APC BACK-UPS RS BR1500LCD 1500VA/865W UPS System
by APC
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List Price: Our Price: $100.00 You Save: $106.99 (52%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Category: CE See more product details |
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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of APC BACK-UPS RS BR1500LCD 1500VA/865W UPS System
Customer Review: Dell Studio XPS 9000 users avoid the RS1500 LCD
Summary: 1 Stars
This review is the first negative one that I've given. I purchased the RS1500LCD (the actual pictured item, not the BR1500LCD as the page title says) because I have had years of good experience with APC. I wasn't particularly concerned that, as the Amazon page says, I could not return the unit. My first problem was in installing the PowerChute software. Forums, it turns out, have discussed the inability to uninstall old PowerChute software, suggesting methods of editing the registry. I finally got the software (2.2 for Windows 7 et al.) installed. Then, upon running the test that put the battery on-line, the Dell shut down, tried to start again, and failed. After 90 minutes, most of which were with supervisor Belton, the best that we could determine was that a)the transfer time of the Backup-UPS was not fast enough and b) the Dell requires a sine wave output from a ups. Belton was most patient and helpful, but the best that he could offer was to accept an old RS900 in trade for a SmartUPS 1000 (which Belton assured me had the necessary transfer time and sine wave output and wattage) for a total (including tax and shipping) of about $435.
So, bottom line: I can't return the 1500 (I accepted this risk based on internet searches for information regarding the unit). Fair enough, I guess. Amazon offers the Smart-UPS 1000 for about $70 less without the hassle of trade-ins. I've opted to order the 1000 from Amazon.
As far as I can tell, the transfer time/sine wave requirements do not figure prominently in APC's literature. Caveat emptor.
Customer Review: BR1500LCD vs. BX1500LCD
Summary: 4 Stars
I've had several APC UPS products over the past 10 years. Only one failed, right at the end of the warranty and APC shipped a replacement immediately after a quick call to their tech support. I then returned the defective unit. Great service was one of primary reasons for buying this unit.
APC makes 2 versions of this unit - the BR1500LCD offers over-voltage protection not offered on the older BX1500LCD. The display is ealily set to show a variety of info - Input volts, Output volts, watts, percentage of maximum power, battery run time, etc., and the audible warning can be silenced. I use the unit with new home theater gear and a 50-year old vacuum tube stereo system and it easily runs 46"LCD tv, PS3, HD satellite receiver, & stereo simultaneously with room to spare. Over the past 30 - 40 years, power companies have gradulally raised line voltage from 115 to around 125vac. The only feature it does not have that would be beneficial would be an adjustable over-voltage limiter that could be dialed down to 115-120v used by the old tube equipment(factory preset is 140v) to reduce the high secondary voltages generated in the tube equipment to the design levels. It does have the capability of adjusting the voltage sensitivity range somewhat to minimize the effect of transients on sensitive computer equipment.
Outlets are well laid out and it offers both phone/network surge protection and coax cable surge protection.
It offers way more protection for your equipment than specialty home theater line conditioners costing 3 times as much.
Customer Review: Unit does not support Trim function
Summary: 4 Stars
A great unit; however, the product description and one of the reviews from 2007 are incorrect when they state this unit can protect from a voltage over-run condition.
This unit does not support the voltage Trim function, where the UPS protects from a small voltage over-run condition. It does provide a Boost function to protect from a voltage under-run. Since there is conflicting information on APC's site, I submitted a question to the vendor. Below is their response and my question.
Should you be concerned? Mixed feelings since I've read several posts which indicate that modern power supplies are designed to protect themselves. As far as I can tell, none of the consumer grade UPS systems from APC provide Trim support; only the more expensive commercial units do.
APC's response:
Thank you for contacting APC's email support on 04/21/2009 12:21 PM. I would be happy to assist you.
BX1500LCD model has only Boost mode.
My question:
Does the XS series provide both Boost and Trim support?
(ie, BX1500LCD)
The product manual indicates that only Boost is supported:
[...]
However, the product description as well as your knowledge database, entry 2877, says both Boost and Trim is supported.
Lastly, I read this on the web which indicates only Boost is supported.
[...]
Customer Review: Overall nice, but with a few caveats
Summary: 4 Stars
There are several nice features in this unit, including (1) 1500VA, 875W battery backup, (2) front LCD display, (3) 6x battery backup outlets, (4) 2x surge-only outlets, (5) Phone jack, coax cable, and user-replaceable battery. The front LCD is slick, and displays in/out voltage/freq, current load (in watts and percent of max), and estimated battery backup time left.
Beware the tech specs listed: (1)the surge suppression energy rating is only 340 joules! This is almost 1/3rd less than other brands at this VA rating. Second, and the biggest con, is that this unit only provides AVR boost and not trim/buck. Which means that during overvoltages, this unit will go to battery mode to provide safe output. If you live in an area with frequent overvoltages, go with a different unit that has true AVR in both directions, so that the battery isn't depleted during Trim/Buck modes. While other non-LCD RS series units from APC have true Trim, the LCD units do not. I confirmed this with an APC tech.
Watch out for the BX versions that are frequently sold in brick-and-mortar stores. Though they look like their BR counterparts, there are differences. Check APC's knowledgebase for details.
Finally, on a system equipped with a 17" LCD monitor, QX6700 CPU, 680i motherboard, 2x SATA drives, and a 8800GTX with 850W power supply, the system draws 280W idle, and 360W in intensive games. Even with a 1500VA UPS, this means that average runtimes will be 17 min (idle) and ~7 min (gaming).
Customer Review: Great unit ---- update- NOT!!!!
Summary: 5 Stars
update2-- they finally honored the warranty and sent me a new unit but would not pay for the postage to send the old one back! I may think twice before I get another APC product.
Update- This unit is still under warranty and it is badly malfunctioning. It was shutting my PC down with no warning because the unit would just shut off (it would not even go to the battery and after it shut off this last time it just sits there and buzzes)! There is something majorly wrong with this unit and I have contacted APC 4 times. They are stringing me along and don't seem to want to replace it. This is the first APC I have had trouble with and I want my money back or the unit replaced. It is too long ago for it to be sent back to amazon but the warranty is still very much in force if I can get the company to honor it!
I bought this since my smaller one was not large enough for the large monitor I have, this is great since the LCD shows the battery charge, the power input and the power load on it. This is plenty big enough for my monitor, PC and phone and it shows I can plug more into it but I want the battery to last as long as possible so if I am in middle of something I can fish before shutting the PC down.
They almost lost a star for the very short cable they provide though, you can run your cable through this so it would have powersurge protection but the short cable is wayyy to short to reach to my router.