Be Excellent To Each Other

I have a Belkin 400 VA UPS. This was dandy for my old PC. However as some of you may recall I decided to plug it into the Mac Pro. I never actually got the two to talk to each other, but I left it plugged in on the basis that at least it would buy some minutes in the event of a powercut.

Problem is that it didn't. The power dipped for a second, everything else stayed up but the UPS just died and the Mac with it (and if on the mains the Mac is the one that usually stays up longest if the power dips).

The old PC and LCD together only utilised just over 50% of the capacity but the Pro just makes it want to cry. I think it's the initial surge that is killing the UPS.

Apple say the unit consumes 171 watts idle 250 watts at max CPU. + my three hard drives. No idea how that converts to VA.

So I need a new UPS that is (a) Mac Happy and (b) can actually power the beast. Oh and (c) is quite cheap as my ADSL router is screwed and not only do I have to replace it but also pay a £100 BT callout fee as the line was fine. Crnts!

Ebuyer or Scan preferred! Dabs if you must. The choice is baffling and I'm hoping someone on here might have had a good experience with a UPS rather than Belkin crap with bloated drivers.

Cheers.

Have ordered up this one:
http://www.ebuyer.com/product/130474

1500 VA should presumably be enough for it. No idea about if it will work with OSX. There are mumblings online that a UPS should just work with OSX without any hassle at all and no extra drivers. The Belkin didn't but perhaps that's because it was overloaded.

BETEO ROCKS!

It's just not my day!

Luckily with the router I'd already been looking for a better unit but wanted to save the cash. So at least now it's gone pop I knew what to replace it with straight away (one of these http://www.dcdi.co.uk/page.asp?id=TECH2820 + some higher gain aerials.)

But the UPS situation was baffling me. The general opinion online was that you needed 1500VA but people are reporting all sorts of things.

Erm, UPS's are heavy?

About the same, so it should have been OK. Are you sure the UPS is actually working properly?

As for "initial surge".. well, there shouldn't really be one. The UPS output stage is in circuit all the time, the system just has to hold up the DC bus when it starts to fall due to the mains going.
If the batteries are shot, obviously, it won't manage that.

I think it's working OK. It's certainly storing and sending power. The Mac seems to trip it though as soon as it cuts to battery power.

But the Mac forums seem to suggest that you need at least 800 VA for a Mac Pro and that 400 VA is hopelessly underpowered for it.

There is a buzzing when running form battery, but online searches seem to suggest they all do that.

The UPS arrived. It's huge. Bad news is that it has no way of communicating with a computer which makes it nothing more than a big dumb battery.

Of course I could send it back (at my own expense) but there lies a problem. It weighs a tonne. The kind of weight that had me straining to unpack it, let alone want to lug it to the post office and pay several thousand quid to ship it back to Ebuyer.

So I guess I'm stuck with it. Will guard nicely against short powercuts and brownouts, but no auto shutdown. Ho fucking hum.

Also spent the best part of the day configuring a new Draytek router and reconfiguring my wireless network. Not quite got VPN working yet. I can VPN in but somehow can't actually VNC onto the Mac.Must be a security setting. Need to fiddle.

Amount of proper work done today? Fuck all, the router was a bitch.

How big is it?

We haver a UPS at work, that does manage to communicate. It always amuses me when I get a message on my PC, "Connection with UPS failed."

1500 VA.