Purchasing Advice: UPS Battery Back Up

mac man 020581mac man 020581
Posted:
in General Discussion edited January 2014
I am looking for a UPS battery back up system around the $115.00 + range that would power my FP iMac and a couple other devices during a power outage. Unreliable power lines, with the recent high wind and thunder storms, along with the harsh winters up here have prompted me to go ahead and get a UPS. I have hunted around a bit and it sounds like APC is a good brand to go with, so I am looking at the APC Back-UPS Pro USB 500. It appears to be completely compatible with OS X (OS X has built in controls then?), so no additional software is needed to be installed, which is nice. What are some recommendations, all I need is something that can give me enough power to save, shut down and not be a hassle the rest of the time. Thanks!

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 7
    markivmarkiv Posts: 180member
    Apple store has a lot of variety of UPS backup systems. Check this . I am concerned about UPS compatibility, I am in India and most of computer perpherals available are PC compatible. Wish some one could advice on the matter of UPS being compatible with OS X.
  • Reply 2 of 7
    eugeneeugene Posts: 8,254member
    May I suggest the APC Back-UPS RS 800? It's a bit beefier than the 350 watt Back-UPS LS 500 and quite inexpensive from Dell right now. I just bought one (not through Dell) and it works fine in OS X even without the PowerChute software installed.
  • Reply 3 of 7
    ebbyebby Posts: 3,110member
    How long do you plane to keep your computers on after a power failure? I have a Back-UPS 350 ($45) on my Beige G3 with a 19" monitor, cable modem, router, wireless hub, speakers, scanner, VCR... the list goes on. I got about 7-8 minutes of battery time which is plenty to save and shut down your computer. However I overloaded it twice so I bought a Back-UPS XS 1500 ($150) and get about 14 minutes with all my junk and a Dual G5 instead of a 333Mhz G3.



    An iMac will run on a cheap one (I would stick with APC or Belkin. They have good quality) if you don't need the extra uptime, or get the Back-UPS 1000 if you do. I believe the 1000 is still in your price range.



    BTW, the 1500 also has a battery port if you want to add a second battery for "360 minutes" of uptime.
  • Reply 4 of 7
    westonmwestonm Posts: 140member
    I'm sorry this is a bit off topic, but I have an APC Back-UPS RS 800 and was wondering if when powered off of the battery, my G5 should make a semi-loud "static-y" hum?



    O, and other then this the RS 800 has performed like a champ.
  • Reply 5 of 7
    mac man 020581mac man 020581 Posts: 632member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Eugene

    May I suggest the APC Back-UPS RS 800? It's a bit beefier than the 350 watt Back-UPS LS 500 and quite inexpensive from Dell right now. I just bought one (not through Dell) and it works fine in OS X even without the PowerChute software installed.



    Yes, that RS 800 does look like a great deal at Dell, I might just have to order that. The only real difference between the RS 800 and XS 1500 seems to be an extra two plugs and a few extra minutes on a full load.
  • Reply 6 of 7
    clockworkclockwork Posts: 1member
    hi,

    Surge protection is essential, especially for laptops (fried parts are harder to repace.) This guide to UPS batteries muight be helpful.
  • Reply 7 of 7
    majormattmajormatt Posts: 1,077member
    WARNING: The APC power supplies beep when the power fluctuates and there is no way to turn this off with a mac and it will drive you battty!!!
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