So, I'm going to go and purchase the $100 APC Battery Back-Up (BE550G-CN), then. I'm not going to lose out on anything by not opting for the $149 APC 750VA Battery Back-Up (BE750G-CN)?
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How necessary is a surge protector for an iMac? OK to plug directly into outlet?
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So, I'm going to go and purchase the $100 APC Battery Back-Up (BE550G-CN), then. I'm not going to lose out on anything by not opting for the $149 APC 750VA Battery Back-Up (BE750G-CN)?
Surge protectors aren't necessary for iMacs, but they are a good idea. In addition to surges, other electrical problems include brownouts (e.g. construction work down the street may cause a temporary drain in power supply) or total sudden blackouts.
An interrupted power supply (battery with surge protection) will provide a constant flow of power to your electronics. In case of a blackout, the battery will provide power to your computer/monitor to ensure you have enough time to save your work in progress, and do a safe shut-down of your machine.
I have an APC UPS attached to my Mac Pro and monitor, and it has saved me a couple of times when blackouts happened. I also have a UPS attached to my HDTV and entertainment system.
Surge protectors and UPS are like insurance; 99.9% of the time you don't need it. But when you need it, you need it.
An interrupted power supply (battery with surge protection) will provide a constant flow of power to your electronics. In case of a blackout, the battery will provide power to your computer/monitor to ensure you have enough time to save your work in progress, and do a safe shut-down of your machine.
I have an APC UPS attached to my Mac Pro and monitor, and it has saved me a couple of times when blackouts happened. I also have a UPS attached to my HDTV and entertainment system.
Surge protectors and UPS are like insurance; 99.9% of the time you don't need it. But when you need it, you need it.
Thanks for this!
Would you say my iMac would be protected by this?
APC Battery Back-Up (BE550G-CN)
Or should I opt for the more expensive one?
APC 750VA Battery Back-Up (BE750G-CN)
Surge Protecters prevent too much power from damaging your equipment. Battery back-ups (UPS) prevent too little power and too much power from damaging your equipment. UPS cost more because there is a battery included, plus more circuits.
A UPS does more than just kick in when the power goes off, they also kick in when their is a brown-out that you may not notice otherwise. I had read a long time ago that a brown-out for more than a second or so may cause HDD write errors and/or HW errors. And that lots of brown-outs will probably cause errors.
I have always had my systems on UPS (nearly 20 years) and have never had a HDD go bad on me, except from old age. I'm in an especially bad area for brown-outs and while my systems run with no problems on UPS my friends are often needing to reformat their HDDs and fixing other weird glitches. My personal experience doesn't prove anything, admittedly. But I'm very comfortable with the extra $$ I spent on a UPS.
If you live an area that will be hit with rolling blackouts in the summer, or just near one.... invest in a UPS. Even being near grids that are being switched on/off causes ripple effects throughout the area. Both dips and spikes will be coming through your outlet.
I use a APC UPS/Surge protector for both of my Macs; a 24" in one room and a mini in another. We had a surge a year or so ago that blew one TV (fortunately an old one) and one other device, but I don't remember what it was. Both Macs kept going with no issues.
Last time I checked the UPS company's websites had a page where you could list your needs and then the page would recommend a product. Go one size bigger so that you can add a peripheral later on.
A transformer by itself doesn't protect from power surges. It's everything that's in the power supply. I have a surge suppresser on my stereo and TV - what's $25 or so for a good suppresser versus the chance of frying well over $1000 of equipment?
A UPS has surge suppression built in.
Some UPS units have outlets that are surge suppression only for devices that don't need battery backup. For example, I have a cordless phone cradle next to my computer. Since all it's there for is to charge the phone handset, it doesn't need to be on battery power.
Now as for Surge Suppresser vs UPS.. with a surge suppresser, your system still gets extra power off/on cycles when you lose power for more than a split second. This means your system has an unclean shut down and has a possibility for filesystem corruption. You can also lose what ever changes you were working on in a document. A UPS is very worthwhile in my opinion.
