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Question of the Day: What's the most interesting small town you've visited in South Africa?
UPS - Matrix Warehouse
- Thread starter Aharon
- Start date
ben dover
Senior Member
Cheap Junk, last only about a year.
The USB port is used for Monitoring software....
The USB port is used for Monitoring software....
Pada
Executive Member
I bought a Proline 650VA UPS a couple of years ago and it is utterly useless. Often it won't switch fast enough from AC power to battery power, which would cause my PC to switch off and then on again!
I simply had enough of it and bought an APC UPS instead and so far I've been very impressed with it, but it was very expensive as well.
The Powercom Black Knight Pro is pretty much the only other UPS that I can recommend, other than the APC units.
I simply had enough of it and bought an APC UPS instead and so far I've been very impressed with it, but it was very expensive as well.
The Powercom Black Knight Pro is pretty much the only other UPS that I can recommend, other than the APC units.
Personally, I wouldn't recommend the Powercom BNK Pro.
The resellers locally sell the ~220VAC version which isn't fit for SA use. We use ~230VAC here which goes up to ~240VAC, that causes the UPS to step down the voltage to ~205VAC. That will put significant strain on the PSU. So if you don't mind constantly replacing your PSU, then get the BNK Pro.
Not to mention that it doesn't output true sine wave (it outputs "modified sine" aka stepped square wave).
In fact, just about all PSUs sold today use power factor correction which is ONLY compatible with true sine wave output. Anything else will significantly shorten it's life. So any UPS that doesn't output sine wave can at best be used to quickly shut down (even though that already causes significant heating in the PFC circuit). It even sounds dodgy. The PSU makes loud noises as it vibrates at the stepped frequency range.
Buy a decent PSU or just forget about buying one.
my 2c.
Last edited:
Pada
Executive Member
Thanks Gnome. I'll take that in consideration when making suggestions for UPS' next time.
I haven't bought a Powercom UPS before, but people on Prophecy Forums suggested/recommended it, and clearly they had no electrical expertise.
I haven't bought a Powercom UPS before, but people on Prophecy Forums suggested/recommended it, and clearly they had no electrical expertise.
LazyLion
King of de Jungle
The ones from Matrix are about as good as what you will find at other computer shops. In my experience ALL the UPS devices I have used have lasted about a year. maybe it is the nature of the device, but maybe somebody can tell us if you can find better than this?
BTW, I'm using two of these Zixaa's from Matrix and so far so good. The USB interface and software works as it should.
BTW, I'm using two of these Zixaa's from Matrix and so far so good. The USB interface and software works as it should.
Well let me explain it like this:
A computer PSU doesn't work well in under volt situations (you can Google and confirm for yourself). Under volt being less than ~110VAC or ~220VAC.
Powercom Black Knight Pro would have been the economic choice, but because it is a 220VAC model you will run your PSU at prolonged under voltage. When I tested here at home the UPS spent about 40-50% of a day running at ~205VAC and the rest at the standard ~230-234VAC from the socket. That is very bad!
Similarly if a UPS isn't sine wave and any of the PSUs have power factor correction the components start vibrating which causes them to heat up (and thus significantly shortens their life as well as causes a loud humming noise).
So to answer your question:
If you don't mind constantly replacing the PSU (and possible the UPS), then buy something cheap.
If you don't mind spending money once, then buy APC SmartUPS (cheapest when I did my research).
If you don't have the money for a UPS you can always buy an APC power conditioner (if that is what you are worried about) but you won't have backup capabilities.
A computer PSU doesn't work well in under volt situations (you can Google and confirm for yourself). Under volt being less than ~110VAC or ~220VAC.
Powercom Black Knight Pro would have been the economic choice, but because it is a 220VAC model you will run your PSU at prolonged under voltage. When I tested here at home the UPS spent about 40-50% of a day running at ~205VAC and the rest at the standard ~230-234VAC from the socket. That is very bad!
Similarly if a UPS isn't sine wave and any of the PSUs have power factor correction the components start vibrating which causes them to heat up (and thus significantly shortens their life as well as causes a loud humming noise).
So to answer your question:
If you don't mind constantly replacing the PSU (and possible the UPS), then buy something cheap.
If you don't mind spending money once, then buy APC SmartUPS (cheapest when I did my research).
If you don't have the money for a UPS you can always buy an APC power conditioner (if that is what you are worried about) but you won't have backup capabilities.