CyberPower CP1000PFCLCD

The power to our house is usually reliable, but the last time it "blipped" for a second, it took down one of my computers. So, I decided to get a UPS for it...


CyberPower CP1000PFCLCD

• 1000 VA/600 Watts
• Adaptive Sinewave UPS technology (works with newer, more efficient PFC power supplies)
• Automatic voltage regulation (AVR)
• GreenPower UPS technology
• Enhanced Multi-function LCD diagnostic display
• Tower form (3.9" x 9.1" x 10.4")

The LCD display shows voltage I/O, events (# of blackouts occured, etc.), time left, battery level, output power VA and watts in actual value or percent. It normally turns off after a few seconds, but can also be set to always stay on.

The buttons are used for turning on the display, switching between displayed info, silencing the alarm, event counter reset, initiating a self-test, etc.

Here's the back. 5 outlets on battery, 5 on just surge protection. In the picture, the red sticker covers 2 surge protected outlets.



The battery appears to be easily replacable for around $30 shipped according to Google. It's heavy that's for sure...



According to the display, it can keep a 2.8GHz Core 2 Duo with 2x HDD, and a 23" LCD monitor powered on batteries for around 35-45 minutes (depending on the load) -- more than enough time for my needs.



It's pretty much plug-n-play in Windows 7; no extra software is needed. To set what to do in the event of a power failure, you only need to go to the Power Options Control Panel, and set the options for the batteries (which will only appear once Windows 7 detects a battery source).


Cyberpower does have their own software that can do quite a bit more, like view what events happened, schedule when alarms are silenced (like in the middle of the night for example), when to turn on/off the computer, set how sensitive it is to power levels, etc. Since I didn't feel the need for any of that, I just went with the native Windows 7 software.


And it does work very well by the way... I set the critical level a bit higher than normal to make shutdown faster, unplugged the UPS (turned off power strip), the UPS took over, its fan hummed on (not too bad), and I waited... waited... waited... until it finally dropped to the critical level and the computer automatically hibernated. Cool. Powered it back up, Windows 7 alerts me to what happened, and I continue on where I left off. Nice. :)