one -- 1000VA/650W at minimum.

The USB connection will automatically shut down the Mac when the UPS battery gets close to drained.

tooki

[JMII]

Just a follow up:

We upgraded to APC's 800VA RS backups and they work great!

When connected via USB they are recongized automatically by the OS so I didn't even have to load the software they come with Once up and running they add a few new options to the Energy Savings preferrence pane. These allow you to monitor the time or percentage of battery juice left via a menu bar icon - similar to how PowerBooks work. In addition, when on battery power they put up an alert reminding you to save and shutdown. There is even an option to force a shutdown before the juice runs out even if your not there (IE overnight or on weekends)

Based on my quick test we get about 12 to 14 mintues of runtime off these sized backups. Keep in mind I'm running a dual G5 with a 21" CRT monitor so an iMac (with an LCD display) could run for alot longer (maybe an hour?).

[SSharon]

I just got an APC this year and my power went out three times in the past two days. The first time it went out I was in the middle of a 25 page paper that probably could have been recovered, but the peace of mind when my copmuter stayed on was worth it. To anyone on the line deciding, get even a small UPS so the computer can shut down properly whether you are there or not.