APC or CyberPower?

[Idontcare]

OK, have done the obligatory "forum searches" for UPS, Cyberpower, APC, etc and could not come up with much value-add discussion on Cyberpower or APC UPS's since ~2005.

(Not meant to insult anyone who may know of such a thread, if you do know of a thread then please drop me the link, I could very well suck at using the search function)

So my conundrum is finding a high-Watt high-VA UPS which does not require any special wall plugs...which seems to be the case for anything >1500VA or so...so I have about 2 options by my web searches thru Newegg:

CyberPower PR1500SWRM2U 1500VA 1000 Watts for $344.99

Or

APC Smart-UPS SUA1500 1440VA 980W for $479.95

Now I have used APC in the past, >5yrs ago, and I like their product in that it didn't give me any trouble. Have never used CyberPower but am willing to try anything.

What I want to avoid is a lemon. I don't mind paying the price premium for the APC, but I don't want to pay a price premium for something which has no more value than the lower priced alternative. (i.e. I don't want to merely/simply be paying a brand recognition premium)

Note I'd love to have anyone suggest a higher Wattage and VA UPS that still only requires a NEMA 5-15P electrical wall plug.

For example I really wanted to get a APC SUA2200 2200 VA 1980 Watts but it requires a NEMA 5-20P plug and I am not inclined to pay an electrician another $300-500 to re-wire my study per code (yaddi yadda).

So...anyone got any strong opinions? (or better...any experiences to share?) Thanks for the help!

 

[Idontcare]

BTW - here is a quick reference wich pictures of what I mean by the 5-15P vs. 5-20P wall-plug comment: link

 

[Seekermeister]

The wattage is slightly less on this:

http://www.compusa.com/products/product...ct_code=298348&Pn=Back_UPS_1500_UPS#ts

But the price is alot less.

 

[Nocturnal]

You can't go wrong with either.

 

[Rubycon]

Originally posted by: Idontcare
OK, have done the obligatory "forum searches" for UPS, Cyberpower, APC, etc and could not come up with much value-add discussion on Cyberpower or APC UPS's since ~2005.

(Not meant to insult anyone who may know of such a thread, if you do know of a thread then please drop me the link, I could very well suck at using the search function)

So my conundrum is finding a high-Watt high-VA UPS which does not require any special wall plugs...which seems to be the case for anything >1500VA or so...so I have about 2 options by my web searches thru Newegg:

CyberPower PR1500SWRM2U 1500VA 1000 Watts for $344.99

Or

APC Smart-UPS SUA1500 1440VA 980W for $479.95

Now I have used APC in the past, >5yrs ago, and I like their product in that it didn't give me any trouble. Have never used CyberPower but am willing to try anything.

What I want to avoid is a lemon. I don't mind paying the price premium for the APC, but I don't want to pay a price premium for something which has no more value than the lower priced alternative. (i.e. I don't want to merely/simply be paying a brand recognition premium)

Note I'd love to have anyone suggest a higher Wattage and VA UPS that still only requires a NEMA 5-15P electrical wall plug.

For example I really wanted to get a APC SUA2200 2200 VA 1980 Watts but it requires a NEMA 5-20P plug and I am not inclined to pay an electrician another $300-500 to re-wire my study per code (yaddi yadda).

So...anyone got any strong opinions? (or better...any experiences to share?) Thanks for the help!

$15 to make a pigtail.

 

[jackschmittusa]

I have had good success with APC and Tripplite over the years. Never used a Cyberpower before.

 

[PhoenixOrion]

900W/1250A 5-15P 6 outlets for $125

 

[imported_goku]

I'd get the APC

 

[Navid]

Originally posted by: Idontcare
Note I'd love to have anyone suggest a higher Wattage and VA UPS that still only requires a NEMA 5-15P electrical wall plug.

For example I really wanted to get a APC SUA2200 2200 VA 1980 Watts but it requires a NEMA 5-20P plug and I am not inclined to pay an electrician another $300-500 to re-wire my study per code (yaddi yadda).

The maximum current a 15A wire can safely handle is it; 15A!
So, the maximum VA you can get from it, in North America, is 120V X 15A = 1800VA.
Obviously, if you have a 2200VA unit and you happen to load it to its max capacity, you will be drawing more than 15A from the outlet.

This is not a limitation of the UPS. It is just how much current the wire can safely carry.

 

[Idontcare]

Originally posted by: Navid

Originally posted by: Idontcare
Note I'd love to have anyone suggest a higher Wattage and VA UPS that still only requires a NEMA 5-15P electrical wall plug.

