Help with UPS (APC SMT1500 or Cyberpower PR1500ELCD?).

[JuRaSSiCBoY]

Hello,

I'm planning to buy an UPS to protect my NAS QNAP TVS-EC1080 and some of my electronic toys (PC with: i7-930 and motherboard x58a-ud7, GPU NVIDIA GTX285 and PSU Cooler Master G750M + anything the UPS can handle due to its limitations like monitors, router and switch).

I'm interested on the next two models, but my ignorance makes me see them as if they where exactly the same:

- Cyberpower PR1500ELCD.
- APC SMT1500.

What is the best choice? Is there a better option?

Thanks a lot in advance for your help and time.

 

[Ralston18]

No - it is not your "ignorance". Manufacturers go to great lengths to ensure that their products appear at least the same, if not better, than their competitors. And often make up new terminology, "features", etc. to appear to stand out.

Your selection should be based on your requirements. Since both devices match there then consider other relevant factors.

Which UPS costs the least? Can you go into a store to purchase (always better than needing one shipped, easier to return). Is the unit wall mountable? Much better if the unit can be kept off of the floor.

Look at the online reviews from validated purchasers. Visit the respective manufacturer's websites. Read the User Manual/Guides, look at the FAQs and User forums. See what people are asking about and reporting. Look for what is not being said just as much as what is being said.

Consider the cost of replacement batteries. Tend to be expensive.

That said I use APC. Both based on my readings and some overall good history with both new and a couple of older, "hand me down" units. My upgrades/replacements will all be wall mountable as I can actually place the unit on the side of a desk or cabinet. Then it is easy to move the desk or cabinet just a bit to gain access to all the various wires and cables...... Versus dragging the UPS along the floor.

 

[JuRaSSiCBoY]

No - it is not your "ignorance". Manufacturers go to great lengths to ensure that their products appear at least the same, if not better, than their competitors. And often make up new terminology, "features", etc. to appear to stand out.

Your selection should be based on your requirements. Since both devices match there then consider other relevant factors.

Which UPS costs the least? Can you go into a store to purchase (always better than needing one shipped, easier to return). Is the unit wall mountable? Much better if the unit can be kept off of the floor.

Look at the online reviews from validated purchasers. Visit the respective manufacturer's websites. Read the User Manual/Guides, look at the FAQs and User forums. See what people are asking about and reporting. Look for what is not being said just as much as what is being said.

Consider the cost of replacement batteries. Tend to be expensive.

That said I use APC. Both based on my readings and some overall good history with both new and a couple of older, "hand me down" units. My upgrades/replacements will all be wall mountable as I can actually place the unit on the side of a desk or cabinet. Then it is easy to move the desk or cabinet just a bit to gain access to all the various wires and cables...... Versus dragging the UPS along the floor.

Thank you very much for your advice Ralston18. There are not too many negative reviews with any of the both options, and the prices are very similar too (480-490€). I have my own cabinet with two shelves, for the QNAP (above) and the future UPS (below) so maybe the only difference for me is the watts available (980W with SMT and 1350W with PR1500ELCD), battery prices, software applications and the saving system. I'm looking for the more reliable option.

I think I should read a lot more before decide.

 

[Ralston18]

Fair enough.

Be careful with the specifications. Often created/established under ideal circumstances. The 980W and 1350Ws difference may not really mean that much in reality.

As for reliable: read the warranties, the fine print is often very revealing.

 

[geofelt]

I have been using a APC Back UPS pro 1500 for the longest time.
It does the job and has never failed.
Check my sig for what is connected.
One nice option(which I no longer use) is the free Powerchute app.
If you connect the ups to your pc with a usb cable, you get all sorts of statistics such as how many outages it has handled , aand what your run time is. You can schedule a outage test.

 

[JuRaSSiCBoY]

Fair enough.

Be careful with the specifications. Often created/established under ideal circumstances. The 980W and 1350Ws difference may not really mean that much in reality.

As for reliable: read the warranties, the fine print is often very revealing.

Thank you again for your help, I'm very grateful. You're right, brands always write the better specifications they've achieve with their products.

I have been using a APC Back UPS pro 1500 for the longest time.
It does the job and has never failed.
Check my sig for what is connected.
One nice option(which I no longer use) is the free Powerchute app.
If you connect the ups to your pc with a usb cable, you get all sorts of statistics such as how many outages it has handled , aand what your run time is. You can schedule a outage test.

So, you're happy with your APC. Mmmm.. I'll wait to see if someone has tried the two models, if not I think I'll choose the APC option.

 

[sblantipodi]

At the end I choosed the Cyberpower over the APC, APC has really too much weakness in comparison...

Cyberpower SmartUPS PR1500ELCD 1500VA/1350W arrived,
it is deadly silent even with a load of 800W (if not on battery). Most line interactive UPS are silent but transformers can be loud even on some line interactive units.

When on battery the fan curve raise with the load and the temperature but the quality YS-Tech is not that loud.



Thanks to the pure wave my AX860i stopped making that ugly noise coming from the PFC circuit when on battery.

UPS feels solid and premium, the only parts made in plastic is the front panel.
Very easy to swap the batteries, the powerpanel business edition software is amazing, there are tons of cool features for nerds and it works flawlessly on Linux

The unit is really really efficient with a powerfactor of 0.9, it converts pretty all of it's power in usable power. (APC is really behind in this)

Runtime is excellent, with a load of 200W (my PC idling with the monitor) it says 2 hours and 15 minutes. Transfer to battery is faster than average UPS with only 4ms.
Surge suppression is based on a series of MOVs for a total of 400 jouls that is more than enough for pretty every overvoltage you may have, leave alone lightning.

They did not spare with the components





It is a 230V unit but there is an equivalent for 110V, the 110V unit is a bit less powerful.

It isn't cheap, but it offers a lot more than the equivalent APC for the same money.