Ultra X2 Extreme Edition 750w Power Supply @ [H]

So ah ...I've got this friend ya see and ah...well HE bought one of these PSU's and...
Oh alright I'm an idiot. I bought this damn thing. I was hipnotized by it's shiny surfaces and blue lights. Man...not even a reach around.

Oh well live and learn I guess.

I've had it about 2 weeks. So far it is "working" but this may explain the occasional re-boot I've been experiencing. I may contact the vendor to see if they will do anything for me.

Off to the egg I go.
 
mentok1982 said:
This PSU is the work of SATAN! Check out the URL for it at Ultra's website:

Code: 
http://ultraproducts.com/product_details.php?cPath=61&pPath=[COLOR="Red"][B]666[/B][/COLOR]&productID=[COLOR="Red"][B]666[/B][/COLOR]
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Hehe, I started to throw that into the conclusion, but I did not want to soften it with humor.
 
markkleb said:
here is a shot of a Ultra Xfinity 500 SLI
Picture085.jpg

notice the 6pin cables, 3 yellows going to 1 (same with grounds)

Ultra hit rock botton way before this 750.
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markkleb can you email me any other pictures you have at my [H] email. Thanks.
 
Jaguar Jim1 said:
While those PSU's are very good they are not the end all, be all of PSU's. Why didn't you Include Antec? Their True Power Quattro's are very Quiet, and Super Reliable.
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Simple

Antec are good psu's yes. However they are priced for suckers who go to best buy to buy their computer hardware. Please note I said Good price, not over priced.

Are there better PSU's then the one's I mentioned? you bet, however on the average if you are looking for the best bang for your buck, those 3 are very tough to beat most of the time. There are always exceptions of course. I have encountered other brands including antec at great price/performance ratio's over the years.
 
Shelomoh said:
Anybody know if this is the same as the Ultra Extreme titanium that Bjorn3D gave a 8.5 out of 10? I bought my Corsair VX550 after the [H]ard review. I trust [H] like I would trust a fellow Marine. Keep up the good work.
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Ouch, it sure is... but it's hard to tell exactly the quality of power a PSU is giving when you are just checking through software and barely pushing a power supply....

Thanks [H] for giving us INFORMED and USEFUL reviews :D
 
Paul_Johnson said:
Same unit.
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Figured as much. Have bought a lot of components due to [H] recommendations, but I like to see what some of the other sites have to say just to see what the majority opinion is overall. Like I said keep up the good work.
 
When evaluating a power supply, you really have to get on it with specialized equipment. You need to check for noise, ripple, and other things. If you don't you will never know the real truth behind the unit.

Most sites just plug it in and evaluate its' looks. If it runs the system for a day or so then they call it good. That's not exactly a thorough job.
 
gotta say i love they way [H] does PSU reviews. I'm so happy that i got the toughpower 1200W.
And im also very glad that i can now tell all of my friends to stay they hell away from the Ultra x2 "Extreme" edition.
 
Never bought an Ultra product, never recommended them to anyone, and I steer customers away from them in the past (unless they think they know better, then I let them find out the hard way), they even look cheesy from just viewing the box...Stick with a brand that is known for reliability such as Corsair, Antec, Thermaltake, or Cooler Master...okay your paying a little bit more, but your getting something that at least performs the way it should.
 
Hey Paul. I've been researching a new monitor for the last few weeks and found out that the Samsung 226BW has different revisions by different manufacturers. Same thing with the HP 2207W. I'm looking to upgrade my video card, monitor, and PSU within the next few months.

Ultra producing a product as horrible as this makes me wonder if they have kept all of their other products intact, or sent out a new wave of their products which have reviewed well with this type of craftsmanship. Any chance that you could do a revist on previous good ones? Even just purchase one and check that they still use the same parts. Would make for an intersting follow-up and maybe you can catch Ultra with their pants down.
 
When Choosing a Power Supply, it is always best to know before hand what it is to be used for. How many devices will be connected, if it is in a Mission Critical Situation, (I most certainly would never recommend this one for Life Saving uses) Now many Gamers will attest wholeheartedly that their systems run far more stable because they chose a certain type of PSU, but truth be told, if it wasn't for [H] most would never really know how reliable or stable it would be. Thanks [H] for doing the right kind of tests......
 
Wow even the "pending"(?) bullshit SLI certification got yanked. That just shows you there if NVIDIA wouldn't take their money. Thank god there's some scruples out there.

Doesn't really surprise me. Even if big hunking (flaming?) pile of shit hadn't been plastered at the front page, I knew something was up by the 1st page (well 2nd: the overview). A 750w PSU w/ only 2 6 pin PCIe, 5 molex & 3 SATA... That *does* sound more like a 350-400w unit just by connector count (not that 2xpcie are likely that low but I digress)....OTOH Corsair's 750TX has 4 6/8 pin PCIe, and 8 each molex/SATA plugs.. Which I got for about the Ultra's MSRP ($100.45 shipped/tax; once I get my MIR check of course).
 
