UPS -- Uninterruptable Power Supply... Brands?

[thekl0wn]

I'll be in the market for a new UPS soon, and I'm not sure what brands to look into. As of now, I'm running some name I've never heard of... A Circuit City special. Let me know if you have any suggestions. Here are the specs it needs to meet:

-Power for 2 PC's (one running 700-800 watt PSU, one running 400-500 watt PSU)
-Battery run time does not need to be that long. 10 minutes is plenty.
-MUST be rack-mount.
-Budget is under $200.

Budget can go up if need be for decent operation/protection.

 

[porterjw]

APC is a very good brand of UPS. A lot of businesses use them for their systems. Good power, good name, good lifespan.

 

[thekl0wn]

From what I'm seeing, I'm thinking I'm either going to be upping my budget for a single unit to cover both computers, and the two amps (for surge protection/line conditioning), OR keeping the UPS in the same price neighborhood, and upgrading the power conditioner on the amps.

 

[thekl0wn]

I've got one vote for APC. What about some other brands like: Belkin, CyberPower, Opti UPS, PowerCom, and Tripp? (I've had trip stuff before and know the quality on most of their stuff)

 

[pumaking]

APC is what we use at work.

 

[SirKenin]

I use either APC or Powerware. If it's serious business, it's Powerware. Here in the office I use the APC BackUPS 1300 RS LCD. I've tried the 750 RS, but within two months it had already failed. The other ones you mentioned are junk.

In some installs I use the APC Smart-UPS SC1500. I have two of them on one site, one for each server. They can be used either rackmount or pedestal.

 

[porterjw]

I've got one vote for APC. What about some other brands like: Belkin, CyberPower, Opti UPS, PowerCom, and Tripp? (I've had trip stuff before and know the quality on most of their stuff)

Belkin makes great surge protectors, not entirely sure about their UPS's though as I've never used one. From reading some reviews, they seem to be decent enough. No clue on the other brands you mentioned; when going for something as important as power backup like this, I wouldn't even consider lesser-known names.

 

[b3rt_d4ni3l]

I have been hearing that APC is a good UPS brand. I have CyberPower though.
Not for long but so far its been good.

 

[Ric0h]

Does light goes out that much in your country? I live in mexico, where technology is not as great in america, and still we never had a black out in years.

 

[kof2000]

ups is a must for business or home user with valuable equipments. one of our ups malfunctioned and killed our cisco router during a power outage. router costs $2000+ but ups warranty covers damage from product malfunction as long as it is plugged properly.

 

[SirKenin]

The deal is this.. There's a lot more to a UPS than maintaining power when your power goes out.

The real test of a power supply is brownouts, spikes, sags, ripples, etc... And save for Powerware, every one of them fails. *Especially* the likes of Belkin, Tripp, etc. They are complete garbage.

With APC, they fail too on the sags. They don't kick in fast enough at a high enough voltage. When I'm stuck in a situation like that I *never* use APC because they just can't cut it. The SmartUPS I'm still evaluating, but the ones that you buy at Future Shop and Bestbuy? No way.

The only one that I've run into that passes every hydro test with flying colors is Powerware. I've seen the tests, had an APC and a Powerware side by side.. The APC totally choked, the Powerware whistled through it.

Of course you pay a "tad" more for the Powerware. lol