Eaton 3S 750VA and 5PX 1500VA: How UPS Protects Computing Experience

Eaton 3S 750VA
The Eaton 3S arrived safely in a heavy gauge outer cardboard box showing no signs of delivery service abuse. Inside the shipping box we were greeted with the retail packaging. The full color retail packaging highlights the product features and included an image of the UPS itself as well as the specific model. There are currently two models of the 3S, tested 750VA and the smaller 550VA.



Upon opening the box you find a plastic bag containing the operating instructions and a USB cable and the UPS itself secured with recyclable protective end caps. I have to stop here a moment and commend Eaton for including a USB cable. This may sound silly but rarely do manufacturers include such things, and I am looking pretty hard at printer manufacturers right now. Eaton has chosen to include a USB cable which you may not even need if you choose to go the LAN route for UPS management. Printer companies rarely include a USB cable and more often than not that is a REQUIRED cable to even use the product you just bought.

Looking at the documentation I see an interesting comparison chart/user guide that lists Eaton 3S UPS (350-750VA)... perhaps hinting at an as-of-yet unannounced 350VA model? A quick check of their website only lists the 550 and 750VA models.

One of the things I noticed right away was the spacing on the four receptacles furthest from the AC cord. They were spaced further apart than the rest and a scan of the documentation confirmed that this was intentional in order to accommodate transformer plugs. Definitely a great idea. Again, this is a small detail but it shows forethought and solid design work.

The top of the 3S features 10 receptacles that are clearly labeled with white screen printing ensuring that there is no mistake as to which receptacle you are plugging your hardware in to. One bank of outlets is surrounded by a white outline with the words "Battery Backup plus Surge Protection" the other bank has the same outline with the words "Surge Protection". One of the receptacles was labeled "Master" while three other outlets were labeled "Controlled by Master". These four receptacles combine into a feature Eaton calls EcoControl.

EcoControl is basically a smart power switching technology designed to prevent what Eaton refers to as "vampire loads", idle currents and phantom loads that draw power for no reason. EcoControl works like this: Plug in your primary component, say your PC into the Master receptacle. Then plug in your supporting components, such as a printer, scanner, speakers, etc to the Linked Control outlets. When the PC in the Master outlet is idle for an extended period of time or is shutdown the 3S will automatically power down the items connected to the Linked control outlets.


The Eaton 3S 750VA features user-replaceable battery, which might prove useful in years to come

Another feature one doesn't typically expect to find on a UPS of this size is a user replaceable battery. Over time the batteries in UPS's begin to lose their effectiveness just as they do in any other battery powered device such as laptops and smart phones. With a user replaceable battery the consumer can simply order a new battery and swap out the old one.


The device itself: two RJ-11 connectors for landline protection, USB, 10 power connectors (out of which eight are protected by the battery)

Continuing with our view of the top panel you will find a power button and Battery Fault indicator light. On the front panel you will find the 6ft AC cord, Reset button, two RJ-11 connectors as well as a USB-HID port.