APC by Schneider Electric Smart-UPS 1500VA Rack-mountable UPS – 3U Rack-mountable – 3 Hour Recharge – 120 V AC Input – 120 V AC Output – 6 x NEMA 5-15R

Pros: This model is similar to the old SUA1500, with the most notable improvement being an LCD screen that shows much more information (current power usage in watts, efficiency, estimated runtime, etc.).

Cons: The first UPS I received was defective; it failed the first manual self-test. No problems getting an RMA from Newegg, but the shipping cost from east coast to CA was a bit much, to say the least.

It also had a rather big design flaw in that, unlike the older SUA1500, this UPS would run its fan all the time on medium to high setting, even when on external power and without any load applied. The fan was loud – you could easily hear it across the room over the sound of computer fans. If you search around the web you’ll find other people complaining about the same problem.

APC responded to these complaints by updating the firmware. However, I could not find where to download it on their website or any instructions for performing the update. Maybe it’s possible, maybe it isn’t.

The other minor flaw is that you now have to go through a series of menus to turn the UPS on or off (are you sure? right now or later? etc.). A bit annoying, but you can live with it.

Overall Review: When I received the replacement it had a more recent firmware version. The new one is “650.UPS 04.0 / COM 01.1” and I think the other one was “650.UPS 02.0 / COM 01.0”. The fan is still running all the time, but at minimum speed. With the UPS under my table, I can no longer hear it over the sound of my computer, which is a relief.

To be honest, this UPS is a case of one step forward, two steps back. If you receive the newer firmware (or figure out how to update it), then it’s about the same as SUA1500. LCD is nice, on/off menus and constantly running fan are not. If you get the older firmware, I suggest you contact APC support for information on how to update it.

Pros: The Smart-UPS SMT1500 has all the features I am looking for, front panel readouts and controls, many features such as high power efficiency. At idle my PC is consuming 52 watts, the APC is consuming about 10 watts at its highest efficiency, which is when it switches to “Green” mode, i.e. some circuits are disabled to save power when the utility power is clean. The Smart-UPS SMT1500 consumes 10W less than the old Back-UPS Pro 1400 powering the same load.

I originally ordered this from the A* company along with a dehumidifier, which Newegg doesn’t offer. I canceled the order and ordered from Newegg when A* failed to ship within a couple of days. A* uses UPS, and UPS delivered the dehumidifier a 1/2 block away to the wrong neighbor. This unit from Newegg came via On-Trac, which delivered to the right house.

Cons: Here is a list of cons:
– Unit was manufactured in Dec. 2012, so battery is at least 10 months old.
– Runtime readout is not accurate, it originally showed only 2 hrs runtime with a 52W load, should be 4.5 hours. APC tells me I have to run a manual runtime cal, which requires draining the battery with a 30% load (300W) until the unit shuts off. I don’t have time to fool with that right now.
– Load readouts are only in 10W increments and not accurate, probably because of low load, 52W load reads as a 40W load.

Overall Review: This is the 4th APC unit I’ve owned, here is the list:
APC Smart-UPS 1400 (bought from E*, now retired)
APC Back-UPS Pro 1400 (now powering wireless router, cable modem, etc.)
APC BR1000G (backup power for my father’s clock radio and cordless phone in his retirement apartment – worked well through 5 power events in the last 1.5 years)
APC Smart-UPS SMT1500 (this unit, powers my main 24/7 home server, plus other PCs normally off)

Recently retired an old Smart-UPS 1400 that I bought from E* a number of years ago, which was probably from one of the failed dot-com companies of the dot com crash.

I have a 13 year old Back-UPS Pro that was powering my PC, now have moved it to power accessories, and this Smart-UPS powers the PC now.

Pros: Has great battery life and comes with a USB connection (yay!). The older models require a serial port connection and I just recently purchased a motherboard with no serial ports. This thing runs pretty quiet. I also like the digital readout instead of a couple rows of indecipherable LEDs. So far it has worked flawlessly, informing me only once (via email) that I had an “extended over-voltage” occurrence.

Cons: Unfortunately, I all but forgot about the outlet placement on these newer models. All the outlets are right next to each other in two rows. They are also lined up all in the same direction. This makes it almost impossible to fit more than one or two AC adapters on this thing without losing the use of most of the other outlets. It is also very heavy, but you definitely get what you pay for. Weight is a con, but it wouldn’t work worth a darn if it wasn’t this heavy with a good set of batteries.

Overall Review: I saw several comments about the noise of the fan, both here and at other resellers. The fan on this thing sounds like it isn’t even on! It is quiet as a mouse, and is even quieter than the new fan I bought to replace the fan in my old 1400 unit (which was quieter than the original in the 1400). Probably, I’m not taxing the battery over-much, so that is why the fan does not spin-up. Also, the battery was dated less than a month from when I bought it, so no old batteries here. Yes, the battery was hooked-up already, though I’m not sure how that matters. Oh, and it came in the original box from APC. It even still had the shipping stickers that indicate Newegg received it directly from the manufacturer.

Pros: Longer run time for a 1000VA than the competition
Alarm can be silenced

Cons: Wrong model received
Unit has a defective outlet
6 button presses to navigate the menu to turn outlets on or off
Have to navigate the menu to turn the UPS off, then it turns back on when any button is pressed

Overall Review: Newegg sent a box that had a big pretty label that said SMT1000 on it. What is in the box was a SMT1000TW. After carefully looking I found SMT1000TW on the the box in black on cardboard. Don’t buy this unless you are taking it to Taiwan.

APC SmartUPS SMT series UPS provide a longer runtime when comparing against other manufacturers with the same VA rating. APC UPS alarms go off when the batteries runtime is significantly reduced unlike other manufactures whose change battery alarms only go off after the batteries become a gooey mess if at all.

The LCD provides some good information and the ability to remote control the UPS via USB using apcupsd is great. The included software is terrible for a single user. The optional network card is overpriced even with Newegg’s discounts. The remote control is good enough for some but I’ve replaced a lot of UPS’s and there’s a certain percentage that fail in ways where the solution is to shut them off. With this model’s lack of dedicated power buttons, if it does suffer a failure I’ll have to yank the power cord out of the wall which is a less than optimal solution.

Pros: Always keeping my Network in working order.

Cons: None

Pros: Good performance for the price. Replaced a 12 year old APC 1400.
No problem installing the rack mounts. Powerchute software was easy to install. Had a problem with Powerchute picking up one of our workstations. APC technical support was there with answers..

Cons: Printed instructions that ship with the UPS could be better but hey this is a server product and we should know what we are doing right?

Overall Review: All our workstations and servers are packed up by APC UPS’s and I can’t see that changing.

Pros: It’s attractive looking unit with an improved LCD display that’s an improvement over the LED lights on previous models.

Cons: None

Overall Review: If anyone is curious about the noise, I haven’t heard a peep out of these unless they go on battery, which is totally acceptable to me.

Pros: True sine wave output ups. Very fast swich over time as it is line interactive.

Cons: Price. All sine wave output UPS models by any manufacturer are very pricy.

Overall Review: You get what you pay for. There is a reason most large businesses use APC for the UPS and not some off brand. Kind of like Cisco in the networking world.