Commander Suzdal said:
As you say, it's all speculation at present, but for myself I don't like the choice between believing Ultra would knowingly do this or believing that they are so out of touch with what is being sold under their name that they would unknowingly do this.

If nothing else, it should serve as a lesson to all companies that they need to be their own "secret shopper" once in a while if they decide not to funnel outsourced product through their own doors so they can check up on it themselves (which I think they'd be crazy not to). I know that in the modern international OEM market it would be possible to pay suppliers to make the product, create the packaging, and drop-ship it straight into the channel, but I think any company that takes such a hands-off approach to their brand is just asking for trouble. It's one thing not to make what you sell--it's another to never touch it.
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I agree completely. At the end of the day Ultra is responsible for the product they put their name on. It is just sad that they take a step forward on improving their reputation and then follow it up with two steps back.
 
Paul_Johnson said:
This happens both ways. However, the early information I have about this supply indicates that (a bad run) was not the case here.
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That is sad to hear.

I remember when the 500 watt Ultras were free after MIR a few years back at places like Fry's or Micro Center. Judging by the the 750 watt's poor review, we may be seeing these going for free after MIR fairly soon so Ultra can close out stock.
 
LaChupacabra said:
Ultra producing a product as horrible as this makes me wonder if they have kept all of their other products intact, or sent out a new wave of their products which have reviewed well with this type of craftsmanship. Any chance that you could do a revist on previous good ones? Even just purchase one and check that they still use the same parts. Would make for an intersting follow-up and maybe you can catch Ultra with their pants down.
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No, we are not going to start re-reviewing product. I think the safe answer here is to simply not buy any more Ultra products.
 
All I can say is LOL! I have bought one ultra psu in my life and that one was returned, since it sounded like a jet engine and the 12v rail dropped too much for me.

Cudos to [H] for posting yet another "real" review. Though Ultra has improved, the fact that this poj has passed their quality control nullifies all of their other power supplies. Shame on them for this excuse of a psu...


Ply
 
SelousSizzle said:
That is sad to hear.

I remember when the 500 watt Ultras were free after MIR a few years back at places like Fry's or Micro Center. Judging by the the 750 watt's poor review, we may be seeing these going for free after MIR fairly soon so Ultra can close out stock.
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Well these units may drop in price and certainly are not good, but the X-pro 750w (if you can still find it) and the X3 800w+ are still good units which I doubt you will find rebated out to free.
 
I've only ever had one ultra brand psu ... and the fan died within abot 2 months and the thing proceeded to fry while I was away making my entire house smell like burnt psu....
Needless to say I have never purchased another one of their products. I think this is one case where you truly get what you pay for. In one of my first builds I used an OCZ psu and the thing has been chugging away for nearly 10 years.
 
jonnyGURU said:
It would also be reasonable to assume the unit is SLI certified by the logo on the box. ;) And who's to say that V-Series is Wintech either? WIN on the PCB or main transformer? That's usually the way to tell.

I'd ask Wintech to confirm for me, and confirm that if the unit is not Wintech if they did in fact "knowingly" lend out their UL number, but they're on their lovely two week Chinese New Year holiday. :(
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Next to the OCP circuit it is labeled WIN-OCP Rev.B 2006/09/13

markkleb said:
here is a shot of a Ultra Xfinity 500 SLI
Picture085.jpg

notice the 6pin cables, 3 yellows going to 1 (same with grounds)

Ultra hit rock botton way before this 750.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the pictures markkleb it is the same PCB in this unit with slightly beefier primary caps, and a different main transformer.
 
Its always sad to see a company let its self go, but I'm hardly surprised. Chances are Ultra knew to well what it was selling under its name, sli certification and all, but simply could not care.
 
The whole ultra company stinks of low quality. They make their living on computer peripherals, and most of their stuff is cheap. Yes, even the TEC. The only reason why they did well on the X3 .. well, you know, and it's not hard to contact a manufacturer and OEM, I'd assume.
 
Ouch. Pwned.

Thanks for the alert Kyle and [H]ard,

I like SeaSonic myself. I know they are not "the best" and hardly trash.
 
Morpheus'rig said:
...but if they knowingly put out this inferior product ...
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I am not sure which is worse, knowingly putting out inferior products or unknowingly putting out inferior products. Both ways are BAD never mind the motives.

The fact is this. There are way too many solid companies that care about its customers and those companies are the ones that are going to earn my business. Ultra either does not care about it customers and is intentionally selling bad product, or Ultra does not care about its customers enough to make sure that it does not sell its customers crap.
 
