UPS 1000 VA - what to choose ?

**justpassingby** · 03-27-2007, 10:47 AM

MGE (off-line) or Belkin (line-interactive) ?

I have power surges in my flat and I have to buy a UPS. 1000 VA is what I need but I hesitate between those 2 models :

MGE Ellipse ASR 1000 USBS
Belkin Universal 1000 AVR - F6C100-UNV (this one is the F6C900-UNV, couldn't find the one my retailer sells on Belkin website)

MGE has a very good reputation, but the Belkin is cheaper and is line-interactive, which is better than off-line for battery longevity and PSU condensators wear. So what do you know about Belkin UPS ? Are they ok ?

**smz** · 03-29-2007, 04:03 AM

Belkin is cheaper because it is made cheaper. My belkin 1200 lasted 3 years before needing a new battery. I won't buy Belkin again. I will stick with the only name I trust in UPS's. APC. www.apcc.com - great support, compatability with everything. You will find it pricier than a belkin but you get what you paid for. I don't have any experience with the other company you mentioned. I didn't know they made UPS's.

**justpassingby** · 03-29-2007, 07:39 AM

Thx for the reply smz.

Isn't 3 years the normal longevity for an UPS battery ?

At more than 300$ in Belgium, the APC 1000 is too expensive for me.
Can we trust UPS retailers about the supported wattage ? The Belkin 1000 AVR says 550W and the APC RS 800 says 540W. That's a very poor 0.55 power factor for Belkin and a very good 0.675 for APC, the average standard being 0.60.

Could I be ok with the APC RS 800 for a 430W PSU ? And for a 550W PSU ?

Anyone knows about Merlin Gerin UPS ? The MGE Ellipse ASR 1000 is said to support 600W.

**smz** · 03-29-2007, 05:24 PM

Hi. They may claim 3 years as being the lifetime. But I have 1 Belkin and 5 APC's. In a 10 year span I've had two APC's need new batteries. THey were small so I replaced the unit. But Some of my APC's are running with 5 or more years. I do period tests to insure the battery quality plus monitor the UPS via software on occasion.

As far as their ratings, things changed a long time ago. Used to be, if you bought a 300 it was 300 watts. Now, who knows.

Anyhow as far as your question for what you need, APC has provided a very simple utility to run online to help find the adequate UPC for your setup. Note this link is for the united states portion of the site. You can change countries at the top of the page.

APC UPS Size Recommender Utility

**Kalim** · 03-30-2007, 08:55 AM

APC and Tripp Lite are the ones (some) with better output quality and features. The ones dubbed "Line Conditioner" are a lower quality and hence allow bad filtering and lower protection with cheaper prices. The Belkin is a no no believe me. The ones that produce good voltage regulation, EMI/RFI filtering, sine wave rather than square wave and a variable input range are the best and contain least harmonic distortions in the line (which creates heat in wires and damages electronic devices).

**smz** · 03-31-2007, 06:04 AM

Actually I kinda skipped pass tripp lite. Not a bad unit. Another one to be weary about is "Cyber Power" you have to wonder about these guys when a 325va is regularly priced $19.99 at fry's... Even during a bestbuy 12% weekend for business rewards members, they put a 550 cyberpower on sale for $39 then got 12% of that so $35 or so... it is running on my least important machines.. a free voip system i've been running for 20 years... used to be all telco but switched a lot of lines to voip. so the cyberpower keeps the pap2's alive and kicking and the 486 that runs it... it's sort of funny if you ask me. but at least best buy has recent stock... Buyer beware... Some stores, like Fry's sell you a sealed brand new UPS... you better examine the box carefully and look for the serial number near the UPC. that is where they normally print the manufacturer date. Scary last month they were closing out the remaining 10 Power Sentry 900va UPS's... $35.99 sounds good right... First off they are a no name company that Philips bought and who knows how that support system works since I'm sure batteries are not covered... anyhow. It's February 2007 and I'm considering buying this thing... half the price of a new replacement battery then look at the man date... Freakin' May 2005

Isn't that remarkable and for those who know anything about the way they make these things and the time line means the battery inside was very likely up to 6 months older then the may 2005 date with the way these companies order boatloads of batteries at once... be careful. you've been warned

**justpassingby** · 04-01-2007, 04:29 PM

I thought I'd let you know that you convinced me to buy an APC.

