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Best UPS for MAC Pro Tower

akadmon said:
I've been using a MP (1,1 and now 5,1) for nearly 6 years without a UPS, and I never ran into problem. I don't need another box cluttering my office! Unless you're running mission critical apps or huge simulations that can be paused gracefully if given a chance (saving hours, if not days of rework), a UPS is a waste of money, I think. Or am I missing something?

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Of course, there are gamers among us, who just couldn't bear losing whatever it is that they got. :rolleyes:
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No one needs insurance until they do...just sayin...
 
Although rare, there are a couple of stories right here in this forum about how someone's Mac Pro either died or started to have problems, triggered by a brownout or power outage. They asked for advice how to get things running again. The usual response is "should have had a UPS", but of course it is too late.

So while I suspect most people don't need a UPS and may never need a UPS at all, it's a bit like a seat belt or insurance--you typically don't need it and may never need it, but you also might really need it one day.

There are some nice side benefits too, for example during a power outage my wi-fi router can continue to work off of battery so that I can continue to use the Internet with my mobile devices. (Sure, there's also LTE, but LTE gets hammered during power outages because everyone else is using it too.)

Power coming back on after an outage can have severe spikes and brownouts (overvoltage or undervoltage) and the right UPS will protect you from all that. Mine has a built-in line conditioner so the power is very clean. And if the conditions exceed what the line conditioner can fix, the UPS switches to battery.

Just this Saturday I had a very brief power loss of about a second or less... just enough to reset the stove clock but not the microwave clock. The UPS seamlessly switched to battery and the Mac Pro kept going no problem.

I have short power loss on average once or twice a year, so I'm quite happy to have a UPS. If you have very reliable power then there may be less value to you.

If you get an APC-brand UPS and hook it up via USB to your computer, you'll get additional functionality through Apple's built-in UPS settings in the Energy Saver preference pane, or PowerChute software in Windows. I have it set to do a proper shut down the computer after 5 minutes, which prevents possible problems from a power cut and also preserves the majority of the UPS battery for the wi-fi router.
 
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ActionableMango said:
If you get an APC-brand UPS and hook it up via USB to your computer, you'll get additional functionality through Apple's built-in UPS settings in the Energy Saver preference pane, or PowerChute software in Windows.
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This is where CyberPower has an edge: their power management software is native Mac as well as Windows.
 
pastrychef said:
APC is also natively supported by macOS.
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Last I checked APC's PowerChute does not have a native Mac version; yes, Mac OS does natively recognize a APC UPS and can do an auto shutdown but doesn't have all of the other functions (sensitivity/voltage settings, logging, remote management etc) found in the native APC software.
 
I used PowerChute years ago. But as has been indicated above, there is no reason to use it now. The MacOS recognizes the UPS. Settings are available in the "Energy Saver" control panel.

Lou
 
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msh said:
Last I checked APC's PowerChute does not have a native Mac version; yes, Mac OS does natively recognize a APC UPS and can do an auto shutdown but doesn't have all of the other functions (sensitivity/voltage settings, logging, remote management etc) found in the native APC software.
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Honestly all I need is graceful shutdown in a timely manner. The ability to tweak sensitivity and voltage settings remotely is just not something that I'd use--the buttons on the front panel are fine.

I can see why an IT guy managing a fleet of Macs on UPSs would like remote management, but Powerchute isn't the only option--APCUPSD does all you mention and significantly more too.

That being said, I do like Cyberpower units, especially for their more reasonable pricing. And if I'm not mistaken they were the first to bring out non-sinewave units that were compatible with PFC power supplies.

I went with APC largely because I got a $600 700W pure sinewave unit with line conditioner and individual circuit EM noise protection (designed for audiophiles) for $199 shipped. Someone posted that deal in the other big UPS thread in 2010 and a few of us took advantage of it. I've been super happy with it and even now 6 years later the original batteries still last about 25 minutes when I unplug it.
 
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Well I do need some of the UPS features not built in to Mac OS. I have four UPS' - three older APCs and a new CyberPower. None of the older APC units have LCD panels for easy access to configuration controls and one can only be configured for voltage sensitivity through APC software or that open source software you mentioned. As it happened I needed to lower the sensitivity on two them to prevent them from frequently going on battery and beeping. Couldn't have done it without the APC software under Windows. Not to mention the ability to view status and change settings on all the UPS' on one management console. Anyway, if you need this functionality from APC UPS' you won't get it on Mac OS (at least not easily) but you will with CyberPower.
 
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