For example I really wanted to get a APC SUA2200 2200 VA 1980 Watts but it requires a NEMA 5-20P plug and I am not inclined to pay an electrician another $300-500 to re-wire my study per code (yaddi yadda).

The maximum current a 15A wire can safely handle is it; 15A!
So, the maximum VA you can get from it, in North America, is 120V X 15A = 1800VA.
Obviously, if you have a 2200VA unit and you happen to load it to its max capacity, you will be drawing more than 15A from the outlet.

This is not a limitation of the UPS. It is just how much current the wire can safely carry.

Thanks Navid, I had not realized this was the inherent limitation necessitating the 5-20P outlet for the APC unit.

So my question/request ought to be stated: anyone know of a UPS which supports <1800VA (5-15P outlet) while having >1000W battery capacity for longer uptimes during power outages?

Is it possible to daisy-chain UPS systems?

Can I get both the CyberPower and APC UPS's and plug my computer into the APC which is then plugged into the CyberPower and then plug the Cyberpower unit into my wall outlet? (man if that doesn't sound like a newb question...which it is, I'll admit it)

In meantime I will go do some googling and attempt to further educate myself...

 

[Navid]

Are you looking for a high-power UPS so that you get a long runtime when there is no power?

What determines the runtime of a UPS (the time the UPS can provide power after it loses input power) has to do with the capacity of its battery. There are UPS units that allow you to supplement the battery with an external battery.
You may want to look at those.

Alternatively, you can buy a high-power UPS, which will come with a larger battery, and plug it into your 15A outlet. The power the UPS takes out of the outlet has to do with how much power your PC draws from the UPS. So, as long as your PC and monitor do not load the UPS to max, there should be no problem plugging it into a 15A outlet.

 

[pkme2]

I have both. APC and Cyberpower are very reliable. I would add UPS to that mix too.

 

[imported_goku]

Originally posted by: Idontcare

Originally posted by: Navid

Originally posted by: Idontcare
Note I'd love to have anyone suggest a higher Wattage and VA UPS that still only requires a NEMA 5-15P electrical wall plug.

For example I really wanted to get a APC SUA2200 2200 VA 1980 Watts but it requires a NEMA 5-20P plug and I am not inclined to pay an electrician another $300-500 to re-wire my study per code (yaddi yadda).

The maximum current a 15A wire can safely handle is it; 15A!
So, the maximum VA you can get from it, in North America, is 120V X 15A = 1800VA.
Obviously, if you have a 2200VA unit and you happen to load it to its max capacity, you will be drawing more than 15A from the outlet.

This is not a limitation of the UPS. It is just how much current the wire can safely carry.

Thanks Navid, I had not realized this was the inherent limitation necessitating the 5-20P outlet for the APC unit.

So my question/request ought to be stated: anyone know of a UPS which supports <1800VA (5-15P outlet) while having >1000W battery capacity for longer uptimes during power outages?

Is it possible to daisy-chain UPS systems?

Can I get both the CyberPower and APC UPS's and plug my computer into the APC which is then plugged into the CyberPower and then plug the Cyberpower unit into my wall outlet? (man if that doesn't sound like a newb question...which it is, I'll admit it)

In meantime I will go do some googling and attempt to further educate myself...

Lol, I would NOT do that. You should never attach a UPS onto another UPS.

 

[Idontcare]

Originally posted by: Navid
Are you looking for a high-power UPS so that you get a long runtime when there is no power?

Exactly, not looking for large system power capacity at peak, but rather am wanting a system that can survive (run) for hours while the power is out.

I think I may have found what I am looking for, which is exactly what you were recommending I go look for, namely a modular UPS which allows for daisy-chaining extra batteries.

The APC Smart-UPS XL Modular 1500VA UPS appears to be exactly what I was looking for.

Decently high VA for future considerations while having nice 1400W capacity and is compliant with the 5-15P outlet connection.

And the capacity is expandable in many times over with these APC Smart-UPS XL Modular 48V Extended Run Battery Packs.

Now that I finally have a little more education under my belt...time to find out if CyberPower or TrippLite make competive/compelling alternatives.

 

[Navid]

OK, good that you are on your way.

I am curious why you need such a long runtime though. Do you have a mission-critical system?
No matter how long that time is, it will eventually stop working unless you get power back or you have an alternative source of power.

 

[Idontcare]

Originally posted by: Navid
OK, good that you are on your way.

