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APC - same battery, diff price?

If they have the same load with the same battery, they will run the same amount of time. Though, the 500 can hold a larger load, that's why it's run time is shorter. At max load, the 350 will last longer, but that's because it can't support the same load as the 500.
 
They will last about the same time with the same load. It might vary SLIGHTLY since the inverters in them will be a little different. I'd recommend not going with those, though, they're kind of low end. Find an APC SmartUPS for cheap on Ebay. Or look for a Liebert GXT2, sometimes they show up for about $100.
 
So if basically the same load = same time then get a 350 instead of the 500
considering the price diff?
 
arcturus said:
So if basically the same load = same time then get a 350 instead of the 500
considering the price diff?
It depends on what your needs are. A 500va for a modern PC with CRT monitor might not be enough. I had a 500 on a Athlon 64 3000+ and a 19" CRT and it was overloaded. I had to buy an additional unit. I eventually bought a 1500va and use the old 500 for my swtiches and such.
 
Maybe I'm missing the point in this thick head of mine :)

Let me rephrase: if the battery is the same what makes the 500 more expensive
than the 350? The 'inverter' as the one poster mentioned ... or some other component?

Thanks!
 
I think that they do it so they can artificially raise the price of the 500. I'm sure it costs them approximately the same to make both models, but they want to have two pricepoints. So they castrate the 350 model and sell the 500 for more $$. I don't think the inverter really costs very much more for the 500va model (maybe 50 cents or a dollar more) compared to the 350va model.

"Did you know": you can attach any lead-acid battery to the terminals as long as it is the same voltage, so if you don't care about the battery fitting in the UPS case, you can increase the runtime cheaply.

Edit:
\/ \/ \/ \/ - He is right, just because they have crappy marketing practices doesn't mean the 350 will work just fine. To give you a little reference, I have been running an system with an opty165@1.425V, 6800gs, two hdds (one is a raptor), and a 2005fpw with a 550VA UPS just fine, though I was worried it might be too small since the box said it was only good for a small system. 500VA will probably work fine for you.
 
Asside from the manufacturing/marketing side of things, the big difference between the two are how many "devices" they can hold. The inverters can only put out so much power. They rate these by using "va". Think of it like you would a power supply. A 500watt PSU can power more devices than a 250watt. Same concept, except now we are talking about everything plugged into the UPS, not just the tower. Depending how many devices you have plugged and what their power requirements are, you may find that the 350 can not run all of your devices. I know from experience, a 500 is cutting it close for most modern PCs plus peripherial and monitors.

Maybe this will help:
http://www.pcworld.idg.com.au/index.php/id;815595312
 
Ok thanks for the info guys. Just wanted to make sure I'm not getting hosed price wise spending more
on a 500 if the 350 was the same.

FYI it's an expendable, noncritical pc.
 
dandragonrage said:
They will last about the same time with the same load. It might vary SLIGHTLY since the inverters in them will be a little different. I'd recommend not going with those, though, they're kind of low end. Find an APC SmartUPS for cheap on Ebay. Or look for a Liebert GXT2, sometimes they show up for about $100.
Actually PC Power and Cooling doesn’t recommend a SmartUPS. But if you have a cheap PSU like a X-Connect or Antec, by all means get a SmartUPS.
 
BurntToast said:
Actually PC Power and Cooling doesn’t recommend a SmartUPS. But if you have a cheap PSU like a X-Connect or Antec, by all means get a SmartUPS.

Well, Mr. negative, what do they reccomend? ;)
 
BurntToast said:
Actually PC Power and Cooling doesn’t recommend a SmartUPS. But if you have a cheap PSU like a X-Connect or Antec, by all means get a SmartUPS.


Does it say on their web site about this?
 
BurntToast said:
Actually PC Power and Cooling doesn’t recommend a SmartUPS. But if you have a cheap PSU like a X-Connect or Antec, by all means get a SmartUPS.

I'll bite too.....do tell ;)
 
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