Looking for advice...

starhawk

[H]F Junkie
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Oct 4, 2004
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Hey, a friend of mine gave me a used Ultra ULT-VX600 modular supply. It's got one "small" fault (which I'll mention in a minute) but it's my first modular PSU ever, and it looks and feels really solid.

It's remarkably heavy for its size (so it passes the "heft test" with flying colors) and it does power on (always a good thing) and the looks are AWESOME -- unless you need to find the "green" wire on the ATX connector, since everything is the color of asphalt on this thing, even the wires. "You can have any color you want as long as it's black" comes to mind, lol.

The "small" fault --which my friend was very honest about-- is that one of the filter caps is on its way out. Friend says that it came out of a box that would work fine, except that it couldn't burn a CD. The cap in question is one of two utterly ginormous 1000uF 200v electrolytic monster caps in the supply. It's not leaking or anything, just slightly domed on top. Worth noting: the supply also had a slight case of dust (which I mostly remedied with a can of Dust Off).

My friend told me that it would likely be fine unless the PSU was stressed in any significant way. Apparently this box had an A64 X2 in it and at least one moderately potent graphics card (I suspect it was a gaming rig).

What I want to know from you guys is...
(1) how accurate is my friend's assessment? Is it genuinely "OK as long as it doesn't get too stressed" or does it need capacitor surgery?
(2) how good is this supply, really? I'm limited to a heft test with my knowledge of these things.

I can post pictures if necessary.
 
Hey, a friend of mine gave me a used Ultra ULT-VX600 modular supply. It's got one "small" fault (which I'll mention in a minute) but it's my first modular PSU ever, and it looks and feels really solid.

It's remarkably heavy for its size (so it passes the "heft test" with flying colors)

Some heatsinks (and cases) weigh more than others; doesn't mean a thing. With a power supply, its the component quality, design, soldering, wiring and so on that counts. "Weight" is a poor indicator of quality.

and it does power on (always a good thing) and the looks are AWESOME

(the crowd cheers) :D

The "small" fault --which my friend was very honest about-- is that one of the filter caps is on its way out. Friend says that it came out of a box that would work fine, except that it couldn't burn a CD. The cap in question is one of two utterly ginormous 1000uF 200v electrolytic monster caps in the supply. It's not leaking or anything, just slightly domed on top. Worth noting: the supply also had a slight case of dust (which I mostly remedied with a can of Dust Off).

My friend told me that it would likely be fine unless the PSU was stressed in any significant way. Apparently this box had an A64 X2 in it and at least one moderately potent graphics card (I suspect it was a gaming rig).

What I want to know from you guys is...
(1) how accurate is my friend's assessment? Is it genuinely "OK as long as it doesn't get too stressed" or does it need capacitor surgery?
(2) how good is this supply, really? I'm limited to a heft test with my knowledge of these things.

I can post pictures if necessary.

"Ultra" sells anything from mediocre-to-crap supplies to pretty decent ones currently. They are currently made by a few mediocre to good companies including CWT (often pretty decent), Andyson (less so) & "ShenZhen RuiSheng Yuan" (who tf knows ;)).

That ULT-VX600 model dates from pre-2007 and was sold until a couple of years ago; your copy might be very old. And no idea who made it. Apparently, though, the Ultra "V" series is simply mediocre.

With a bulging cap, I'd modify your friends assessment a bit to say "...its OK...if you don't care at all about the supply potentially destroying everything in your system that's plugged into it" ;). When caps age, their power storage (and output) decreases. When they start bulging, its often a sign of imminent failure.

With (approx.) 600W brand new supplies that are high quality and available on sale for $30, I simply wouldn't risk the rest of your system using that thing you currently have.
 
I'll note that there are three Ultra stickers on this, aside from the label with ratings and all.

One says "Ultra D1106". One says "Q.C. PASSED". One says "HI-POT PASSED".

I know what the second two are -- they mean it works, and (theoretically) had a stress test of some sort applied to it at the factory.

What's the "D1106" sticker mean?
 
"Ultra" sells anything from mediocre-to-crap supplies to pretty decent ones currently. They are currently made by ... CWT (often pretty decent)

Ultra has never used CWT.

What's the "D1106" sticker mean?

That means the PSU was built on 11/06.

What you have is a V-Series modular 600W. It's made by RSY. It's a shade below mediocre.

If you can see a primary cap swelling, just throw the PSU away. As soon as you have a brown out and that cap blows, you're going to jump out of your seat.
 
How dangerous is it to replace that little bugger, then?

