Labs

This model looks identical to Belkin's 1200VA Universal UPS, but has a lower 800VA and 450W rating. That's still enough power for a high-specification PC.

Like APC's ES 400VA and 700VA, both of the Belkin UPSes have standard UK plug sockets. The 800VA has three battery backup sockets and one surge protection socket. It talks to your PC through a USB or serial cable, and comes with Belkin's Bulldog Plus power management software. This looks ancient and can be confusing, but is very capable. It doesn't integrate with Windows' power management, like APC's PowerChute, but it can save open documents and shut down your PC, and even send you an email to let you know there's been a power cut in your absence.

The 800VA lasted for ages in our tests, managing 40 minutes with the PC at idle and 28 minutes under load - two of the longest times in the group.