duke

11 de agosto de 2015

Perfect for what I needed

Not sure if the reviews are lumped together so just to specify, this is for the BE-550G.I have historically never bothered to run a UPS, but I've been having minor power flickers in my house lately, a couple times a week that would reset my computer much to my annoyance (I run my desktop 24/7). I thought I should get a slightly bigger UPS since I have a custom built budget gaming rig, but I did some quick finger math and decided this one would work "for now". The device came with about a 95% charge if I remember correctly. I plugged in my computer and one monitor to the battery side and let it charge up to 100%, then gave it an extra hour or so. It claimed something like 150 minutes of runtime in the APC monitor program so I decided it needed a calibration. I set it all up for a worst case scenario simulation -- I used MSI Kombustor to load up the CPU and GPU and then pulled the plug. I wasn't 100% sure I'd picked one with enough wattage but it didn't flinch. It did however tell me I had 1 minute before shutdown (set to shutdown when 5 minutes remained). So I quickly set the computer back to idle and the runtime jumped back up to 7 minutes.I let it run to shutdown and everything worked just as it should. However one of the safety features caught me off guard. Forgive me for not looking up the specifics right now, but basically wait a couple minutes after power is restored if you drain the unit until it shuts down. If my memory serves, the safety feature will shut down the battery for 2 minutes (or maybe one?) after power is restored after a full drain then cycle the power. So being "that guy" who doesn't like to read directions, when it died I plugged it back up and hit the power button on my computer... It booted most of the way up then there was some beeping (from the UPS) as it cycled the power and my computer reset, and about the time it got back to the BIOS screen it cycled the power again with some more beeping. The more you know.It can't possibly be good to fully discharge a battery in 7 minutes or less, but this thing functioned flawlessly and could be a life saver. It didn't even heat up that I could tell. After my "calibration", the monitor program now says I should have 15 minutes at idle, which is probably pretty close to accurate and more than I should ever need. The next day after I hooked it up the power dropped out for a couple seconds during a storm, the UPS kicked on just like it should, and reported the problem to me in the monitor program. Now I'm just wondering why I didn't buy one of these sooner! Note that this thing takes forever to charge itself (think 12+ hours from 20% which was the magical 5 minute cut off on my system), probably to avoid unnecessary lead-acid battery related risks on your carpeted floor, but that shouldn't be an issue unless you're having constant power problems.Just a note for anyone who (like me) sat around scratching their heads about which UPS will do what you need, maybe this will help... I already told you the estimated runtimes I got, here's a rundown of the power consumers on my rig:CPU - AMD FX-4350 @ 4.2ghzGPU - MSI NVIDIA GTX-760 GamingStorage - 2x WD Red HDDs, 1x Samsung 840 EVO SSDMonitor - Asus 23.5" 1080pUpdate 10/16/2016: This unit is still doing its job without a complaint. The PowerChute program tells me that the unit has switched on twice for "blackouts" totaling 9 seconds and twice for "electrical noise" totaling 24 seconds, in the past 24 weeks. It doesn't seem to register extremely short-lived problems (a second or so), I say that because on a couple occasions I've seen the house lights flicker and heard the unit rapidly click on and off with no report. No big deal. Also the Estimated Battery Time has gone back up to 145 minutes, I haven't bothered to recalibrate because I never really look at it anyway and I know what it'll do. It periodically reports that it passed a self test, which is nice although I'm not exactly sure how it performs that test.Ver más

26 personas la encontraron útil

21 de abril de 2020

Excellent product for home use

This product is just right for providing power to a few small electronic items, like a cable modem, router, and printer. It works well. I tested it by unplugging it from house current, and it worked. The connected devices kept working.This is not a real UPS, but it is fine for home use. A real UPS provides continuous power - it always provides power from the battery. This product does not do that. Instead, it normally gives power from the house current. When the power in the house goes out, this unit cuts over to the battery in a fraction of a second. So it is not continuous power. But it is fine for home use. The change to battery power is so quick that the powered devices do not go down - they stay running normally.I saw one review by someone whose printer stopped during the change from house current to battery. He said that a print job took days to finish. I am guessing that he was using a 3D printer. It is possible that those printers are more sensitive to power fluctuations, and must have a real UPS (see my description above for the difference between this unit and a real UPS). All I can say is - as soon as you install this unit, attach and turn on your connected devices, start printing something, and test this unit by pulling the plug. If any of your connected devices stop working, replace this with a real UPS (for a much higher price).I would recommend this for any home user, to power a few small items.I did not rate any of the features - WiFi signal, tech support, and sleep mode. I did not use tech support, and the WiFi and sleep mode features do not make any sense.Ver más

