APC BACK-UPS RS BR1500LCD 1500VA/865W UPS System
by APC
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Our Price: $368.50 Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Category: CE See more product details |
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Customers in the UK,
Buy this product at amazon.co.uk
for British Pounds
Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of APC BACK-UPS RS BR1500LCD 1500VA/865W UPS System
Customer Review: Battery with data
Summary: 5 Stars
After a couple of earlier incarnations of UPS backup products and a bit of scouting, I selected the APC RS1500LCD 1500VA unit for my home office computer. (Thanks to other Amazon reviewers for steering me to precisely the right model; there are many similar offerings from APC). I was not particularly impressed with earlier versions of APC's Power Chute software and didn't install it this time. After plugging in both of my Dell towers into this unit, the readout tells me exactly how much power I'm drawing. Which brings me to the truly outstanding feature of this battery backup: a data readout. You can scroll through the screens and see various data, but the most useful for me is how much power I'm using and when the last power failure was, not to mention the quality of the current you're using. I also like the cable surge protection.
So far, the power has gone out here in stormy Florida a couple of times since I've had the APC 1500, and the unit handled it flawlessly. I have a home generator system, and the APC is perfect for keeping my computers, router, and cable modem up and running while the generator fires up and supplies auxiliary power. It also works great for the power flickers we get here sometimes.
My one slight complaint is that there is not much room to plug in too many of those annoying power blocks that so many peripherals use. I bought a heavy gauge 3 foot extension cord to address the plug space issue.
Reliable backup with surge protection and a data screen that lets you know what is going on. I highly recommend this incarnation from APC.
Customer Review: RS1500 and Mac Pro: perfect combination
Summary: 5 Stars
The RS1500 (BR1500LCD) is the perfect companion to my 1st gen Mac Pro (2.66Ghz dual core/dual Xeon, 4 SATA drives, ATI 4870 graphics) and 23" HD Cinema Display. The Pro takes ~190 watts at idle, and the display takes ~50 watts, for a combined 240-watt load, leaving plenty of capacity for other peripherals. This allows for about 20-25 minutes battery runtime, more than enough to cover those short-term outages when running video rendering and compression. (BTW, when the Mac Pro is in sleep mode, the power draw is so low as to not even register on the APC's wattage meter.)
I think it's worth getting an RS model primarily due to the AVR (over-voltage) protection; this can be much more damaging than undervolt conditions. The RS models have both boost AND trim protection without using the battery as noted here on APC's site (look under "Back-UPS RS Features & Benefits":
[...]
I paid $188, price is now up a small bit, but still worth it considering the gear it's protecting.
Also, Macintosh users do not need to install the PowerChute software. When the RS1500's USB cable is connected, a "UPS" tab will appear in the Energy Saver Preference pane (confirmed at least in OSX 10.5 Leopard and 10.6 Snow Leopard), offering several more options than what's given by PowerChute. I prefer the option to initiate shutdown when battery level is less than 10%, as opposed to minutes remaining (which can vary widely based on load) or other choices.
Good quality replacement batteries can be currently found for ~$55 or less, as opposed to APC's $85 charge.
Customer Review: Great unit ---- update- NOT!!!!
Summary: 5 Stars
update2-- they finally honored the warranty and sent me a new unit but would not pay for the postage to send the old one back! I may think twice before I get another APC product.
Update- This unit is still under warranty and it is badly malfunctioning. It was shutting my PC down with no warning because the unit would just shut off (it would not even go to the battery and after it shut off this last time it just sits there and buzzes)! There is something majorly wrong with this unit and I have contacted APC 4 times. They are stringing me along and don't seem to want to replace it. This is the first APC I have had trouble with and I want my money back or the unit replaced. It is too long ago for it to be sent back to amazon but the warranty is still very much in force if I can get the company to honor it!
I bought this since my smaller one was not large enough for the large monitor I have, this is great since the LCD shows the battery charge, the power input and the power load on it. This is plenty big enough for my monitor, PC and phone and it shows I can plug more into it but I want the battery to last as long as possible so if I am in middle of something I can fish before shutting the PC down.
They almost lost a star for the very short cable they provide though, you can run your cable through this so it would have powersurge protection but the short cable is wayyy to short to reach to my router.
Customer Review: Good Backup
Summary: 5 Stars
I bought this to replace an APC XS1000 that had a battery died after 6 years. I am getting it a new battery and different use. The display was the main reason for the upgrade, and a good price. Just to make it clear to everyone up front the BR1500LCD and BX1500LCD are the same. As someone else stated here after some digging. BR and BX has differences only in the non LCD versions. Here is my APC chat.
Manju: Hi, how may I help you?
Robert: I ordered a apc rs1500lcd and received a xs1500lcd from a vendor. They say they are the same. Is this true or does the rs have more features on the LCD models. The FAQ does not say.
Manju: Robert, both the unit are same. XS series is for retail sales only, and it is not listed on the APC web site. But you would avail all the warranty benefits and services as any other Unit which is sold from APC directly.
Robert: so niether has the TRIM ability?
Robert: only BOOST?
Manju: Robert, please hold a moment.
Robert: okay, thanks
Manju: Robert, both the units have Boost Automatic Voltage Regulation (AVR).
Robert: Okay, thanks.
Manju: You are welcome!!
Manju: Is there any thing else I can assist you with?
Robert: Nope. thanks for your help.
Manju: Goodbye and have a nice day!!
I have 6 APC UPS of varying types and they run fine. See Ocampo's review for a more in depth review.
Customer Review: Good reserve power - Common and Cheap replacement batteries!
Summary: 5 Stars
Normally I stay far away from APC UPS units due to them using rare and expensive batteries. It's because of this that I normally use Belkin units as the batteries are cheaply replaced, and at times, upgraded. With UPS units that see use, battery replacement is a matter of when, not a matter of if.
This unit uses what I consider the "standard" 12v 9ah battery. They can also use the smaller 12v 7.5ah batteries too. The unit takes 2 batteries to get to its 24v requirement, and it's not uncommon to be able to pick up 4 of the batteries for $60. That's a replacement cost of $30 per UPS! I'm sure APC will want you to pay $80 or so for their rebranded batteries though. I didn't realize which batteries it took until after the purchase, something that made it even that more reassuring.
The LCD is a neat feature, but I'd be willing to get $5 back if they decided to delete the feature. It's not needed as UPS software displays this information, and it's also not something you really need to monitor. There are really no variables that the user can change, so if it works, it does, if not, nothing you can do about it. This unit is for my TV setup, which includes a HTPC. ALL major electronics should be protected by a UPS.
Power issues are the #1 thing to kill electronics, ESPECIALLY computers.