APC Back-UPS ES 8 Outlet 650VA 120V
by APC
Our Price: $111.64
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Category: CE
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Digital Photo Product Details
Manufacturer: APCAudio: English (Original Language)
Model: BE650G
Product features:
- AMERICAN POWER CONVERSION-APC BE650G 650VA BACK-UPS ES 8 OUTLET
Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of APC Back-UPS ES 8 Outlet 650VA 120V
Customer Review: Excellent home/workstation UPS...
Summary: 5 Stars
After a recent series of storms here in Tucson, my apartment suffered a series of brownouts and a 15 minute blackout. I had three computers (a Windows PC, a PowerMac G5, and a Linux PC) and a 19" LCD monitor all plugged into a single APC Back-UPS 1000 that's a few years old. I've been cheap and haven't bothered keeping up with replacing the battery in it, so when the power failed the UPS couldn't keep up with the load, and shut down.
Clearly, I needed more UPSs for my computers, as running all three off of a single UPS was simply not suitable.
After doing some research, I decided on getting several BE650Rs from a local vendor as I needed them immediately. The units are reasonably compact, considering they have a chunky battery and various circuits inside. Each unit will supply 650VA or 390 watts of power, which is more than adequate for an average home computer and monitor -- I used a Kill-A-Watt meter to figure out what the load from each of the computers would be, and they're all well within the limits of the UPS.
Setup was a breeze -- connecting the battery wire was easy, and it fit back into its compartment without any complaint. The plug has the cord emerging parallel to the wall and facing "southeast" if "north" is straight up. This is ideal for cable routing, as the cord is not sticking straight out from the wall with more traditional plugs.
The unit can protect against surges from several sources: electrical power outlets, coaxial cable (cable modem, cable TV, etc.), telephone/DSL lines and ethernet (you can protect telephone/DSL lines *or* ethernet, but not both at once, as the both plug into the same jack on the UPS). The UPS comes with a short length of both coaxial cable and one-line telephone cord for making the connection easy. I connected my cable internet connection through the UPS and it does not cause any problems with the cable signal -- I still get high speed internet access, and I rest easier knowing my systems are protected from surges on the cable network.
The unit comes with APC's PowerChute Personal Edition software, but I generally find it unnecessary. It connects to the computer with a USB cable (it has a USB plug that fits into the computer, but the other end is an RJ-45 plug similar to an ethernet plug, and fits into a special socket on the UPS). Both Mac OS X and Windows XP automatically recognize the UPS when connected by USB, and I find the operating system's respective power management controls to be better than APC's software. I advise simply not installing PowerChute, but instead just using the options available through your operating system. For Windows, I advise having the system "hibernate" rather than shut down -- by hibernating, the system's current state is saved and the computer is shut down and uses no power; there's no need to save documents before shutting down, as the whole state is saved. When you turn the hibernating computer back on, it comes back exactly as you left it. It's extremely nice to have computers gracefully and automatically shut down/hibernate when the batteries run low.
For Linux, the apcupsd daemon (developed by a third party, not APC, and also available for Windows, Mac OS, and other systems) communicates with the BE650R via USB and can be configured to send notifications, shut down the computer, and perform other actions when the power fails. It also allows one to query the unit for more detailed information reported by the UPS -- percent load, line voltage, and other handy stuff.
Runtime for each of my computers is about 13 minutes or so, not including the monitor (which is on a separate UPS), though this can vary somewhat. It's certainly adequate for a system to gracefully shut down without data loss or damage.
I conducted some impromptu testing (flipping the circuit breaker for the outlet the UPSs are plugged into) and all the units switched immediately, and all the attached computers continued operating smoothly. All the units communicated properly with their computers, which all correctly indicated they were running on batteries. When certain criteria were reached (25% battery left, in my case) the computers all correctly shut down or hibernated in accordance with my settings.
This UPS was designed primarily to allow for the attached computer to gracefully shut down following a power outage, rather than provided extended uptime (such as would be necessary for a server, for example). While it can certainly allow one to continue working through short outages, brownouts, and so forth, it would behoove the user to save documents and shutdown the computer as soon as possible after the power fails. To prolong battery life, only absolutely necessary devices (computer, monitor, any external disk drives, etc.) should be connected to the battery-supplied outlets. Devices like speakers and printers should be connected to the surge protected outlets (due to their very high power consumption, laser printers should never be connected to the battery-supplied outlets but are fine on the surge protected outlets).
This unit is mainly targeted toward the home user, and doesn't offer some of the advanced features of more expensive units -- there's not automatic voltage regulation, display screens, and so forth. Instead, the unit provides affordable protection against surges, brownouts, power failures, and similar bad things while giving the computer enough time to save documents and shut down cleanly.
Be sure to read the equipment protection policy and make sure your equipment is all wired properly or else the equipment protection policy is void. Look for "backdoor" opportunities for surges to damage your system -- even if your computer is connected to the UPS, you need to be sure that telephone lines, cable, ethernet, and other devices that are connected to the computer are similarly protected from power surges using APC equipment.
I've spent years working at telecom and internet-related communications companies and I use only APC power-protection products on my servers, home computers, television, and other sensitive electronics. Don't skimp on quality when you're protecting valuable equipment and data -- APC equipment may be a few dollars more expensive than competitors, but it's very high quality stuff backed by a solid company.
/I do not presently work nor ever worked for APC or any affiliated company.
//I'm just a very satisfied customer who's owned several APC products over the years.
Description of APC Back-UPS ES 8 Outlet 650VA 120V
The Back-UPS ES offers affordable battery backup and surge protection for home computers. With enough power outlets to protect your entire system, built-in phone/fax/modem line (DSL compatible) protection and easy-to-install safe system shutdown software all make this power protection solution the best value for home and home office computers.Digital Cameras and Photo Categories
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