Tom's Holiday Buyer's Guide 2008, Part 1

APC BACK-UPS 10 Outlet ES BE750G

http://www.apc.com/
$99.99
By: Ed Tittel

At 750 VA and 140 W, the APC BACK-UPS 10 Outlet BE750G (Green Edition) makes a fabulous combination of surge suppressor and power strip, with more than enough backup battery power to get you past most power hiccups without forcing a shutdown. According to a study from N.Y. University’s Wagner Graduate School, the average duration of a power outage in the continental United States from January 1990 to August 2004 was just under 20 minutes. For people whose configurations include all of the following, the unit offers between 36 and 60 minutes of battery power: a mini-tower desktop PC, a 15-19” LCD monitor, stereo speakers, a wireless access point or switch, and a single external USB drive.

Above and beyond the BE750G’s built-in batteries, which can power up to five of its 10 outlets during an outage, there’s a lot more to like about this unit. It can handle an aggregate power draw of up to 450 W, which is enough for most desktop gear, including your PC, a monitor, a printer, a wireless access point or switch, speakers, and so forth. The BE750G also includes a capable surge suppressor that should block power spikes, backed up with a $75,000 protection guarantee against power spikes and surges on the equipment plugged into it.

Furthermore, the device also senses power draw from a device plugged into its Master outlet. This enables the BE750G to shut off all devices plugged into its three master-controlled outlets when the master is turned off. Because that master device is usually a PC and controlled devices are usually speakers, monitors, and printers; APC estimates annual savings on electric bills will be lower by an average of $40 per year when using this device.

However, that’s only half of the BE750G’s green pedigree—though it’s a very nice half, to be sure. The other half comes from its high-frequency design, which requires less copper in its construction. This not only decreases the unit’s size and weight, it also lowers consumption for packaging costs (less plastic is needed to build its housing and it fits into a smaller box) and reduces shipping costs as well (always a cost factor when devices include permanent batteries).

All in all, the BE750G is an attractive, efficient, and usable power management and protection device. The outlets are cleverly situated so that you can plug multiple AC adapters right into the housing without too much crowding. It also includes APC’s well-known PowerChute software (v2.1.1 works with Vista; v2.0 works with XP, Media Center, and Windows 2000; and versions are available for older versions of Windows and other operating systems) for automatic hibernation and safe system shutdown as batteries are drawn down. At under $100, it’s one of the best techno goodies you can gift to any PC owner, including yourself!

Ed Tittel

Ed Tittel is a long-time IT writer, researcher and consultant, and occasional contributor to Tom’s Hardware. A Windows Insider MVP since 2018, he likes to cover OS-related driver, troubleshooting, and security topics.

  • ravenware
    Dell 3008WFP Ultrasharp 30"

    , we can’t think of any computer user who wouldn’t be thrilled to get one.

    Gamers. The 8ms response time is a little on the slow side.
    Reply
  • Portall
    Nope. You won't see difference between 8 and 4ms :)
    Reply
  • V3NOM
    well you can... CRT vs LCD is quite clear.
    Reply
  • cangelini
    I play on the prior year's model (3007) all the time without any problems. Don't pass up gaming on a 30" display without at least trying it for yourself!
    Reply
  • Dual-link DVI does NOT need two seperate cables. HDMI's video component IS DVI. I'm amazed this slipped through and into the article:

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_Visual_Interface
    Reply
  • radnor
    Well, you will actually. If you ever seen them side by side you will notice the difference. 5ms seems to be the sweet spot.
    Reply
  • LazyGarfield
    Interesting article! I´m still looking for the two beautiful women but cant find them :P
    Reply
  • Just a word of warning to anyone purchasing this monitor and wanting to watch Blu-Ray titles on it. If you use DVI as your input it can not display Blu-Ray titles above 1920 x 1080. Now I know this is the native res on the monitor. But HDCP will fail if the monitor's resolution is set any higher than this. This is due to a design flaw in the monitor's chipset. This wouldn't be a problem if all it meant was you had to reset the resolution when you want to watch a movie, but the problem is, 1920 x 1080 is not the same aspect ratio as 2560 x 1600. So your picture is vertically stretched. I know this because I bought one and spent hours in forums and on the phone with Dell before finding this out. I returned the monitor, because at $2000, there's no excuse for buggy HDCP support over DVI.
    Reply
  • what happened to the really cute girl you guys had last year ?
    Reply
  • xsamitt
    I think I'd take the 30 inch dell if it was free......Guess I won't be having one now for sure.lol.
    8 mills is just to slow.And Leigon thanks for the heads up.

    I do hope the new items to come are more interesting than this first round.
    Reply