I hope I never need to know.
Written: Apr 21 '02
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Space for block power supplies. Protects cable modem, ethernet.
Cons: Large. Risky (but fixable) on/off button.
The Bottom Line: It's functional. It has some convenient features. It protects your PC, your ethernet card, and your cable modem. It's a little big, but it does a lot.
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| jtjackson's Full Review: APC Back-UPS Pro 650 (BP650SUS) UPS System |
After frying a V.90 modem (cheap) and a cable modem (free, but two weeks waiting for the cable company), I realized I needed a surge protector. The NET8N seemed like the right thing, since it would protect my cable modem and ethernet card in addition to my PC, printer, scanner, etc.
The NET8N has a pair of jacks for the coaxial cable that supplies cable modem Internet service. In theory, any damage to a cable modem from lightning strikes should be avoided.
The NET8N has a pair of RJ45 jacks for ethernet. I have that hooked up on the ethernet between the cable modem and my PC. It seems redundant to be protecting my PC from a power surge that should already have been stopped before it hit the cable modem, but (in my opinion) this is the path of highest cost and longest time to repair, so I'm willing to double up.
The last nice feature of the NET8N is the extra spacing on the top to allow those big blocky power supplies to plug in. There are 5 outlets with regular spacing (just like any power strip), but the extra 3 for the block power supplies come in real handy. I used to have 3 power strips (one plugged into another) so that when I could only use half the outlets on one strip, I could still plug everything in. Well, this saves me from that mess.
The down-side of the extra space for the block power supplies is that the NET8N is a little large. OK, frankly, it's huge for a power strip. But I'm not complaining. A single NET8N still takes up less space than two other power strips and their extra power cords.
Finally, the NET8N comes out of the box with this large, attractive on/off button that you just calls you to push it every time you see it. This lovely, gray, oval, eye-shaped button gives you this come-hither look as if to say, "Come on. It's OK. Press me and shut everything off." Luckily, APC saw the design flaw. They stick a plastic thingy in the box that covers the on/off button (except for a finger-sized hole) so you can't accidentally hit the button in a moment of weakness.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
jtjackson
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Location: Ellicott City, MD
Reviews written: 73
Trusted by: 5 members
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