As long as you discharge the charge then no problem. But why change it out when the PSU even when it was new wasn't a very good PSU? I'd buy an Antec Neo Eco 620 on sale and call it a day.
 
because it is probably the best PSU he has

with due deference to Mr.Guru...sir

starhawk, knowing your financial situation it might be worth pricing a cap for the thing
 
It's a shade below mediocre.

If you can see a primary cap swelling, just throw the PSU away. As soon as you have a brown out and that cap blows, you're going to jump out of your seat.
<----- This.

Why take a chance of possibly ruining other components in your system?

If you can't afford $30 - $40 then save up until you can...
 
I'm not in an income bracket where I have even the liberty of saving up for that sort of thing. Even $6 for the cap (eBay pricing) is a bit much at this particular moment. I'm not even going to Mouser -- their $4.95 shipping fee puts them out of reach automatically.

Hey jojo69, I know you keep a parts bin around... I assume you don't have one you could throw at me?
 
The "small" fault --which my friend was very honest about-- is that one of the filter caps is on its way out. Friend says that it came out of a box that would work fine, except that it couldn't burn a CD. The cap in question is one of two utterly ginormous 1000uF 200v electrolytic monster caps in the supply. It's not leaking or anything, just slightly domed on top.

I'd replace both of those large caps because very likely the other one isn't in much better shape, and they have roughly 100x as much energy as the smaller caps do, meaning when they explode they can be really loud, and you don't want your cat to hold a grudge against you for life. There's about 340 volts across both of them, and they're supposed to split that up equally, but they may not do so if you replace just one cap -- the new cap could get more voltage across it and 'splode. If you don't install brand new caps (about $5-10 apiece), get used ones from the same source so they'll likely have equal capacitances (that rating decreases with age). It's OK to use lower capacitance, and while that will mean less maximum output power, I doubt you'll be worse off than now with the bad cap. I don't know how low you can go, but I have a 500W Antec with a pair of 820uF caps, and I've seen some not entirely awful 500W PSUs with as little as 680uF.

Mouser is much more trustworthy than eBay for components like this. Another good source is DigiKey, and if the shipment weighs less than 8 oz. they can be really cheap on shipping.

NewEgg and TigerDirect have been running $30, after rebate, deals on Corsair and Antec PSUs rated for 430-620W. Antec pays rebates a lot faster than before, about 4 weeks.
 
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*sigh* if jojo69 doesn't have spares (likely that he won't) then I'll save up for Mouser.
 
Starhawk, you wouldn't happen to have any AC-DC chargers for laptops or anything lying about? They tend to have a really highly rated hold up cap because of the high temps in laptop supplies.

If all else fails, I might be able to send you something for the cost of shipping. I've got another one of these shit Huntkey PSUs that I have in my TVPC roaming around somewhere. It's better then nothing.
 
I'm actually looking for a better power brick for one of my systems -- see here --> http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1745912

Mostly I want the caps to be fixed, or (if at all possible, which I don't think it is) to trade the Ultra for another modular supply. I've got this one system that could really, really use a modular supply, but it has to work good cuz it's going to be a gift for a friend, after a while...
 
The "small" fault --which my friend was very honest about-- is that one of the filter caps is on its way out. Friend says that it came out of a box that would work fine, except that it couldn't burn a CD. The cap in question is one of two utterly ginormous 1000uF 200v electrolytic monster caps in the supply. It's not leaking or anything, just slightly domed on top.

All electrolytic capacitors in the PSU should be replaced with reliable brand capacitors. The electrolytic's have aged, and chances are that they are on their way out as well. They don't have to show physical signs of failing (bulging, leaking goo etc.) either.
 
Thanks, but no thanks. I have neither funds nor patience to replace every single can of capacitor in that supply -- and I've something of a nervous disposition to boot.

I'll replace both filter caps, but if the others aren't bulging (they're not, I looked) they'll stay where they are.
 
Unless you have caps sitting around and/or can get them for free from elsewhere, buying online isn't cost effective. As well as soldering supplies, but I assume you already have them.

I like Digikey; have used them often in the past. They also seem to have a slightly more extensive brand selection of aluminum caps than Mouser does. Note though that a single cap in the spec you need (at least Nichicon or Panasonic; all I looked at) looks to run from $4-$5. And shipping adds anywhere from $3 to $5.

I certainly understand monetary issues. But I personally wouldn't spend 1/3 the price of a quality new supply on a single component of an approx. 6 year old non-quality one whose other components are reaching the end of their lives. Money that could (much) better be put towards a quality, inexpensive brand new supply (with free shipping). Its just a waste. I'd wait. And/or use some form of credit for a new one if you gotta have one right now. Or try to get free caps from someone.
 
