APC BE 500U UPS System

Pros: Overall Value and Durability can't be beat.
Cons: None

I purchased this UPS (uninterrupted power supply) approximately three years ago for $29.99 after a $20.00 mail-in and a $10.00 instant in-store rebate.

The power supply works exactly as promised and has survived far longer than I expected for the money. As another reviewer pointed out, this product does beep every fifteen seconds when the power is interrupted. There is an extremely good reason for this. This power supply will power your computer and monitor for no more than fifteen minutes, the beeping is to make absolutely sure you know you should be saving your work and logging off. If you were to use this for other than its intended purpose of providing a last minute opportunity to save your work, such as long term power for smaller electronics it would be extremely annoying.

This product has also survived a move into a house with bad wiring, including loose/shorting connections. The wiring is all fixed but the UPS ended up being a lifesaver in the meantime.

Pros: Acts instantaneously at power outage, long battery life.
Cons: Loud and regular beep when in use.

I purchased this UPS unit in December 2004 because I now had VOIP phone service and if I lost my power, my cable modem, phone adapter and wireless router would be down. I have had 2 power outages since and the APC UPS has performed flawlessly (powering the above 3 devices for 12+ hours until electrical service was restored). With my notebook computer, I was able to surf the web, answer email and talk on the phone even though the power was out!

One downside is that the UPS emits a loud beep every several seconds when it is in use (i.e., when my power was out). This quickly became annoying after 15 minutes - imagine 12 hours worth. I called APC customer service - they indicated that I could not change the frequency or volume of the beeps.

I paid $49.99 for this unit at CompUSA, with a $20 rebate for a net cost of $29.99. It took exactly 90 days to receive the rebate from APC. This was a bargain for such a capable UPS.