APC Back-UPS 900VA 9-Outlet/1-USB Battery Backup and Surge Protector EXPIRED

These things are so pathetically bad, don't buy shit like this.

Quote from Visceral_Adam : These things are so pathetically bad, don't buy shit like this.

they work fine...but it depends on your use case.

would I use this for something important (like my media server)? nope.

would I use this for plugging my laptop docking station and 2 monitors into? yup.

Nice price - I haven't ever seen their larger unit on sale like this - it's always the smaller one. These are good units for home use. They lack the lcd of the more expensive stuff, but they are easier to tuck away out of sight. If you have a power-efficient computer (like a mac) this is perfect.

op lease edit your tittle to say 900va
"900VA/480W."

newb question, how important is it to plug a PC into something like this?

i usually just plug my stuff into a surge protector

Quote from tonkotsu : newb question, how important is it to plug a PC into something like this? i usually just plug my stuff into a surge protector

I wouldn't recommend this for a PC. A lot of modern computers will be much happier with pure sine power, which this doesn't give when it's on battery. It'd likely technically work on a modern, decent PSU, but it could cause issues.

That said, I just recently picked up a 1500va pure sine wave UPS and it's been nice already. I don't have to worry nearly as much about power fluctuations, and if I'm working on something important or if I'm playing a game, I've got like 30 minutes to finish everything up and shut down before I lose power entirely.

It's got an added bonus of keeping my hard drives safe - I've got two externals plugged into it so that they're not subjected to the on/off power cycle when something is going nuts with the grid. Not saying they wouldn't survive something like that, but it's worth the peace of mind.

I've also got all of my networking equipment plugged into the UPS - it'll keep my wifi and modem up for two hours if the power goes out - often, you've still got internet when the power is out, so it's helpful to have that connection. I was able to experience that with a recent wave of severe weather/tornado warnings. My power was out, but I was on WiFi just fine.

Long story short - it's not absolutely necessary, but it's really nice to have. If you bought this, I wouldn't use it on a PC, but a router/modem setup might work well with it.

Quote from coheedcollapse : I wouldn't recommend this for a PC. A lot of modern computers will be much happier with pure sine power, which this doesn't give when it's on battery. It'd likely technically work on a modern, decent PSU, but it could cause issues. That said, I just recently picked up a 1500va pure sine wave UPS and it's been nice already. I don't have to worry nearly as much about power fluctuations, and if I'm working on something important or if I'm playing a game, I've got like 30 minutes to finish everything up and shut down before I lose power entirely. It's got an added bonus of keeping my hard drives safe - I've got two externals plugged into it so that they're not subjected to the on/off power cycle when something is going nuts with the grid. Not saying they wouldn't survive something like that, but it's worth the peace of mind. I've also got all of my networking equipment plugged into the UPS - it'll keep my wifi and modem up for two hours if the power goes out - often, you've still got internet when the power is out, so it's helpful to have that connection. I was able to experience that with a recent wave of severe weather/tornado warnings. My power was out, but I was on WiFi just fine. Long story short - it's not absolutely necessary, but it's really nice to have. If you bought this, I wouldn't use it on a PC, but a router/modem setup might work well with it.

thanks for the detailed response! will consider for my network items

Why all the hate on this thing? I've had this model for a few years now with a Synology Diskstation, cable modem, VOIP modem and router plugged it into it. I live somewhat in the country where power goes out every now and then I've never had an issue.

Well, the unit had an issue at one point and the system notified me by beeping. APC (well their parent company, can't recall the name now) replaced it without an issue.

$64.99 or $34.99?

Quote from Visceral_Adam : These things are so pathetically bad, don't buy shit like this.

These units are not that bad. Sure, there is better stuff, but I use these on a home setup for a 55in OLED and Xbox Series X and it performs reliably and can handle the power draw.

Quote from qdoggg : $64.99 or $34.99?

Yeah, I am seeing $64.99. And they are $60.36 on Amazon.

just about any UPS is better than surge-only. this would be great for 95% of users. you just need to tally the total power draw of your setup and check it against the published runtime chart for this model on APCs website. take the common sense approach to sine-wave output - if this wasn't going to work for most PCs APC would not be able to sell it at all, let alone with an equipment warranty.