As for the beeping a UPS does when you're running on the battery... On some units you can have the alert muted. Also, if you shutdown (not sleep) your system, you can hit the power switch on the UPS. if the UPS is turned off, no beeping when power is out.
Yeah, but their options are all out of date. There is nothing for a 2011 iMac i7.
Can someone please help me out here?
Exactly my situation and then last night after hearing a loud pop and the power cutting out to our street, the 6 sockets on my Belkin surge protector were dead, but the devices which were plugged in to those sockets survived. They included an iMac, a Drobo, printer, extra monitor etc.
I've worked in IT support for a long time and never had a problem before, but there you go.
The difference between those two units you're asking about is entirely run-time. The 750 will keep your iMac running longer than the 550.
That's it. That's the whole story. You have to decide whether a longer or shorter run-time is what you want.
You can configure your iMac to shut down on its own, once it gets a message from the UPS that the power's gone out. If you configure it to shut down quickly, then you don't need longer run-time. And so on; this is not difficult, once you understand what your issues are.
Not only will it work, it's probably overkill. I do agree that your electronics, especially a computer, should be connected to a surge protector.
IMO, just about any surge protector from a reputable brand will do. It really depends on how many outlets (6, 8, 10, 12, etc.) you need and you'll want to look at the joules rating (higher the better, I believe). In my experience, I have used Belkin, APC, and a few off brand ones and none of them have ever failed.
Battery backups are nice, but you have to decide if the extra cost if really necessary to you? Battery backups usually only provide a short period of backup power so you can save what you are doing, It's not intended for extended use of your electronics in the event of power loss.
What is "run-time"? The period of time that your iMac is able to run off the PAC once the power goes out?
Either one will work. Which one you need of those 2 (550 or 750) depends on what else you plan to plug in to it. I'm using a 725 (older UPS) it was on sale when I got it.
Yes. I think both of those units may have the same internal battery, therefore with the same stuff plugged in, they may have identical runtimes.
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The 550 650 or 750 will work for you. That's all you need. I strongly recommend APC as the brand to get.
Also, remember that some of the outlets are surge suppression only. Plug your computer in to one of the battery outlets.
You've been lucky. I've seen the results of what can happen to equipment from the power spikes around a blackout without a suppresser or ups.
Just a little story on behalf of the UPS.
We had always used the surge protector bars ($15 range) for our television and computer setups.
Two summers ago we experienced several brown outs associated with a local electrical storm in the morning. Around 11 am, my Sony LCD 40" TV was smoking. The circuit boards had melted.
Consulting with Sony, the local electrical utility and finally a friend who is an electrician I learned something very very important.
Surge protectors will protect from excess voltage, but they only kick in at a certain minimum power (ie lightening strike or overload). There is a lower power surge level that will pass through and can damage your circuitry - the kind associated with brown outs and low level fluctuations. This is important if your home is on concrete slab which will conduct ground current.
The benefits cannot be underestimated.
1) protection from ALL levels of power surge
2) protection from power loss
3) extra time to save your work
4) ** making you aware of the power fluctuation **
5) plug ins for phone, ethernet and power!
I would never mute the button. I have two APC UPS units. And I am so surprised how often it has saved my ass.
I learned the hard way and I will never be without again.
We had always used the surge protector bars ($15 range) for our television and computer setups.
Two summers ago we experienced several brown outs associated with a local electrical storm in the morning. Around 11 am, my Sony LCD 40" TV was smoking. The circuit boards had melted.
Consulting with Sony, the local electrical utility and finally a friend who is an electrician I learned something very very important.
Surge protectors will protect from excess voltage, but they only kick in at a certain minimum power (ie lightening strike or overload). There is a lower power surge level that will pass through and can damage your circuitry - the kind associated with brown outs and low level fluctuations. This is important if your home is on concrete slab which will conduct ground current.
The benefits cannot be underestimated.
1) protection from ALL levels of power surge
2) protection from power loss
3) extra time to save your work
4) ** making you aware of the power fluctuation **
5) plug ins for phone, ethernet and power!
I would never mute the button. I have two APC UPS units. And I am so surprised how often it has saved my ass.
I learned the hard way and I will never be without again.