Thanks, but no thanks. I have neither funds nor patience to replace every single can of capacitor in that supply -- and I've something of a nervous disposition to boot.

I'll replace both filter caps, but if the others aren't bulging (they're not, I looked) they'll stay where they are.

That's understood.

It should be made clear that, with capacitors aging/failing, they tend to go out of spec, which in turn affects the overall spec of the PSU. This in turn affects the quality of power delivered to components.

However. Hopefully, the replacement of just the two primary capacitors will provide stable enough power, at least for awhile.

Good luck with your project! :)
 
Hey, a friend of mine gave me a used Ultra ULT-VX600 modular supply. It's got one "small" fault (which I'll mention in a minute) but it's my first modular PSU ever, and it looks and feels really solid.

It's remarkably heavy for its size (so it passes the "heft test" with flying colors) and it does power on (always a good thing) and the looks are AWESOME -- unless you need to find the "green" wire on the ATX connector, since everything is the color of asphalt on this thing, even the wires. "You can have any color you want as long as it's black" comes to mind, lol.

The "small" fault --which my friend was very honest about-- is that one of the filter caps is on its way out. Friend says that it came out of a box that would work fine, except that it couldn't burn a CD. The cap in question is one of two utterly ginormous 1000uF 200v electrolytic monster caps in the supply. It's not leaking or anything, just slightly domed on top. Worth noting: the supply also had a slight case of dust (which I mostly remedied with a can of Dust Off).

My friend told me that it would likely be fine unless the PSU was stressed in any significant way. Apparently this box had an A64 X2 in it and at least one moderately potent graphics card (I suspect it was a gaming rig).

What I want to know from you guys is...
(1) how accurate is my friend's assessment? Is it genuinely "OK as long as it doesn't get too stressed" or does it need capacitor surgery?
(2) how good is this supply, really? I'm limited to a heft test with my knowledge of these things.

I can post pictures if necessary.

ultra is basically a tiger direct house brand like best buy's dynex or neweggs rosewill, they are not a known player in psu's and certainly not a tier one company for psu's
 
ultra is basically a tiger direct house brand like best buy's dynex or neweggs rosewill, they are not a known player in psu's and certainly not a tier one company for psu's
I don't know if there's more than one Ultra brand of PSU, I got mine from Fry's, and they were made by Wintech, but earlier versions came from Young Year and were supposedly worse. I think the supplier has been changed since then. But how dare you libel the fine quality:

  • one of my Wintechs had flux all over the top of the circuit board
  • one had 2 ground wires that were easy to pull out of the board (dirty tips)
  • one fan wouldn't start if the room was too cold, and sometimes it wouldn't start even after the PSU warmed up
  • a high voltage wire had a blog of solder the size of a small pea embedded deeply into its insulation
  • the uninsulated top of a small capacitor in the low voltage section almost touched a lug on a 120V power connector. In later versions of the PSU, that capacitor sat horizontally against the circuit board
 
Where did you find this info?

Hi Danny.

From my all time favorite site besides HardOCP ;) (I've referenced it in the past here when discussing real PSU manufacturers): PSU Review Database. Here is the page of Ultra's current makers (including recently discontinued models). That single CWT-made model is at the top.

Nothing special for sure, rather an OEM replacement really. Sort of odd that they classified it as a "limited edition". Its boring, its cheap, but its special! :D. Probably just a short contract run with CWT as a "try out" or similar. They are out of stock on their web site for it too...heh.
 
Hi Danny.

From my all time favorite site besides HardOCP ;) (I've referenced it in the past here when discussing real PSU manufacturers): PSU Review Database. Here is the page of Ultra's current makers (including recently discontinued models). That single CWT-made model is at the top.

Nothing special for sure, rather an OEM replacement really. Sort of odd that they classified it as a "limited edition". Its boring, its cheap, but its special! :D. Probably just a short contract run with CWT as a "try out" or similar. They are out of stock on their web site for it too...heh.
Hmm I've seen that site before but I have some concerns about the validity of the info coming from that site. I haven't been able to independently confirm that Ultra is indeed a CWT.
 
Sorry to hear. I've relied on it over time here because every single supply there I've cross referenced with a reliable review that states a maker (here at HardOCP and elsewhere) always corresponds with no discrepancies.

Not that there are no errors at all on that site, of course; there certainly may be. Haven't encountered any here yet, though. Be interesting to see if that supply is in fact from some other maker.
 
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