UPS recommendation

[Luis Ortega]

Can anyone recommend an inexpensive UPS that would be suitable for the power load of a Mac Pro with 4 hard drives?
I was told by a salesman that I needed at least a 1500 watt UPS to support a Mac Pro, and the prices were about £200. They suggested and APC Back model 1500.
This seems excessive for a home user who just wants to be able to shut down the computer if there is a blackout.
I suppose that a feature that would automatically do a shut down in case I wasn't at the computer would be useful too.
Thanks for any advice.

 

[Fomaphone]

i just bought this, also by APC and for only $91 with free shipping. 3-year manufacturer warranty included.

when it arrives, i'll put the tower, my external HDs, and one of my monitors on the battery backup, and leave my speakers, other monitors, etc on the surge protection only side. if i were to have everything running on battery backup, i'd need 1500 watts... but this way i don't.

i hope there's a version for european outlets.

 

[Ovistavin]

I have an APC 1250VA BN1250LCD. I only use it for my Mac Pro (2.8 Octo with 8800GT and no other additions over stock configuration) and Apple Cinema Display. The UPS tells me that I have 27 minutes of power under normal use. I have no clue how much time I have when the computer is asleep.

My printer, USB hub, and external Hard Drive (which is off most of the time) are all on a separate surge protector.

 

[scaley]

If it helps I have the APC 1300 connected to my 2008 Mac Pro running 6 drives and a 24 inch cinema display. Unplugging it to run on battery I get ~12-15 minutes of run time. I wouldn't go less unless you just plan to have it auto shutdown.

 

[glap1922]

I would try to find out how much power your Mac Pro will actually draw. These units have a max capacity that they can support. Someone at Apple should be able to give you the power draw, then you can check with www.apc.com to make sure the UPS you are looking at will support that amount. The model number of the UPS does not mean the same as the amount of power it draws, so a 750 unit does not mean it supports 750 watts.

 

[Fomaphone]

not too late for me to change my order from newegg... for $60 more i can get the APC 1300 from dell... also with free shipping and a 3yr warranty. I think i might just do that.

 

[Vanilla Cocoa]

This is probably just me being anal, but I'm going to suggest getting one with a sine wave output rather than the stepped wave. I have a Smart-UPS 750 tower that works wonderful. Cost about $400. I've got my networking equipment plugged into it (DSL modem, Cisco firewall, Wi-Fi AP) so it's probably overkill, but some time ago we had a power outage of at least 2 hours, and the UPS worked fine. (Surprisingly the DSL worked too; the DSLAM must have been on a different power grid or have had a good backup itself.)

 

[Fomaphone]

well, i'm back on the fence. thanks for starting this thread, Luis!

I really can't afford to go over $200 for a UPS... I've already spent a stupid amount on this computer an will be dropping at least $200 on RAM this week. i'll be living in major cities for the life of this computer, so the likelihood that i'll ever be running a generator is low. as for power consumption:

On the battery backup side: I will be using it with an 09 2.66 octad with four internal HD's and a 4870, at least one of my 20 inch displays, plus two external HD's

Surge Only: a 500-watt surround system, one of my monitors, and a 15" CRT true-color monitor that i'd have on surge protection only.

i can feasibly see myself investing in two RAID towers and a larger display or two over the next couple of years as well, which i'd want on the battery backup.

it's down to http://www.amazon.com/APC-BR1500LCD-1500VA-Outlets-BACK-UPS/dp/B000NDA5E0/ref=cm_cr_pr_sims_t (the APC 1500VA 865 Watt) and, for $15 less, http://www.amazon.com/Back-ups-Rs-1300VA-LCD-120V/dp/B000NDA5CM/ref=cm_cr_pr_sims_t (The APC 1300 VA 780 watt)

 

[Luis Ortega]

I seem to have another problem being in the UK.
The connection types all seem to be for US plugs on the APC brand UPS units.
The written specs describe the connectors as being IEC 320 EN 60320 C13 and when I search online for such a connector the image is definitely a US style plug. The APC website (UK page) also shows the backs of the units and they all have US style plugs.

Does anybody from the UK have any first hand knowledge whether the APC UPS units sold here actually have UK plug sockets?

It seems like there would not be enough space on the units to actually have the number of plugs advertised.

I am looking at the APC Backup UPS RS 1500 VA (BR1500I) which Mac Warehouse recommended for a Mac Pro and there is no way that the item pictured will have space for 8 UK size plugs on the back.

 

[summitscout]

APC Smart-UPS 1000

Last fall, my former APC UPS failed after a power outage. I spent some time on the phone with their tech and we calculated the power need for a 2008 Mac Pro and ACD. The conclusion was the SUA1000 which would provide enough protection and power to safely shut down.

I believe APC has a calculator on their site. Their techs should gladly help you calculate your demand by telling them what you have plugged in to it.

I've had the SUA1000 since about Halloween and haven't had any problems. Been through some brown outs. My SP G5 and ACD only taps about 20% of the available load so I am confident the new MP won't be a problem.

HTH

 

[summitscout]

APC Trade-UPS

Also, APC has the Trade-UPS which allows you to trade in your current UPS for credit against the new purchase.

Was: $459.00
Your Price: $387.00
Save: $72.00

 

[nanofrog]

well, i'm back on the fence. thanks for starting this thread, Luis!

I really can't afford to go over $200 for a UPS... I've already spent a stupid amount on this computer an will be dropping at least $200 on RAM this week. i'll be living in major cities for the life of this computer, so the likelihood that i'll ever be running a generator is low. as for power consumption:

On the battery backup side: I will be using it with an 09 2.66 octad with four internal HD's and a 4870, at least one of my 20 inch displays, plus two external HD's

Surge Only: a 500-watt surround system, one of my monitors, and a 15" CRT true-color monitor that i'd have on surge protection only.

i can feasibly see myself investing in two RAID towers and a larger display or two over the next couple of years as well, which i'd want on the battery backup.

it's down to http://www.amazon.com/APC-BR1500LCD-1500VA-Outlets-BACK-UPS/dp/B000NDA5E0/ref=cm_cr_pr_sims_t (the APC 1500VA 865 Watt) and, for $15 less, http://www.amazon.com/Back-ups-Rs-1300VA-LCD-120V/dp/B000NDA5CM/ref=cm_cr_pr_sims_t (The APC 1300 VA 780 watt)

If you're on a tight budget, this site has the BR1500LCD on hand, and at a better price than any other I've seen.

I've ordered from them before, and haven't had any problems. So far.

 

[Luis Ortega]

I bought the apc 1500 and it looks pretty good.
I have a couple of questions.

Do I need to install any of its software since my mac seems to have the options I need in system preferences? Will the mac close and save open apps or just shut down the computer?
The apc software only shuts down the computer and won't save any open work.

Is it Ok to turn it off when I shut my mac down? Is it better for the battery life to leave the ups always on or to turn it off when my mac is turned off? I turn the computer off at night, and I only need the ups to allow me to save and close work and avoid damaging drives in case of a power failure.