The Tripp Lite INTERNET350U battery backup is from a company founded in 1922. Graham Trippe, founder of Tripp Lite, designed a precision-focused automobile headlight that won the gold medal at the Paris Exposition of Innovation in 1928 and 1929. Tripp Lite continues to win awards. In our review, the Tripp Lite INTERNET350U receives the TopTenREVIEWS Bronze Award.
Tripp Lite is an older company than other battery backup manufacturers we reviewed. Although it pioneered the first uninterruptible power supply specifically designed for desktop PCs, the Tripp Lite INTERNET350U falls short of our two top-ranked products because of lower output capacity and fewer receptacles. It also lacks a data recovery warranty.
The Tripp Lite INTERNET350U is a UPS power supply that can feed a typical minimum-configuration computer (not a gaming computer) at full power for three minutes. If the battery backup is connected to a Windows machine or a Macintosh via USB, and if the user has correctly configured the operating system power settings, the computer will work with the included Power Alert Local software to safely shut down automatically when the battery is drained to a specified level following a blackout. If the connection is based on SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol), it is possible to configure a shutdown agent on the PC to receive a command from the battery backup to gracefully shut down based on parameters configured in the included Power Alert NMS software. This battery backup also supports the Watchdog service, which monitors operating systems and stands ready to reboot them, remotely, when they lock up or stop functioning.
The Tripp Lite INTERNET350U has a battery with a lifespan estimated at between three and five years, depending on how many times it has discharged and recharged. The manufacturer does not consider the battery to be user-replaceable, and the owner’s manual states that “Battery replacement should be performed only by qualified service personnel.” With an output capacity of 350 volt-amps and 180 watts, it has the minimum power necessary for a typical microcomputer. The output capacity is insufficient for a gaming PC. If you were taught that watts = volts x amps, the formula does not apply to computer products. Although products such as incandescent light bulbs have equivalent watts and volt-amps, computer equipment has watt ratings that are about 60-percent of the volt-amps. Battery backups designed to protect computers follow the same power factor ratios as computers in order to have matching loads. Watts refer to the power bought from the utility company. Volt-amps are the unit of measurement used to correctly size wiring and circuit breakers.
This backup power’s AC surge protection rating is second best in our review: it can absorb 380 joules without failure. The product contains shields to prevent noise on telephone lines caused by EMI (electromagnetic interference) or RFI (radio frequency interference). There is also a surge-protected data line jack with a splitter to protect modems, fax machines and cordless phones. Three receptacles are dedicated to surge protection and three are dedicated to battery backup and surge protection. By way of contrast, our number one and number two products both include four of each kind of receptacle. In order to give the battery backup a fighting chance to protect its main concern, the computer, a printer should be connected to the surge-protection-only receptacles, since printers are not damaged by blackouts. A resettable circuit breaker provides a means of resetting the unit in case of a power overload. This UPS system is compact and takes up little space on a desktop in its tower configuration. It also mounts on a wall using the provided keyhole mounting tabs. It is constructed with sufficiently low levels of toxic materials to conform to the European Union’s Restriction of Hazardous Substances Directive (RoHS).
Support is free. There is a three-year hardware warranty. The warranty prohibits the use of extension cords, outlet strips or surge suppressors. Unlike its battery backup competitors, the manufacturer does not provide a data recovery warranty. However, this computer UPS does include connected equipment insurance of up to $100,000, which is $25,000 more than the connected equipment insurance from other top-rated products. We tested technical support on four different days and found the staff to be consistently responsive, pleasant, professional and knowledgeable.
The Tripp Lite INTERNET350U battery backup is from an established company with a long lineage of innovations. Tripp Lite is the first company to field a battery backup specifically designed for desktop PCs – a logical progression for a company that, in the 1960s, developed a line of DC-to-AC inverters to provide on-board AC power in ambulances and recreational vehicles. Some corporate buyers prefer the Tripp Lite brand over our Gold and Silver award winners, but when we examine the competing products for this specific, entry-level battery backup product category, the Tripp Lite is at a slight disadvantage because it can handle basic microcomputers, but not gaming PCs.