I've settled for the APC RS 800 which was the best performance choice from their online recommender utility. I think I'll be allright with its 540 Watts until I decide to buy a bigger PSU.

Thx for your advices

**smz** · 04-02-2007, 06:16 PM

Well I wasn't playing the role of a sales person. I was basing it on 15+ years of experience with this company and a couple of dealings with Cyber Power and Belkin. The 800 is pretty strong and unlike other companies that make UPS's, I firmly believe that that specs that APC posts about their units actually match their performance. I hate to say it but Belkin is under suspect as far as I'm concerned. 3 years and not a drop of fuel in the battery doesn't seem right for a $200 UPS... Glad I only paid a hundy. I was crazy enough to buy this thing with a Compusa $100 rebate and wouldn't you know, I actually got the rebate about 3 months after buying it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by justpassingby

I thought I'd let you know that you convinced me to buy an APC.

I've settled for the APC RS 800 which was the best performance choice from their online recommender utility. I think I'll be allright with its 540 Watts until I decide to buy a bigger PSU.

Thx for your advices

03-27-2007, 10:47 AM	#1 (permalink)
justpassingby Moderator, Microsoft Support Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Belgium Posts: 4,761 OS: XP Home SP3 / Ubuntu My System	UPS 1000 VA - what to choose ? MGE (off-line) or Belkin (line-interactive) ? I have power surges in my flat and I have to buy a UPS. 1000 VA is what I need but I hesitate between those 2 models : MGE Ellipse ASR 1000 USBS Belkin Universal 1000 AVR - F6C100-UNV (this one is the F6C900-UNV, couldn't find the one my retailer sells on Belkin website) MGE has a very good reputation, but the Belkin is cheaper and is line-interactive, which is better than off-line for battery longevity and PSU condensators wear. So what do you know about Belkin UPS ? Are they ok ?

03-29-2007, 04:03 AM	#2 (permalink)
smz Hardware Tech Specialist Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Los Angeles Posts: 705 OS: Mac OS X / W2K3 Server / XP Home/MCE/Pro / Vista Ultimate / Ubuntu Linux My System	Re: UPS 1000 VA - what to choose ? Belkin is cheaper because it is made cheaper. My belkin 1200 lasted 3 years before needing a new battery. I won't buy Belkin again. I will stick with the only name I trust in UPS's. APC. www.apcc.com - great support, compatability with everything. You will find it pricier than a belkin but you get what you paid for. I don't have any experience with the other company you mentioned. I didn't know they made UPS's. __________________ {{{{ Scott - 25+ Years HW & SW Expertise - Dos, Linux, Mac OS X, & Windows }}}} Abit IP35 / Core 2 Quad Q6600 / APC 650 UPS / Antec 900 ATX w/Antec Trio 550 PS XFX GeForce 8400GS w/512MB / 320GB Maxtor SATA II HD / 4GB Corsair CAS4 DDR2 HP Laser P1006 & PS 2610 / D-Link DGL-4500 Router / Dell 24" LCD / Asus G1 Laptop

03-29-2007, 07:39 AM	#3 (permalink)
justpassingby Moderator, Microsoft Support Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Belgium Posts: 4,761 OS: XP Home SP3 / Ubuntu My System	Re: UPS 1000 VA - what to choose ? Thx for the reply smz. Isn't 3 years the normal longevity for an UPS battery ? At more than 300$ in Belgium, the APC 1000 is too expensive for me. Can we trust UPS retailers about the supported wattage ? The Belkin 1000 AVR says 550W and the APC RS 800 says 540W. That's a very poor 0.55 power factor for Belkin and a very good 0.675 for APC, the average standard being 0.60. Could I be ok with the APC RS 800 for a 430W PSU ? And for a 550W PSU ? Anyone knows about Merlin Gerin UPS ? The MGE Ellipse ASR 1000 is said to support 600W.

