Studio XPS 435 and APC BackUPS XS 900

Also purchased APC BR1500 at Dell's recommendation.  It doesn't protect the Studio XPS 435T from rebooting in a brownout.  It will not do the job.  I have talked at length with APC and Dell with no clear answer; the misinformation is outrageous.  To add another issue in the mix is the FCC Certification.  For residential use, it must be FCC Class B cerfitication, NOT Class A.  Some UPS which may be okay in other respects are in fact not certified for home use (they emit electronic noise which can interfere with other devices....including those of your neighbors).  Class B certification is more demanding and therefore better.  Not to mention it is actually a violation of FCC rules to use a Class A device in a residential situation.  Who cares? Proliferation of electronic devices not bearing FCC Class B certification puts our neighborhoods in an environment of increasing electronic noise which can interfere with the normal operation of all kinds of other devices.  In short, I am still looking for a UPS which will protect my Studio XPS 435T in a brownout and one which is also FCC Class B certified.

I purchased an APC SmartUPS that finally works with my 435T. The model number is SMT1000, and it's a newer version of the SUA1000. It's built like a tank and has digital readouts on the front panel. The only issue I have with it is that it has a built-in cooling fan that cycles constantly, even under no load, and the fan is fairly loud. If you need a quiet environment, I would not recommend this UPS.

Hey Smoothieboy,

The fan should only be turning on when the unit has a high load on it or when the unit is on batteries. The fan shouldn't be turning on all the time on it's own with little or no load. The SMT1000 is the newer version of the SUA1000,  both units will work great with the 435T. Both units offer a sine wave output and solid power filtering. If your fan turns on constantly, there could be something wrong with the unit. I would recommend calling APC to get it resolved. They'll probably have to send you a replacement unit. The fan should not be turning on all the time. There's no reason you shouldn't have a quiet work environment with this unit.

The BR1500 won't support the XPS-435T in case of a brownout or any other power phenomenon. You need to get a Smart-UPS unit that outputs a sine wave. A Smart-UPS 1000 or a Smart-UPS 1500 will work perfectly to protect your unit from all the power problems. Many people run into the same problem with the BR1500 series. 

Neither the APC SMT1000 or the SUA1000 (or 1500) are FCC Class B certified for residential use.  They may "work" but are actually illegal for residential use.  The seller is subject to $1000 fine per unit for offering these devices for other than commercial/industrial applications.  The cheapest APC unit that puts out a sine wave and is FCC Class B certified retails for over $1000.  I found that the CyberPower PP1100SW Smart UPS outputs a pure sine wave, is quiet, is FCC Class B certified, and has a street price of $249 delivered.

Hey Smoothieboy,   The fan should only be turning on when the unit has a high load on it or when the unit is on batteries. The fan shouldn't be turning on all the time on it's own with little or no load. The SMT1000 is the newer version of the SUA1000,  both units will work great with the 435T. Both units offer a sine wave output and solid power filtering. If your fan turns on constantly, there could be something wrong with the unit. I would recommend calling APC to get it resolved. They'll probably have to send you a replacement unit. The fan should not be turning on all the time. There's no reason you shouldn't have a quiet work environment with this unit.

I spent several days in communications with APC on this. According to APC, the unit is working exactly as designed. It will cycle the fan even with no load. I've explained the exact operating characteristics to APC support, and they've confirmed it's working normally. I even had another unit sent to me, and it behaved exactly the same way. The fan runs loudly for 5 minutes, turns off for 5 seconds, and repeats the pattern.

This is copied from email from APC:

"Yes, it is normal for the fan on the SMT1000 to be running frequently and to just be stopped during those brief breaks you mentioned. There is no problem with the UPS."

"I understand the fan you are asking about. I can confirm what you are seeing with the fan is normal. There is no harm being done to the UPS. I do understand it is loud and apologize if this causes you any issues. The SMT UPS does not have the same fan parameters as the SU or SUA models. If the volume of the fan does cause a hardship, we can replace the UPS with a UPS of a different model that does not have a fan that is as loud."

Thanks, George, for the info on the CyberPower PP1100.  After reading your post I went online and found the unit for the price you noted.  I was very happy to find it at this price point as I had been looking for a pure sine wave UPS for some time and most seemed to run $400-$500.  I received the unit in the mail yesterday and I'm impressed with the build quality.  Instead of a plastic casing as my previous 2 UPS from Belkin and APC, this one has a metal enclosure. And, the batteries are user replaceable so can save some $$$ down the line.  It does seem to be a quality unit.  The only thing I miss from my APC is the external LCD display, but the same info can be obtained via the PowerPanel software included with it.

Hi JacobinSC.

Interesting that this thread is still continuing....I would have hoped that Dell would have addressed the issue over the past year.  :-)

1) I replaced the original power supply with a Thermaltake Toughpower 700W power supply.  It took about 10 minutes in total to remove the old power supply, install the new one and be up and running.  The nice thing about the power supply I replaced the original with is that it has a modularized cable system.  WIth every connection that I disconnected from the old power supply, I connected with a cable from the new power supply (meaning I left the old supply in place, connected all the cables, and then plugged the modules into the new power supply).  Made it really easy to make sure that I didn't overlook a connection - tougher to do without the modularized cables.

