APC BACK-UPS RS 800VA

The BackUPS RS-800 is a solid UPS....

Strengths: Works as you would expect it to. Nice form factor.

Weakness: PowerChute software does not work well with Linux.

The BackUPS RS-800 is a solid UPS. The best thing I can say about it is that there really are no surprises. It works out of the box and does everything a UPS is supposed to. The 800 has plenty of power to run a small home setup: I am currently using it for 2 old servers plus some networking equipment and it claims it can go for ~30 minutes. Turn on the monitor and that drops to ~20 minutes......
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The BackUPS RS-800 is a solid UPS. The best thing I can say about it is that there really are no surprises. It works out of the box and does everything a UPS is supposed to. The 800 has plenty of power to run a small home setup: I am currently using it for 2 old servers plus some networking equipment and it claims it can go for ~30 minutes. Turn on the monitor and that drops to ~20 minutes... still respectable.

The RS-800 is physically designed well: small form factor, convenient port layout on the back, indicators on the front. The power cord is long enough that you probably don't need an extension cord (a problem with some other UPSs).

My only (minor) reservation is that the APC PowerChute software doesn't work well with Linux. PowerChute for Linux does not come with the unit, but is free to download from APC. I played with it for a while and couldn't make it work. Fortunately, there is another option: apcupsd (available on SourceForge). Apcupsd works straight from the install without any custom configuration for RedHat 9, and after a little tweaking for Fedora Core 3 (Fedora's problem, not apcupsd).

I was pleased enough with the RS-800 that I bought several RS-1500 (basically the 800 with a bigger battery) for servers at the office.

By jsiirola - Feb 26, 2005

It is a replacement for a BELKIN...

Strengths: The plus is replaceable battery. Easy to setup and use. Excellent software, good online price.

Weakness: The big minus is getting the included battery fit into the unit, because the connecting cable is inflexible and it is difficult to fit it under the lid.

It is a replacement for a BELKIN UPS that was in use only a couple months and leak the battery. It has been used for two month and had no problems. Software could have more options, however it is easy to install and use.

By nadya$ - Jan 25, 2005

I am very happy with this...

Strengths: Very good battery life. Computer and monitor will run +30 minutes on battery before Powerchute shuts down machine. Small design is easy to store. Nice self test feature.

Weakness: Powerchute software has limited options.

I am very happy with this purchase. I use this UPS on my home office PC. It is terrific for personal use. It is much better than cheaper alternatives. I found a very good price from PCNation.com. The item was received quickly.

By jmontgomery - May 2, 2004

this unit is roughly half the...

Strengths: compact, receptacles (3 surge-protected & 4 back-up) arranged so that there is plenty of room for plugs (even transformer-type plugs)

Weakness: serial number on bottom of unit (get out your magnifying glass & copy it for registration before you insert the plugs). the set-up instructions for ethernet & DSL/modem assume you speak "computer".

this unit is roughly half the weight and size of the Back-UPS Pro 1000 i purchased 8+ years ago. i am replacing it because the battery in that unit finally died. if i get roughly the same service from this RS 800 i'll be very pleased.

By yelleko - Aug 18, 2004

I purchased this because I had one...

Strengths: Extremely easy to set-up

I purchased this because I had one that I had for 5 years! It really gave me my moneys worth plus protected my exspensive computor equipment. Would reccommend that everyone have one of these.

By LilyBird - Jun 22, 2004