Editor's Update: This Belkin UPS up and died after 2-3 years use. As many users have experienced, it just stopped turning on one day and the power receptacles along the battery backup circuit wouldn't supply power. Upon opening the unit up, cause was apparently dried out batteries (audible rattling sound). On a side note, the Belkin 1100VA UPS (model F6C1100-UNV) PCSTATS purchased as replacement has been discontinued by the manufacturer. The Belkin F6C1100-UNV is an extremely poor product - under normal operation it's very hot (constant 45-55°C ), off--gasses a strong plastic smell for the first three days of use and emits an audible electrical hum. PCSTATS no longer recommends Belkin UPS products.
Power
surge protection and the quality of electricity supplying a
computer are
probably the two most overlooked factors which can seriously impact the stability of your PC.
If you're spending a $1000+ on a new PC, doesn't it make
sense to protect your investment from power spikes, brown-outs and other common electrical
fluctuations with something better than that $10 surge suppressor? I think it does...
The recent
blackout on the Eastern seaboard of North American sent 50 million homes into
the dark, along with countless computers. Take into account sun spot activity on national
power systems, and you can see there are countless reasons why plugging your PC into a high quality
UPS (Uninterrupted Power Supply) is a worthwhile choice.
Just think about how great it would be to have an
extra few minutes of power for your monitor and PC so that you can
safely save your work, and shut down the computer when the power does go out as you put
the finishing touches on a critically important document!
In this
review, PCstats is evaluating the Belkin
Universal 1000VA UPS, which is capable of delivering up to 550W of
power (which should give you about three minutes of power under full load). This
1000VA UPS features automatic voltage regulation (AVR) built in, and comes with a USB A-B cable,
Serial cable, telephone cable and Belkin's Bulldog monitoring
software.
Unlike the Home Office 500VA Belkin UPS PCstats reviewed
earlier, the Universal 1000VA does not have a system limitation, meaning it has enough power
capacity to actually handle CRT monitors up to 19" and LCD's up to 21".
The Universal 1000VA weighs in at 12.5kg and has dimensions of 120mm x 300mm
x 190mm (WxDxH). The battery within the UPS is a non-spillable sealed lead
acid type, and should have a shelf life of approximately 3-5 years. The battery requires
about 12 hours to get to 85% charge, and with half a load will dish out power
for about 8 minutes, with full load that time drops to approximately 3 minutes.
Even with a full computer system plugged into the Belkin 1000VA, it
won't be drawing anywhere near 500W of power however. So for example, you can expect battery life times
of around 20 minutes for a Pentium 4 computer and 19" CRT monitor, realistically speaking.
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