I am curious why you need such a long runtime though. Do you have a mission-critical system?
No matter how long that time is, it will eventually stop working unless you get power back or you have an alternative source of power.

I wouldn't call it mission critical but it is cash critical. I trade forex with metatrader using expert advisors. Power goes down = missed trades = less profit.

 

[Navid]

Makes sense; say no more!

Keep in mind that the UPS batteries age and their runtime decreases as they age. They die in about 2 to 3 years. You will need to keep testing them to know that their run time has decreased in order to replace them.

Even if the UPS has not been used and has been sitting on a store shelf, the battery is still getting old. I bought a new APC UPS from Circuit City. I tested its runtime and found that it was short. I contacted APC and they sent me another one and paid for shipping both ways. That is why I have recommended APC.

 

[Idontcare]

Navid, that is the kind of testimonial experience I was hoping to glean from the forum by creating this thread, thanks for the feedback and for your time. :beer:

I figure I'll do a full UPS battery check/drain once every 3 months (once a quarter) during the weekend when market is closed. That will give me some nice trend-line on lifetime so I can determine when performance potential is below my comfort threshold.

Thanks again Navid, you've been a big help to me today. :thumbsup: :beer:

 

[gizbug]

Any opinions on Cypberpower CP900AVR?
Need a new UPS. My APC Back UPS ES 500 is getting old.

 

[MichaelD]

Originally posted by: gizbug
Any opinions on Cypberpower CP900AVR?
Need a new UPS. My APC Back UPS ES 500 is getting old.

It's a solid UPS; the Auto Voltage Regulation is a really nice feature at this pricepoint. I also have two of the AVR1250's; I don't think they make them anymore.

Any good UPS has shut-down software. In the event of a power outage, the UPS counts down to the preset run time then shuts down Windoze the proper way. This all but insures against data loss/hardware failure due to sudden power loss.

One thing to watch out for is that many UPSs' CyberPower is one of them, use SERIAL ports to communicate w/the PC. Many new motherboards don't have serial ports.

I've found CP to be as good as APC's CONSUMER units, at about 2/3s the price.

 

[Philippine Mango]

If you need longer battery life, get a UPS with a large VA and then get a battery, you can daisychain the batteries so that you can get more battery life, it doesn't increase the VA but the wattage. This is a feature on the Smart UPS from APC.

 

[Idontcare]

Since this thread has been re-awakened I thought I would go ahead and post what I went with in the end.

After much deliberation I went with the Tripp-Lite SmartOnline SU2200RTXL2Ua.

This is a on-line double conversion UPS rated at 2200 VA and 1600 Watts.

It came with a conversion to NEMA 5-15P so it plugs into a standard grounded wall outlet (provided I don't draw more than ~1800 VA, which I don't and won't).

Being on-line double conversion and only ~$800 was pretty nice.

It has a fan that is always on, noticable but not what I would consider loud by any means. Certainly not louder than my desktop's PSU fan anyways.

I have not purchased the sizably impressive 3U expansion battery yet. Am still assembling my power system (QX6700 on vapoLS) and have not really challenged the 1600W native capacity on the Tripp-Lite yet.

Would definitely buy again. Thought I'd share.

 

[Bob Anderson]

Originally posted by: Idontcare
Since this thread has been re-awakened I thought I would go ahead and post what I went with in the end.

After much deliberation I went with the Tripp-Lite SmartOnline SU2200RTXL2Ua.

This is a on-line double conversion UPS rated at 2200 VA and 1600 Watts.

It came with a conversion to NEMA 5-15P so it plugs into a standard grounded wall outlet (provided I don't draw more than ~1800 VA, which I don't and won't).

Being on-line double conversion and only ~$800 was pretty nice.

It has a fan that is always on, noticable but not what I would consider loud by any means. Certainly not louder than my desktop's PSU fan anyways.

I have not purchased the sizably impressive 3U expansion battery yet. Am still assembling my power system (QX6700 on vapoLS) and have not really challenged the 1600W native capacity on the Tripp-Lite yet.

Would definitely buy again. Thought I'd share.

Excellent choice, I have its cousin, the SmartOnline SU1000XL 1000VA, 800 watts. A note about the fan. It will increase in RPM at higher loads (not temperature). I rarely exceed 30% load, and typically it is 20%. The higher fan RPM kicks in at 25%. It never gets warm, and the Tripp-Lite monitoring software is highly sophisticated. Mine consumes 30-35 watts all by itself with nothing plugged into it. Yours will be slightly higher in consumption.

-Bob