Paul_Johnson said:
Next to the OCP circuit it is labeled WIN-OCP Rev.B 2006/09/13

Thanks for the pictures markkleb it is the same PCB in this unit with slightly beefier primary caps, and a different main transformer.
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Sweet. So the X2 750W is just an X2 550W with a different label. Amazing. Because Wintech HAS an 800W that does 800W. Why not just use that???

I guess it's no better than this thing: http://www.compusa.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3501286&CatId=2534

As far as I can tell, that "800W" is just an X-Finity 600W.
 
Appears another reviewer also has problems getting the Ultra to run at advertised specs.
Unfortunately, the X2 does not. Like with the Gigabyte Odin, we had problems getting the X2 stable at full capacity. The PSU's 12V rail would only handle up to 34A before shutting down—well short of the 46A called for by our weighted 100% load. Even after dropping loads on the 3.3 and 5V lines to 2A each, we could only squeeze 36A out of the X2's 12V rail. According to the X2's specs, it should be able to handle as much as 50A on the 12V line.
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http://techreport.com/articles.x/14064/12
 
Dan_D said:
Cherry picked sample maybe?
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Could be but it would be cherry picking a turd :p

It could also be that they don't push theirs as hard as I do since it is at room temp and not at 45c.
 
markkleb said:
here is a shot of a Ultra Xfinity 500 SLI
Picture085.jpg

notice the 6pin cables, 3 yellows going to 1 (same with grounds)

Ultra hit rock botton way before this 750.
Click to expand...

I have seen that exact same 3-1 way splice on another ultra psu. I can't remember what it was though.
 
markkleb said:
notice the 6pin cables, 3 yellows going to 1 (same with grounds)

Ultra hit rock botton way before this 750.
Click to expand...

cHaOserveR said:
I have seen that exact same 3-1 way splice on another ultra psu. I can't remember what it was though.
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I don't have a problem with the splices - the length of wire they connect to is too short to affect performance. I do have a problem with the group regulated design and poor cap selection.

Rock bottom? Not quite, as far as build quality goes. That would be switching back to Youngyear, or to Leadman or Deer or one of those other "blow if you look at them funny" OEMs. But, taking a mediocre 550W Wintech and selling it as a 750W unit sure ain't any better of an idea.
 
Thank You [H]

I know it costs you the same if you review a good product, or review a bad product.

I'm glad you guys take the time to actually review the worst there is.

I know two people who tried to build their own system after they saw mine a few years back, and one of them fell victim to the older Ultra X2. He refuses to ever build a computer again.

The worst in the PC market has to be reviewed also, to keep the manufacturers honest. Ultra apparently hasn't tried hard enough.

I wonder how Ultra can claim the first modular PSU in their marketing. Enthusiasts have been doing that for years before they did it with the X2. Even a few websites started selling pre-modded PSU's and warrantied them (Performance-PCs and FrozenCPU) well before Ultra ever did it.
 
"The worst in the PC market has to be reviewed also, to keep the manufacturers honest. Ultra apparently hasn't tried hard enough."

QFT.

I understand Kyle's rationale for not wanting to review too many total crappy (hah, I almost typed ultra-crappy!) products but peeps need to know about a PSU this bad from a company with a generally (though rapidly deteriorating) good reputation.

I wonder, did Ultra actually submit these units for review? I've got to believe they had at least a clue as to how bad these PSU's really were and how rigorous the H's testing is. Why would they submit the thing? I'd try to keep it as low on the radar as possible and hope people just bought on brand recognition/loyalty alone because obviously reviews are not going to help promot the thing! Quite the opposite really..... :confused:
 
killrtech99 said:
I wonder, did Ultra actually submit these units for review? I've got to believe they had at least a clue as to how bad these PSU's really were and how rigorous the H's testing is. Why would they submit the thing? I'd try to keep it as low on the radar as possible and hope people just bought on brand recognition/loyalty alone because obviously reviews are not going to help promot the thing! Quite the opposite really..... :confused:
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Yes they provided both samples.
 
Dan_D said:
That was brave of them. Did they not know how HardOCP reviews PSUs? If you have a crappy product like that, the [H] is not the place to send it.
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Oh yeah they know. Actually all of our Ultra samples have come from Ultra (including the X3 600w/X-Pro 600w EE that didn't do the best), they are by far the most willing to have their products reviewed so far which is why we have done 6. The only one we had to ask for was the X3 1600w and that one rocked.
 
Am I the only one who enjoys the reviews of bad products more than the reviews of good products? Considering that Ultra supply you with the review units, I'm sure they're aware of your testing methods. And I'm sure that if they knew the unit was so weak, they wouldn't have supplied it to you. I think Wintech may be getting a rather nasty phone call soon...

Minor nitpick: you used "beg the question" incorrectly in the last paragraph of the review. I think the right phrase is "raises the question" or "prompts the question" or something similar. "Begging the question" has an entirely different meaning.
 
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