2) Nope - that's why I went with this power supply.

I'm sure I put this in my original post, but keep in mind that YOU WILL LIKELY VOID YOUR WARRANTY BY DOING THIS.  That being said, I was already maxing out the original power supply and it was worth the risk to almost double my capacity.  Power supplies running at capacity don't tend to last as long.  It's been about a year since I suffered through this, and the only reboot my PC has done is because of OS updates or Norton updates.  Once you get past this hurdle, you'll find the 435t to be an incredible workhorse!!!  Let me know if you need any more info!!!!

-Kevin

Thank you Kevin, this is exactly what I wanted to hear (regarding the ease of installation and not needing a sine-wave UPS).  I figure I can run w/o that extra 500gb for awhile until my warranty expires.

  I love this machine, but I may be calling in on some warranty work for another issue I'm seeing which is Windows reporting that whatever the last external HD I hooked up to the system it complains about the file system being corrupted.  It's probably more of a problem with Win7 than the machine (since it only reports that problem for a drive until I hook up another one via USB or eSATA, then it stops complaining for the original HD and starts complaining about the new one).  Plus, I've had no problems pulling data from any drive.

Thanks again for the info!

The good news is that the CyberPower PP1100 passed the self-test on the Dell Studio XPS 435t with flying colors and the PowerPanel software communicates properly with the UPS using the included USB cable.  It reports that I'm only using 133 watts with the Studio XPS 435t, 24" monitor, cable modem, router...and I even have my ham radio transceiver (on standby) plugged into it.  It reports I have 69 minutes of battery runtime.  Pure sine wave, works with Windows 7, FCC Class B certified, quiet, and reasonably priced.  Anybody with a Dell Studio XPS needs this UPS or its big brother the PP1500.  I am a happy camper!

 I wish I had seen this thread earlier. I have a XPS 9000 series. Just bought a APC Back-UPS XS 1000 and discovered that it does not work with my computer. Upon power failure,  the computer would power off, then the Dell logo flashed on/off at a fast pace and the fan ramped up at high speed,  it should scared the heck out of me. I have no idea of pure sine waveform vs step-approximately sine-wave form until now. It says clearly on the manual of XS 1000 that it produces only step sine-wave. 

Hello all Dell users,

KevCherv, I have a few questions for you. But first let me state my shock and awe at this whole "sine wave" ups requirement fiasco. This is all news to me. And I would have thought this would be MUCH bigger news for all the new i7 based PC owners from the past year and the many more to come. I mean, doesn't this just majorly impact alot of people's budgets when buying a new pc that have previously up to this point been used to using UPS's that cost in the $40-70 range?


I myself have had and APC ups for about 2 years that cost $40 and has worked beautifuly. But now that I'm getting ready for a new PC, I'm just in shock to learn that there is NOTHING available in the same price range. I am expected to pay $225+ and no less to replace something (that isn't even broken and still works) that costs me $40. Wow, that really sucks. I'm amazed there isn't more of an outcry about this.


Anyway, back to my question for KevCherv - about the Thermaltake Toughpower 700W powersupply.....how do you determine that particular powersupply would negate the need for a sinewave based UPS? Where in the specs do you look that tells you this information? I briefly glanced at a few Thermaltakes on Newegg, but I couldn't determine anything. And would replacing the psu be a relatively easy process for a novice? I can install harddrives, RAM, video cards, sound cards, but I've never tinkered with a psu.

- Darth SineWave

Hi Darth SineWave.

Question #1 about looking for specs on pure sine wave versus approximated sine wave:  Honest answer is that I just took a chance.  When I had the Dell service technician in my house way back when, he told me that pretty much any commercial desktop power supply would work.  I followed his advice and basically focused on getting sufficient power capacity and a modular cable unit (see my previous post and following answer about why this made swapping out so much easier).  Those considerations followed by price.

Question #2 about a novice replacing the power supply:  My opinion is that even a novice can do this, and it's tremendously simplified by having a power supply with moduler cables.  I just followed the existing connections from the original power supply, and every time I unplugged a connection, I connected the matching modular cable from the new power supply.  When I got all of the original power supply connections disconnected, I removed the original power supply.  Then it was just a matter of routing the newly connected modular cables through the box, staying away from heat sinks, colling fans, etc.  Then I installed the new power supply and connected the modular wires that I just routed to the power supply.  Power up, run the self-test on the UPS, and smile that your Dell XPS Studio doesn't reboot.

I'll reiterate once again that you should consider the implications of voiding your warranty.  It was worth the risk for me, given the volatility of the power where I live (full power loss and brown-outs are common).  And, as always before opening up your machine, make sure to back up your critical data before you proceed.

Hope that helps.

-Kevin

I am so glad I found this thread. I have been struggling all day with a new APC BX-900CN.  I am returning it tomorrow to the seller.This Studio XPS 9000 is becoming more and more a headache with so many devices not functioning properly. I am spending more time fixing devices than just enjoying a working computer. I am really missing my old Dimension 8250.