1 persona la encontró útil

Gary

20 de agosto de 2023

Must have in severe weather areas

After having two routers that fried themselves during power failure events, I decided it was time to protect my new router and it's modem with an uninterruptable power supply. The APC 550 unit is fairly large and heavy, but it does its job well. With a power capacity of 330 watts, I placed the modem and router on two of the four backup outlets. They account for 25 wants of usage, meaning I get a little over 2 hours of backup run time for those devices. In one of the surge-only outlets, I plugged in my large screen TV which draws 215 watts. This gives the unit some spare capacity so I don't need to worry about overload. One important thing to note is that while the outlets are generously spaced, my router and modem both have longitudinal power bricks which means only those two devices have room to fit on the backup power outlets. To set up the router you need to at least temporarily connect the APC unit via the supplied USB A cable to a desktop or laptop computer running Windows or Linux. Then you download software from the APC website which allows you to tell the APC how it should respond during power outages. (e.g. keep devices running until the battery is depleted, or shut devices down after a set period of time or battery usage) and allows disabling of the audible alert. The alert is a loud beep and very annoying. The software also allows you to check on the battery health. Once the setup is done, the APC no longer requires a computer connection. As other reviewers noted, the attached computer must be running either Windows or Linux. The software is not compatible with MAC or Android. To me there are two major benefits to having a backup power supply to keep your home internet access up and running in a power failure. First, you protect your devices from being fried from a power surge when the power comes back on or it flickers on and off multiple times during a storm. Second, and this is critical if you live on an area subject to severe weather, it allows you to monitor weather radar and alerts on your laptop or tablet device while the power is out. If you're under a tornado warning, that's when you really need continuous internet access to watch the storm. APC units are made by Euopean Schneider Electric and manufactured in The Philippines and enjoy the highest ratings on Amazon. Almost all the other ups units available are made in China and seem to have rather large percentage of one-star ratings.

Desert Rat

22 de diciembre de 2009

Very good unit, fair price

Just got it on Monday, really fast delivery. It works fine, easy to set up once i untangled the mass of cords and cables I have in back. Very good unit, very good price.I was surprised at how heavy the battery was; I'd guess 9/10 of the weight is the battery.I think they must have made some changes to the connection cable, as unlike others, I had no trouble connecting it. I just lifted the battery part way out and the connector was on top, so only took a second or so to connect and slip the battery back in.I also wish they had spaced the receptacles further apart. There is more than enough space to do so, and so many people have the bulky bricks to plug in, can't imagine why they only have two spaced far enough to accommodate them.Overall, however, very good unit.Edit: OK, here it is 21 Jan 2010 and I am even happier with it. Now I'd give it 5 stars despite the receptacle closeness. I have had one blackout, and several surges, and it worked like a charm.I also love the info you can get by clicking on the menu from the sys tray icon that provides a wealth of information. This a great UPS and I am glad I finally got one after all these years.Ver más

1 persona la encontró útil

SnugglesTheHusky

13 de diciembre de 2019

Inexpensive protection for OLED TV Model (BE550G)

Thurs, Dec 12th, 2019:I purchased this power backup unit specifically for my brand new LG OLED C9 65" TV. For anyone new to OLED TVs, they will run an automatic pixel refresh cycle while the television is off and in standby mode. This refresh cycle is important to reduce and help prevent image retention that might cause image burn-in on OLED TVs. The cycle runs after a specific number of hours of television use. If the TV loses power, the schedule refreshed cycle is canceled.This UPS power backup is for helping the TV maintain it's schedule refresh cycles while on standby mode and to protect the television from power surges. I have owned a couple of APC units before for desktop computers and they have come to the rescue during sudden power losses.While it is difficult to evaluate UPS for effectiveness until the unexpected happens, I can comment on other features. The Ethernet port on the unit is useless with today's gigabit ethernet speeds. The Ethernet port is limited to 100 Mbits so there are better options for protecting power surges through ethernet and still maintain full 1Gbit line speeds. Using the Ethernet protection port might cause a bottleneck with devices needing speeds faster than 100 Mbits. I run a home Plex server with Nvidia Shield TV Android TV OS as clients that run at full 1,000 Mbit (1 Gbit) speeds so this port would limit data streams and become a bottleneck for my network. This unit also lacks a coaxial cable protection port that other higher-end units have.I did appreciate the packaging the OEM used. The OEM box was reinforced with very thick cardboard corners inserts that cradled the UPS unit inside the box instead of styrofoam corners. It makes the disposal of the packaging more friendly for the environment than past units.*UPDATE: Fri, Dec 13th, 2019 .... I wanted to clarify my review is with regards to model (BE550G)*Ver más

1 persona la encontró útil

bpkzoo83

26 de julio de 2013

Excellent product, does what I need it to do

I recently purchased two of these for use with my electronics (a computer and some entertainment center equipment), and they performed correctly when I ran a test simulating a short power outage (I used the circuit breaker rather than unplugging them from the wall). I've noticed a lot of people complain about not being able to use their computers for very long - These units are meant to keep your equipment powered just long enough to shut down or stay on when the power flickers (like what might happen when there's a thunderstorm). If you need enough power to continue working, buy a generator! I have also seen some complaints about how hard it is to attach the battery - I didn't have any difficulty doing so (turn the unit over so the battery comes loose, slide the connector onto the empty terminal, then slide the battery back into the case). Other complaints are about how loud the alarm is, how hard it is to insert plugs, and that some systems don't stay powered. It's true that the alarm is quite loud - The alarm can be turned off if you connect your UPS to a computer with the USB cable that's supplied and install the software, but not with other devices (you might want to look for a different UPS if you're going to run other equipment that can't be turned off for any length of time). It takes some force to insert and remove plugs, but I didn't have much trouble (at least they won't fall out). When people complain about their systems not staying powered, the first thing to check is whether the right sockets were used - Only half of them provide battery power (look carefully when you plug your system in). When it comes to power requirements, this UPS might not be enough for someone who has a powerful unit for gaming or has a lot of external equipment that requires battery power (adding equipment such as a second monitor and more drives will increase the amount of power needed).Ver más

2 personas la encontraron útil