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Having gone through a power outage, actually five in one day, I realized that a UPS is not a luxury. In fact, a UPS is a must if you care about your computer, your data and your investment in computer equipment. UPS stands for uninterrupted power supply, and what a UPS does is power your computer during a power loss allowing you time to finish what you have started and to safely power down your computer. As simple as this concept is, purchasing a UPS is not always a priority, which is unfortunate.
Regardless of your computer needs, either as a power user or just a casual one, you must consider a UPS to protect your investment and save your valuable data. One never knows when the lights will go out, and you should be ready for that moment. Not only will you save data, you will save your system files, your operating system and your hardware investment. With PC’s and Mac’s costing thousands of dollars, spending a hundred dollars on a UPS not only makes sense, but is a real insurance policy against damage to your system.
Having looked at an assortment of units, I have to confer on APC, American Power Conversion a leader in the area of UPS units, some considerable credit for having some excellent units that are affordable by nearly everyone with a PC or Mac. For those that need configurability, and more than just basic back up, the Back – UPS 650 can fit will in with most at home office, or end user home set up. According to the documentation I have read, the UPS is able to protect against lightning and power surges. However, I always advise that during an electrical storm to disconnect all sensitive electrical appliances and equipment. At any rate, the Back– UPS 650 has a lot under the hood that makes this unit one to seriously consider.
The 650 comes with six outlets in all. All of the outlets offer surge protection, with three offering both surge protection and battery back up to protect your system. As is often suggested, such power consuming elements as scanners and printers can be relegated to the surge protection only outlets. The primary focus should be on powering your monitor and your CPU.
There is an LED display that warns you of wiring issues and other problems that could impact the performance of the UPS. To warn you of UPS overload, low battery power or on battery situations, the 650 has an audible alarm to warn you in advance. Also available are user switches that allow you to customize transfer voltage and alarm settings for specific requirements and needs. Another added convenience is an easy quick push button recovery circuit breaker and a DB-9 serial port for communication with your computer. As a side note, if you look under the power controls under the Windows XP Display control panel, you will note that the power management built into Windows XP was co-authored with APC.
If you are looking for software, APC does maintain a solid Web site, and provides software and software updates for your unit. If you are confused about what to download, or what to do, by all means check out the APC Web site. In addition to software updates, you can also locate manuals for your particular system.
An added plus for the Back – UPS 650 is that it offers an extension that leads to a three prong outlet with one of the three outlets devoted to back up protection. If you have cumbersome connections, as is the case with some scanners and power units that are just too bulky to connect in a neat row, this extension allows you to conveniently connect devices that may not otherwise sit next to each other. Do see the image to see how well this unit can accommodate some rather complex set ups.
If you are unsure about UPS systems, or back ups or any of this material, by all means do check out purchasing a battery back up of some kind for your system. With something this important it is essential to obtain a system that can protect your investment. From all indications, and many other factors, I am very much a believer in APC products for home users. With this unit you can replace the battery, which is about $44.00 per battery, without having to go through a great deal of complications. In fact, you can hot swap the battery. So when it comes to support, finding battery replacements and a solid reputation, do look into the APC Back – UPS 650.
Basically any system. For software, do check out the APC site for details and such regarding software for automatic backups.
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