Why I purchased it

This unit was purchased to replace my APC Back-UPS 200, only because I needed more voltage for a Pentium IV computer and 19-inch monitor. The reason I purchased APC again is because I’ve been very pleased with their other products. APC has become the industry standard in uninterruptible power supplies (UPS). I’ve worked with several state-of-the-art computer facilities that use nothing but APC and they report only minimal problems with their units. Although I primarily purchased this unit for major surge protection and backup power, I also purchased it because I’m concerned about the frequent minor power spikes and sags that can damage electronics over time. This unit absorbs these spikes (and other line noise) and keeps the power level up where it should be.

Reliability and Performance

This unit provides 500 volt-amps (or 325 watts) of power, which has given me at least 6 minutes of backup power for the computer mentioned above. The reliability with this unit over the last three years has been outstanding. Basically, you just plug it in and forget about it. It even does its own scheduled testing to make sure everything is working okay. I have not yet needed to replace the battery.

It has been through dozens of severe thunderstorms and several summer power shortages without a single problem. When a surge from a lightning strike did hit near my house, the Back UPS Office 500 successfully protected my computer equipment with no problem, as did my APC Surge Arrest Performance surge protector (other surge protectors were damaged form the surge). Besides sending a surge to the house, the lightning also caused a power failure. The APC instantly provided back-up power so that I had time to save the file I was working on and shut-down the computer. These two events are exactly what this unit is designed for and it performed admirably in both cases.

Design

The design is one of APC’s best for a non-rack mount UPS. It sits flat on the floor, unlike the other UPS upright boxes that seem a bit more prone to getting bumped because they are more than twice the height. The power cord is approximately 6 feet long and well-shielded. The plug at the end of the power cord is at a right angle to the cord so that you can plug it flat between a desk and a wall. There are six outlets, all of which are surge protected, three of which provide backup power when needed. Two of the outlets have extra spacing for those annoying transformer blocks that would otherwise take up at least two outlets. This unit also provides surge protection for one phone, fax, or modem line. Visual indicators on the top panel tell you when the battery is working, when it needs to be replaced, and if your building has a wiring fault that would inhibit adequate surge protection (I haven't really looked at these since the first day I plugged it in). An audio indicator lets you know whenever the unit switches to battery power, even if just for a second (a handy way to keep track of your power company’s major power sags!). The noise that is emitted by the indicator is just right - not annoying like a car alarm, but enough to alert you that you've at least temporarily lost power and are running on backup. If desired, the supplied software will automatically save open documents and shut down the computer when it switches to battery backup.

Guarantee and Warranty

As with most APC products, this one comes with a lifetime equipment protection guarantee - $25,000 for this particular model. Basically, if everything is wired properly and a surge gets through and fries your stuff, APC will recover the cost, up to this amount. I’ve never had to use this guarantee with any APC product because every one I’ve purchased is still working as advertised. The unit itself comes with a two-year warranty.

Customer Support

I contacted customer support for replacement of a different APC surge protector model, the Surge Arrest Personal (click for my discussion of this experience).

Recommended: Yes

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