which UPS is proper for Mac Pro?

APC: RS1300VA LCD is popular, or the RS1500VA.

I switched from APC (still running two 1500VAs - XS and RS1500) but went with CyberPower models.

You'll be fine, usually. Not sure if APC has cheapened the quality or anything, and there are always those that go for SMART UPS.

They were "over selling" what you need.

Depends on how much equipment and run time you need.

DO look for UPS threads!

For what it's worth:

I'm using APC's most basic UPS. When I wrote them to ask about installing APC software for it all they told me was just to use what Snow Leopard provides in System Preferences. That's what I did and I've had no problems whatsoever.

I have used the standard apc 1500 va models in this post with no problems.

My APC Smart UPS (SUA1500) failed after 4 years in service and, of course, beyond its warranty. When it was determined that it would require more than just a new battery, I asked APC for help in selecting a replacement. This UPS was protecting my MacPro with its three internal drives, 30" Apple Cinema Display, DROBO with 3x2TB drives, LaCie 1TB external drive, two laptops, telephone base station and scanner. They recommend that I stick with the 1500 VA power but downgraded me to an APC BackUPS RS 1500 LCD (BR1500LCD).

The APC tech support rep who helped me choose this model had me test my computer for a few minutes using another of my BackUPS devices. He said APC expects it to fail immediately if there is any compatibility issues when running on the "stepped sine wave" of the BackUPS. There were no apparent issues, so I have ordered the BR1500LCD and a 3-year extension to the standard 3-year warranty.

Total price, including CA tax and free S&H was $260. The SMT1500 with the same 6 years of coverage would have cost $680. I hope it works out as expected. Either way, I will take advantage of the extended warranty...if only to cover almost certain battery replacement during that 6 years.

I use multiple UPS, each off separate circuit, and find the Mac Pro even though it doesn't use that much, on boot or waking it does, which is the only reason it needs its own 1300-1500VA.

I still have one XS and one RS1500VA that have never failed but use those for emergencies and other things now (adding a 60 min. extra runtime with a battery pack $130).

CyberPower 1500VA $150
http://www.amazon.com/Cyberpower-CP1500AVRLCD-UPS-Display-8-Outlet/dp/B000FBK3QK /

Hey hikndiv,


Although you saved money with the Back-UPS RS 1500, you have to agree it's not the same unit as the SUA1500 by any measure. Yes, it's a good unit and it will provide protection, but it won't output a sine wave like the SUA1500 and it won't have the run time of the SUA1500. We have used all sorts of Back-UPSs at our office and we had problems with some of our Mac computers. For all of our Mac's, we stick with the SUA1500's. They've worked magic for us and never gave us much problems, other than batteries expiring.


However, now they don't make SUA1500's and for this particular project the manager wanted a "brand new" unit so we bought him one of the SMT1500 units and we've heard nothing back complaints. It has a loud 2 stage fan that runs most of the time, it sounds like a data center under the desk. After replacing several units we ended up getting him a refurb SUA1500 that sits there quietly protecting his machine.


Overall, I think the SUA1500 is a better unit than the Back-UPS RS 1500, but if it works for you Mac during a power outage, why not, you're saving a lot of money and have a solid warranty. I'd recommend you try and pull the plug to see how well the Mac responds to the simulated sine wave output of that UPS, you might be surprised at the results, we sure were.

Thanks for sharing your experience JoeJoe2009. I do plan to thoroughly test the Back-UPS RS 1500 before I return my SUA1500 to APC. I would like to save the bucks but it has to work. I have far too much content (photos, music, video) at risk.

I will post again once I have tested the Back-UPS RS 1500...

Looking forward to hearing your results. Don't be shy about pulling the plug outof the wall and let the unit run on batteries for a bit. Listen for humming from the Mac power supply or strange fan noises. Let us know!

Sorry for the long delay in providing this update. It took a couple of weeks to get the Back-UPS RS 1500...and then another two weeks to replace it with a Smart-UPS 1500 (DLA1500).

I decided against the Back-UPS RS 1500 because of short battery run time (< 8 mins at 450 Watts), noisy fan and how it behaves during a power event. My original concern had been whether the "simulated sine wave" was compatible with my Mac Pro dual quad. My system never exhibited any unusual behavior during the tests.

Per APC tech support, the Back-UPS models are not designed for use in unattended environments. They don't support bi-directional communication with the computer system, i.e. the UPS can send information to the computer but cannot receive information from it. (The provided USB cable resembles a RJ-11 connector on the UPS end.) When a power event reaches the trigger point (remaining time, remaining % power, etc.) that shuts down the computer, the UPS continues to supply power because it does not know the computer has shut itself down. A depleted Back-UPS unit will not resume operation when AC power is restored until someone physically pushes the "on" button.

I contrast, the Smart-UPS units have full bi-directional communications with computer and will shut down once the computer has shut itself down. The Smart-UPS can also resume operation without any human intervention. This is especially useful for me in that I travel and want to be able to access my computer remotely. I have my Mac Pro setup to automatically reboot following a power event.

So, I decided to go back to Smart-UPS and would have bought another new SUA1500 had one been available. I was less interested in a reconditioned SUA1500 because I wanted to take advantage of APC's extended warranty. I ended up buying a DLA1500 which was exclusively sold through Dell but otherwise was identical to the SUA1500. I bought mine from upsforless.com for $389 + shipping. APC confirmed that this model is fully covered by the APC 2-year warranty and that warranty can be extended another 3 years for $210.

I have heard that APC will probably offer a firmware update for the SMT1500 to correct the unnecessary fan operation. I decided to go with the DLA1500 now because it was a "bird in hand".

BTW, I have three other UPS's in my home. They are all less expensive Back-UPS models and work fine in less demanding situations.