About inexpensive UPSes

P

Pimpom

Disciple
I need to buy an inexpensive UPS for a second computer but I haven't kept myself up-to-date about UPSes for a long time. Is APC still the premium brand? What is your experience/opinion about cheaper brands like Zebronics, Microtek, Foxin, Artis, Luminous, etc etc.?
 
I think ever since Schneider bought them, APC is lower quality than before. Just about does the job. Dunno about inexpensive though. The bx1100c used to cost 5.5k about a year ago. Few weeks back it was 6.8k. now it's 7.5k online. Offline, the store had told me around 6.3k when it was 6.8 online but also mentioned that the prices are going to go up. No idea about the offline rate after that
 
Thanks for the reply. I really need nothing more than 600VA/360W. The computer is used only occasionally for tasks like surface scanning of an HDD, testing old graphics cards, etc. without engaging my main computer. I once came across someone's new UPS that was causing more problems than it solved, probably from switching transients. I was wondering if those other brands costing around 2k will be good enough for my purpose.
 
I was in a similar situation, had an old Corsair cx400 chugging along and bought an apc bx600c for 2.7k locally. Online price was 3k+ then. My psu died recently and the gigabyte p450b i bought would trip the UPS even without a monitor. I was lucky to get someone to buy it off me and a friend working in microtek gave me an old 800va with relatively new batteries so now everything works. The alternative, bx1100 is a ridiculous price, especially since i need at most 5 mins of backup till the generator kicks in.
 
Have used APC BX600C and Currently using 1100VA after I upgraded my GPU and PSU. Pretty satisfied with both. But I only used it to safely shut down my system during outages.

Got 600C for Rs 2166 on Flipkart during the big billion day sale. And sold it for 1500 locally (2.5 yrs warranty remaining)

Got 1100VA for 4000 from an FB dealer. Dealer said it was new but it had obvious signs of usage. It gets the job done so didn't bother returning. Was able to get an invoice from him so I'll get 1 year of warranty.
 
The bx600c comes with 2 years warranty standard and the 1100 with one year. Don't ask ...
 
Soufosale said:
Pretty satisfied with both. But I only used it to safely shut down my system during outages.
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That's really the main reason most people use a UPS for, and it's also why I want one for this computer. For my main computer, I use an 18-year-old UPS, crudely made by today's standards but very durable and does the job well. It's an external battery type and I use it with a car battery. The current battery is the third one, replacing the previous one in April this year. It gives me at least half an hour of backup although I've never tested the full backup time.
 
Pimpom said:
That's really the main reason most people use a UPS for, and it's also why I want one for this computer. For my main computer, I use an 18-year-old UPS, crudely made by today's standards but very durable and does the job well. It's an external battery type and I use it with a car battery. The current battery is the third one, replacing the previous one in April this year. It gives me at least half an hour of backup although I've never tested the full backup time.
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From the reviews I read, the battery should last about 4-5 years for the APC UPS if you're just using it to shut down your system safely. Maybe even more if you use the battery saver function. You can contact APC to replace the battery when it finally runs out of juice but not sure how much that would cost.

I'm using it with 750W PSU and a 3070 and it easily gives me enough back-up for 10-15 minutes under low loads (no gaming). Haven't tested the full backup time either.
NotMyRealName said:
The bx600c comes with 2 years warranty standard
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Yup my bad. Sold mine with 1.5 years on-site warranty remaining.
 
I mean, the 1100 model is MORE than twice as expensive (has 2x7.2AH batteries as opposed to 1 in the 600c) yet gets half the warranty???!!!
 
It's been the opposite for me. I've always needed/wanted a battery backup, since the late 90s. None of my computers are ever turned off, the most they do is sleep. I have multiple workspaces set up on different virtual desktops, so I like to keep everything running instead of having to rearrange/relaunch apps to complete a task.

But I moved away from UPS's to Inverters about six years ago, I prefer the inverters for their longer runtime and large external batteries.

APC's newer Easy UPS (BVX series) look pretty slick, but I haven't any experience with them.
 

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I tried a couple of costly UPS earlier but they failed after warranty, then I realized it 's not worth spending much on UPS (it may be just me).
600VA is sufficient for my system load but I don't use UPS for a 5-10 min backup, Transient time for the inverter is slow so system trips & I only use UPS to switch over to inverter in case of power failure.
For the past 8-10 years I am using only Intex UPS. (Price increased over years Rs. 1200 to Rs. 1450 last time I purchased 18 months back approx. , it's inflated now)
It's cheap and comes with 1 or 2 year warranty as usual. Warranty for battery is only for 1 year and after an year or about 15-17 months when battery dies. I take it to the local official Intex seller
and he adjusts Rs. 150 for the new unit. Intex keep on changing the model name every 2-3 years but thing is the same.
I use them as a disposable unit and consumed about 5-7 units in last 8-10 years, A single unit works for average 15-16 months, sometimes I'm lucky like with my current unit its working fine since last 18 months.
I think it's not a bad deal spending 1200-1300rs. for 15-17 months usage.

Works 24x7 , even if system is down router is always on.
here's a pic -
wdd.jpg

Intex protector 725, (My previous unit got it for rs. 1400)
 
Rockfella said:
I stopped using any UPS since more than 7 years. No issues. Those days are gone when HDDs used to crash on power cuts. Waste of money and space if you ask me.
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Do you mean in the event of a power out, you just let the PC die? I stay in mumbai and rarely face powercuts (3-4 times a year for an hour max each time). I bought an Artis PS-600VA for 2k recently - to be able to save my work and shut it down immediately. Also, to avoid any possible damage to components.
 
To illustrate the purpose: Yesterday, I was scanning someone's 250GB HDD with Seagate SeaTools on the second computer. The nature of the problem is that it's likely to take a whole day, maybe more to complete the process. After about two hours, there was a power outage for a few minutes, making it necessary to start all over again. And losing power during a read/write process wouldn't do the HDD any good. Over here, sometimes we go for months without any outage, sometimes it occurs several times a day.
 
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bigquads said:
Do you mean in the event of a power out, you just let the PC die? I stay in mumbai and rarely face powercuts (3-4 times a year for an hour max each time). I bought an Artis PS-600VA for 2k recently - to be able to save my work and shut it down immediately. Also, to avoid any possible damage to components.
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Yes I don't work on my PC. For folks who work a UPS might still be useful. An invertor with UPS mode might be a better choice.
 
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Nitendra Singh said:
Once again, my 18 months old ups died. Trying since last 3 days but it trips. So today l purchased two units, one extra for upcoming system.

I paid ₹3200 for these two.
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That means 1600/- for one unit, right? Where can I get it at this price?
I'm planning on buying a UPS just for a set of 2 routers. How much backup can I expect?
 
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