kelman

I have an I mac I want to protect from power outages and surges and wonder if anyone can suggest a cost effective unit that will do the job? My iMac is
iMac "Core 2 Duo" 2.93 24-Inch (Early 2009) Specs (Early 2009, MB419LL/A, iMac9,1, A1225, 2267) @ EveryMac.com
for the details and specs on power in case you need. I use this for business and back it up religiously so that isn't a problem, I would just rather it not shut down or get fried. We have a whole home surge system and it is plugged into a surge bar but I want the battery back up and am asking your advice, thanks.

John Clay

At the very least, I'd consider a Back-UPS Pro from APC.
APC Power Saving Back-UPS Pro 1500

I have the next step up, the Smart-UPS. Works great, runs my iMac for about an hour. I use a Back-UPS Pro for my NAS.
APC Smart-UPS 1000VA LCD 120V

A good UPS is expensive, so you can save a lot by buying from a refurb store. I buy mine from upsforless.ca. Far cheaper, and a great warranty (albeit shorter than new).
UPSforLESS | Power Backup Experts | Home

This one is a pretty good price, and should run your iMac for a while:
UPSforLESS Power Backup Experts | APC SUA1000 SmartUPS 1000VA UPS

Avoid brands like Belkin and other consumer brands - their UPSes are pretty lousy. With a UPS, you absolutely get what you pay for.

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SINC

I wondered why a question regarding a courier/shipping company was in this area. Turns out you learn something every day and UPS has another rather vague new meaning to me now.

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HowEver

Costco has some very reliable home use UPS models from APC, very reasonable as well.

Sometimes when Dell has sales (and free shipping) they have similar models and prices.

I use these wherever I charge anything around the house.

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kelman

Thanks guys, I will check out the APC, I don't go to costco but I will check at canada computers

Kosh

I don't know if anyone noticed this part of you requirement, but even with a UPS, you have to shutdown the computer eventually. A UPS is to give you that extra half hour to maybe two hours to finish what you are doing and shutdown your computer safely in the case of of power outage. A generator would be required to not shutdown.

I'm probably reading too much into your statement, but just to make it clear.

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pm-r

Not forgetting when purchasing some UPS backup devices, one may need to add a UPS Powered USB Hub for full control if you're out of USB ports on the Mac.

kelman

I think you are reading too much yes, I am just concerned about short power outages, brown outs etc. that will shut the computer off needlessly. The iMac has just enough usb ports for what I need thanks for the thought, printer, external hdd and keyboard/mouse. I think I am going to look at cc sometime this weekend.

eMacMan

I believe in this case UPS is an acronym for Uninterrupted Power Supply. It also provides much better protection against power surges/fluctuations than an ordinary surge bar. Keep in mind that a battery is at the heart of these and all batteries degrade with time. So when new, your particular system may have an hour or two after the lights go out, but a few years down the road you may have to move a lot quicker in the event of a power outage.

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kelman

I understand about the battery life in a ups, I had one many years ago when I was using a windows tower and had the same circumstances. Went to laptops for many many years and now recently decided to go with the iMac and wondered if ups quality had swung from one maker to another.