For those who do not have a UPS (I can't really address its significance with XP as the information I had when I first bought one was about Win98), I heard some years back that 50% or more of Windows problems were because of unstable power. My dad, whose first computer I built for him had many problems and always wanted to "fix" his computer every time something screwed up, bought him because he'd heard the same thing and told me almost all his computer problems disappeared. I bought one and while not having quite as much success would agree that over 50% of my Windows problems disappeared.

The reason I can't address XP in this regard is that I've always had one with XP and can't address "before and after." XP is much more stable than 98 as most people know.

Bottom line, if you have Windows doing weird things and don't know why, you'd be well served by getting a UPS.

Pretty good price. I just got the higher-end RS 1300LCD for a little bit more with a trade-in, so this is pretty decent for a straight-up deal.

Note that there are two models of 1300LCD (RS and XS) and the capabilities differ slightly.

Please correct me if I'm wrong, but by looking at APC's website, the only real discernable difference between this model and the RS is that the RS gives protection for two fax lines. Other than that the website shows identical performance statistics, dimensions and run times.

I have a XS1000 which is now out of production. The only difference between the XS and the RS, from what I could find was that the RS had RJ45 protection while the XS does not.