|
Rating:  - Works Like A Charm
I'm a bit lazy - so now whenever I turn off my computer a host of other devices shuts down as well. It's brilliant - a definite energy saver. If you have an iMac, you need to use the menu driven shut down as opposed to just pushing the physical button, if you have an external hard drive attached. Otherwise you'll get some error messages when you start back up saying device was not put away correctly.
I'd like to see more power ports dedicated to doing what the computer does as there are a lot of things that only need to be on when the computer is on - lights, speakers, phone chargers and external hard drive. I used an extension cord to work around this - but it would be nice if all the extra ports were under the control of the master port.
Rating:  - Good Start. Make sure your peripherals can handle it
I bought this to reduce energy use. The basic feature is that it shuts down peripherals when the computer is shut down. This works, and is how I use it.
It also has the ability to shut down peripherals when the computer "sleeps." Unfortunately, when I wake the computer, the printer's don't wake up. As this machine computer handles the printer for the house, I can't this feature (would have to come and turn the printer back on all the time).
Now, I can't "sleep" the computer without shutting down everything. Haven't yet done the energy analysis of that...
Rating: - Works exactly as described
I have 2 home-built PC's with MSI motherboards. I am using two of these APC devices. The relay works flawlessly when I shut the pc off, or put it in standby. I've only had the units for a few weeks, so I'm not sure about cost savings, but each PC has multiple electronic devices attached to it (speaker amps, printers, electric staplers, shredders etc)that all shut off when the PC goes down, so I'm expecting a decrease in power usage.
Rating:  - Do Not Believe The Energy Savings Statement
This power strip claims to save $25 on average per year but the amount of power the APC strip uses diminishes any of the energy it saves on the peripherals. Therefore, buyers do not see the reduction in their energy bills. I switched over to the Smart Strip by Bits Limited. This draws less than 1 watt when on and close to 0 when off. You can check it yourself with the Killowatt meter as I did.
Rating: - No Good for Mac
I have a Mac Pro with 4 HD's and an 23" Apple Cinema Display. With the Mac Pro plugged into the Master and the ACD into one of the "controller by" outlets the unit does not operate as advertised. Putting the Mac to Sleep turns off the ACD and puts the Mac to "Sleep"-- 2 seconds latter the machine wakes up.
Their tech support confirms that unit will not work with my setup. Called their tech support originally, however, and they sent me out a replacement unit. Of course, it too does not keep the Mac asleep.
|