03-29-2007, 05:24 PM	#4 (permalink)
smz Hardware Tech Specialist Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Los Angeles Posts: 705 OS: Mac OS X / W2K3 Server / XP Home/MCE/Pro / Vista Ultimate / Ubuntu Linux My System	Re: UPS 1000 VA - what to choose ? Hi. They may claim 3 years as being the lifetime. But I have 1 Belkin and 5 APC's. In a 10 year span I've had two APC's need new batteries. THey were small so I replaced the unit. But Some of my APC's are running with 5 or more years. I do period tests to insure the battery quality plus monitor the UPS via software on occasion. As far as their ratings, things changed a long time ago. Used to be, if you bought a 300 it was 300 watts. Now, who knows. Anyhow as far as your question for what you need, APC has provided a very simple utility to run online to help find the adequate UPC for your setup. Note this link is for the united states portion of the site. You can change countries at the top of the page. APC UPS Size Recommender Utility __________________ {{{{ Scott - 25+ Years HW & SW Expertise - Dos, Linux, Mac OS X, & Windows }}}} Abit IP35 / Core 2 Quad Q6600 / APC 650 UPS / Antec 900 ATX w/Antec Trio 550 PS XFX GeForce 8400GS w/512MB / 320GB Maxtor SATA II HD / 4GB Corsair CAS4 DDR2 HP Laser P1006 & PS 2610 / D-Link DGL-4500 Router / Dell 24" LCD / Asus G1 Laptop

03-30-2007, 08:55 AM	#5 (permalink)
Kalim Roaming To Help Join Date: Nov 2006 Posts: 5,565 OS: Many	Re: UPS 1000 VA - what to choose ? APC and Tripp Lite are the ones (some) with better output quality and features. The ones dubbed "Line Conditioner" are a lower quality and hence allow bad filtering and lower protection with cheaper prices. The Belkin is a no no believe me. The ones that produce good voltage regulation, EMI/RFI filtering, sine wave rather than square wave and a variable input range are the best and contain least harmonic distortions in the line (which creates heat in wires and damages electronic devices).

03-31-2007, 06:04 AM	#6 (permalink)
smz Hardware Tech Specialist Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Los Angeles Posts: 705 OS: Mac OS X / W2K3 Server / XP Home/MCE/Pro / Vista Ultimate / Ubuntu Linux My System	Re: UPS 1000 VA - what to choose ? Actually I kinda skipped pass tripp lite. Not a bad unit. Another one to be weary about is "Cyber Power" you have to wonder about these guys when a 325va is regularly priced $19.99 at fry's... Even during a bestbuy 12% weekend for business rewards members, they put a 550 cyberpower on sale for $39 then got 12% of that so $35 or so... it is running on my least important machines.. a free voip system i've been running for 20 years... used to be all telco but switched a lot of lines to voip. so the cyberpower keeps the pap2's alive and kicking and the 486 that runs it... it's sort of funny if you ask me. but at least best buy has recent stock... Buyer beware... Some stores, like Fry's sell you a sealed brand new UPS... you better examine the box carefully and look for the serial number near the UPC. that is where they normally print the manufacturer date. Scary last month they were closing out the remaining 10 Power Sentry 900va UPS's... $35.99 sounds good right... First off they are a no name company that Philips bought and who knows how that support system works since I'm sure batteries are not covered... anyhow. It's February 2007 and I'm considering buying this thing... half the price of a new replacement battery then look at the man date... Freakin' May 2005 Isn't that remarkable and for those who know anything about the way they make these things and the time line means the battery inside was very likely up to 6 months older then the may 2005 date with the way these companies order boatloads of batteries at once... be careful. you've been warned __________________ {{{{ Scott - 25+ Years HW & SW Expertise - Dos, Linux, Mac OS X, & Windows }}}} Abit IP35 / Core 2 Quad Q6600 / APC 650 UPS / Antec 900 ATX w/Antec Trio 550 PS XFX GeForce 8400GS w/512MB / 320GB Maxtor SATA II HD / 4GB Corsair CAS4 DDR2 HP Laser P1006 & PS 2610 / D-Link DGL-4500 Router / Dell 24" LCD / Asus G1 Laptop

04-01-2007, 04:29 PM	#7 (permalink)
justpassingby Moderator, Microsoft Support Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Belgium Posts: 4,761 OS: XP Home SP3 / Ubuntu My System	Re: UPS 1000 VA - what to choose ? I thought I'd let you know that you convinced me to buy an APC. I've settled for the APC RS 800 which was the best performance choice from their online recommender utility. I think I'll be allright with its 540 Watts until I decide to buy a bigger PSU. Thx for your advices