Customer Reviews

APC BACK-UPS RS BR900 900VA/540W UPS System

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

The UPS works as advertised. I found the beeping when the UPS is providing power to be annoying, but you need to install the Windows control software in order to turn it off - the supplied MacOS software doesn't allow you to do that. I really like the USB interface provided to the computer, and I found that MacOS already has built-in support for UPSes that works with the BR900, so there's really reason to install the supplied MacOS software at all. In a desktop Mac, MacOS treats the UPS just like the built-in battery in a Powerbook laptop, which makes sense. The only other thing I don't like is the power supply in my iMac buzzes when the UPS is operational. It must be generating AC with square waves rather than sine waves, which is what you get from the power company.

I own the APC Back-UPS RS 800VA-UPS-800 VA-UPS ( BR800BLK ) which is identical in every respect except color. According to the APC website, email exchanges with their Technical Consultants and my experience, THERE IS NO FAN. Hence no fan noise!

There is one apparently undocumented feature AVC ( automatic voltage control ). This UPS has a stable output voltage in spite of input voltage variations. This very, very unusual for a UPS in this price range. "Brownouts" can be a major cause of computer failure. AVC is a real plus.

When used with my iMac G4, the time remaining icon in the toolbar notes a runtime of 50 minutes after running on battery for five minutes. I just this minute simulated a power failure by pulling the plug. Remaining runtime is constantly updated.

Mac owners should not use the APC furnished PowerChute software. It is superfluous. OS X Tiger and Leopard already have software in System Preferences which recognized the APC UPS by model, shows % of charge all the time and can display remaining runtime under power failure. The information is displayed next to the UPS icon at the top of the screen.

I'm more than satisfied. I did my homework on the APC website and used their "Selector" to determine the UPS capacity for my needs. I also purchased a smaller model to back up my wireless network and Canon i850 network printer. In a power failure, both the network and the printer will keep running for a short time to allow task completion and a soft shutdown by the user.

The APC BR900 is a superb solution for critical computers that are in an area that experiences frequent power outages, such as ours. The BR900 is totally unobtrusive; you forget that its under the desk, like a good soldier it performs around the clock with no complaints. If and when it comes time to replace the batteries, the access plate is easy to operate, anyone will be able to do it with ease. Having the Power Chute software and extra data connecting cable that comes with it; makes an unattended automatic shut down a breeze, well before the batteries are down. Two business friends of mine now have one, based upon my recommendation and they are both pleased with its price and performance.

I have been using APC products for years now and have always been impressed with their quality. This unit is no different, I only wish it came in black! I got it because I needed a ups with a stronger power source to support my Power Mac G5 tower, 23in display as well as my router and cable modem. Before I was just able to run the tower on the 350VA that I had but was not optimal because then I had no display to use to shut it down with. Now it can support all the items at my desk and the utility they give you (Power Chute) is awesome as it will shut down your computer after x minutes if you are not there to take care of it yourself. I live in an older building that gets semi frequent little blips of power outages that maybe last between 1 and 10 seconds and I do not want to subject my computers to those so this was the best option for me.

This unit worked great for about 18 months and then wham, the battery just went TU. I realize that the mfg. states that the battery should be replaced at least every 3 years but honestly, has anybody ever seen an APC ups battery go bad? I was really surprised when the "replace battery" light started flashing and the constant audio alarm starting becoming a pain. I soon found that the cost of this replacement battery is over $77.00!! Not only that but nobody seems to carry this thing. All of the usual "Office" supply guys or even the local office stuff people carry these batteries in stock. Everywhere I went, I was told to order it online and even APC didn't show it in stock. What a pain. Living in daily Thunderstorm country this was a big problem for the week or so that it took to get the replacement battey from a third party. Just be warned that this UPS has worked perfectly and protected my machine on many occasion but, the battery may be a short lived component.

My computer is located near the TV just off the kitchen. The noise produced was quite unacceptable. The fan apparatus was louder than my refrigerator and ran constantly!

After a little over a week, I packed it up and returned it.

So I read about fan noise in these reviews, and I have to wonder if the product has been changed?
What fan? My RS 900 looks just like the picture here, apparently is also known as BR900, but I haven't heard any noise from it at all. There are some slots in the top to let out any heat build-up, but that's it.

This is a superior backup battery unit. and the seller was quick in shipping and processing... excellent experience.

I inherited an APC battery backup from my previous job 2 years ago and while it did the job, it was a lesser model that only had basic features. But since it was purchased for a professional office setting where clean electricity was available throughout, it wasn't subject top anything short of a full blackout. As a full-time home-based employee who relies on the computer and high-speed internet to do my job, electricity is a must.

Where I live, sometimes called "the sticks", clean electricity isn't always available; in fact, the street lines as well as the wiring in my building are subject to frequent fluctuation. So that lesser APC unit got a workout for every little blip. When it began sounding an alarm while the power appeared to still be on and no low-battery indicators were on, I knew I needed something with better performance.

I researched several brands and models, and found the APC BR900 met my needs, particularly because it offered Automatic Voltage Regulation (AVR) - this feature works to normalize spikes and dips in AC voltage, keeping it at a nice steady 120V. The increased battery power over my other unit also means that my computer, monitor, and cable modem will stay up as long as 15 minutes - plenty of time for me to save my work, notify my colleagues that I've lost power, and shut down cleanly without fully discharging the battery.

And speaking of the battery, it recharges fully in just 8 hours. My other APC required 16-18 hours, as did another product I looked at against the BR900. So when the power does go down for a length of time, I know the battery will be fully good to go the same day the power returns. The battery connects inside the unit with a simple plug/socket connection, and is hot-swappable when it finally dies out.

If you have to put in a full day's work from home every day, this unit will keep the power on AND clean.

After 1 month, I am happy with the BR900
We tend to get a fair number of quick, transient power outages here.
The BR900 keeps my PC running just fine.

I have had similar APC BR-series in Asia (220Volt). The one thing it had that
this doesnt have is the s/w would record transient power issues.
I am using APC PowerChute Personal Edition on Vista. It states
"Note: Power problems of a very short duration are not recorded here"
My European BR-series running PowerChute on XP would log all power events,
even the short ones.
Now, the lack of recording in my BR900 could be a "feature" of the Vista version of PowerChute rather than the BR900 itself. I wish it would record every type of power event that it handled.
For example, it would be nice to get an idea of how often the voltage trim feature kicked in. I am considering purchasing more APC UPS, and I would like to now if i really need these trim features.

Regardless of the logging, the BR900 is working and keeping my PC up and running