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Pastimes : Dream Machine ( Build your own PC ) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Clarence Dodge who wrote (3694)	11/24/1998 10:29:00 PM
From: nojobjim	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 14778

Thanx. didnt know about the APS being ineffective. Will strike it from my xmas list. I'm lucky that the transformer is just up the alley from my house and I can hear it when its gonna blow. This has happened twice and I was able to hit the off button both times.[FRIED SQUIRELLS both times}jg

To: Clarence Dodge who wrote (3694)	11/25/1998 11:08:00 AM
From: Spots	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 14778

APC UPSs. As I was one of the posters, let me update those comments a bit. The short version is, I wouldn't be too quick to eliminate APC. I had a 600VA (400w) APC ups running two PCs, 17 & 21 in monitors, 3 or 4 HDs each, and other minor draws (modems, CDs). When new, it would support the combination for about 12 minutes. When approximately a year old, a power failure left me with only seconds of run time (and wouldn't support the monitor at all). The batteries do fail in these things, but typical lifetime is supposed to be 3-4 years. However, APC support immediately replaced the unit, cross shipped a new one (actually, a the same size in the newer line), and paid shipping both ways, no questions asked. They did this without proof of purchase, determining the date of manufacture from the serial number. The battery shouldn't have failed at that age, BUT if I had periodically tested the unit, I would have known the battery was weakening before an outage took me down. Good intentions, etc. More important, that UPS took me through many short-duration outages, spikes, and what not, and a surge that absolutely fried the C drive in my wife's PC, not on the UPS (it is now <gg>). Back on this thread there was a report (not mine) of somebody getting equipment fried that was protected by APC UPSs. APCs equipment is hot-switched, that is, it runs from line current and switches to battery only on a failure (typical switch time is about 20-30 ms if I remember correctly), which does leave the equipment vulnerable to extremes. You can get UPSs that run continuously from the battery. Probably 1500 bucks or so <g>. They will leave you vulnerable to even greater extremes (from once-in-a-decade to once-in-a- lifetime, maybe). The question is, what are you protecting and what is the investment worth? A UPS is NO SUBSTITUTE for proper backups. Remember you can always lose data from other causes, so don't think of a UPS that way. So, on balance, despite not being real happy with a prematurely dead battery, but realizing that was as much my fault as anybody's, and being very favorably impressed with APC's customer support and the fact that nothing has ever hurt my equipment protected by one while surrounding equipment went up in smoke, I now have 3 APC UPSs. Test 'em periodically, too. In fact, as soon as I post this response ...

To: Clarence Dodge who wrote (3694)	11/25/1998 8:53:00 PM
From: Howard R. Hansen	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 14778

So.. whatsaguy todo... any suggestions recommendations. what are you all using for UPS? Is there anyway to get adequate protection without paying an arm and a leg? I have had an APC Back-UPS 650 for 2 years. No problems and every time we have had a power outage it has kept my computer running until I could execute an orderly shut down. A previous poster to this thread didn't like APC UPS because he has had computer equipment damaged from a large power line transient even when he was using an APC UPS. He said this has never happened when he was using a Best UPS. Hence you have a choice save money and buy an APC UPS, or equivalent, and make use of the warrantee if your computer ever gets zapped or pay a lot more for a Best UPS. Personnally I think an APC UPS is adequate for home use. But here in the Northwest we have very few lightning storms compared to the East coast. Perhaps I would feel different if I lived on the East coast.