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SWEET! Finally, a modular PSU

C

cgrant26

2[H]4U
Joined
Oct 23, 2003
Messages
3,416
Ultra X-Connect 500Watt ATX Modular Power Supply - Titanium Blue
They also come in Silver and Black. I'm not sure if it's cool to plug the retailer here and since the retailer I found these through is offering a $20 discount on them, I will post the page in the [H]ot Deals forum. :)

http://www.case-mod.com/store/images/U109510MSout3wgLG.jpg[/IMG

[IMG]http://www.case-mod.com/store/images/U109510MSout1BLG.jpg[/IMG

On a side note, it DOES kinda suck for those of us that stand out by being brave enough to mod our PSUs. :( Still a cool item though.

[COLOR=DeepSkyBlue]host your own PICS -Ice Czar[/COLOR]
[url]http://flecom.net/[H]OCP/upload.html[/url]
 
I was considering a purchase of one of those but then didn't. It is a good PSU, real competitive to the TrueControl 550
 
wrong forum, and welcome to like a few months ago? :p :D
 
gigglebyte said:
ppppsssstttt...close your tags and the links will work much better :eek:
Click to expand...

only when the moderator doesnt disable them :p

since he seems to be asleep at the wheel, I'll host those
(or more accurately using FLECOM's excellent list host them)

Ultra1.jpg

Ultra2.jpg


while they certainly look snazzy
there are only the most rudimentary specs listed for those supplies
they are just ATX12V v1.3 compliant (single +12V rail)
and they arent all that impressive under the hood

and it costs $9 more than an Antec Neopower (rebated at newegg)
which is ATX12V v2.0 compliant, not to mention fully documented

however without any "real" reviews of it, its hard to say exactly what level of performance its capable of, or more accurately, it would probably be fine, unless pushed into an unusual config with a heavy transient load on the +12V which could easily effect the stability of an overclock at the edge of stability, or in say a storage monster
with no specs its very hard to say
see > http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=794288

I do however really like those cables :p
 
Antec needs to hop on board this bus!Talk about cleaning up inside and helping all that airflow. Speaking of which, I should hop on board the rounded cables bus. Hurry, someone do a review and let me know how nice they are...
 
As Ice Czar explained, Antec has hopped on this bus already. What's surprising is that no one else has, but they will inevitably jump on.
 
only when the moderator doesnt disable them :p

since he seems to be asleep at the wheel, I'll host those
(or more accurately using FLECOM's excellent list host them)

Ultra1.jpg

Ultra2.jpg


while they certainly look snazzy
there are only the most rudimentary specs listed for those supplies
they are just ATX12V v1.3 compliant (single +12V rail)
and they arent all that impressive under the hood

and it costs $9 more than an Antec Neopower (rebated at newegg)
which is ATX12V v2.0 compliant, not to mention fully documented

however without any "real" reviews of it, its hard to say exactly what level of performance its capable of, or more accurately, it would probably be fine, unless pushed into an unusual config with a heavy transient load on the +12V which could easily effect the stability of an overclock at the edge of stability, or in say a storage monster
with no specs its very hard to say
see > http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=794288

I do however really like those cables :p
Click to expand...

Oddly enough... My motherboard requires v1.3 of the ATX12V power supply. This being the case, would this be a good modular PSU for me? I just purchased an Antec Truepower 430 though, so I doubt I'll change. (Modular would be really nice though, as I've WAY to many power cables running amuck... I need to find info on sleeving the cables and shortning the +12V rail (the 20 pin mobo power rail, if I am correct.)
 
Anymore news on this PS? I check xoxide and they have links to reviewers that positively loved this PS. Anyone had any personal experience with it?

Edit: the only thing I can see that I might consider a con is no active PFC. Even with that, most are giving this PS full marks.
 
they look cool... but can they handle my overclock?!?!? that's the real question... RRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
I'm not gonna OC to the max, but apparantly some of the reviewers seriously stressed this PS. Some call it the best PS ever, rating it on top of Antec (I'm sure they're not comparing to pcp&c). Putting it over antec is enough for me to get this for my new a64 rig.
 
Did you know that 99.9999% of reviewers don't know the first thing about power supplies? Do you realize that these "ratings" are skin deep, that looks is actually a major factor in the rating? A power supply's job is one thing: to provide power. Actually, that power must be clean and sufficient at all regimes of operation. Unfortunately, power supplies that actually meet that expectation are in the minority. Yet reviewers run a few brief tests, and some real pathetic "stress tests" and call it a day, proclaiming from the heavens that Power Supply A is the shit. It's got shiny lights, pretty cables, and "modular" design! Those things are supposed to be bonuses, not compensation for an okay power supply topology.
 
And that's why I came to [H] to see if anyone had had experience with this PS ;)
 
well there is another thread up right now regarding off gassing of plastic with this supply
in the best case senerio that to be expected as a certain increased amount of heat releases additional molecules in those cables

then in the worse case senerio, if it doesnt stop, the cable could be defective and possibly lead to a fire (too much draw, heats wire, burns plastic (hardening) eventually catching fire in other words a short)


nice speech xonik, a pity it can be embedded at the top of each thread in here :p
very very few reviewers are equipted to actually "stress test" a PSU
they run a few stress programs for the computer and thats about it
to stress test a PSU on the other hand, you need to provide it with a truely dynamic load
a software component stress test is basically the opposite, it a high consumption load on the component, but its static, so the CPU pegs over, big deal.

What you want is the CPU and GPU going from full load to idle, the drives spinning up and down, exercising the transient response of the power supply, and then once that happens, giving it a serious source power event to deal with, an surge followed by a brownout

so did it still keep the rails within an acceptable 5% and safely shutdown with the surge\brownout, or did it fry something?

the functional range a "acceptable" PSU has, compared to the range a "good" PSU has
when dealing with the above is really the detriming factor, the high quality PSU surfing through what will make an "acceptable" shutdown (with likely data loss in real life) the worse case senerio is that when asked to deal with that senerio the PSU fails to protect components and fries stuff, throwing it into the unacceptable category

http://www.silentpcreview.com/article166-page2.html
A Technical PS: Output Voltage Regulation and AC Voltage

Voltage regulation with most PSUs examined by SPCR has been virtually unnecessary. Perhaps because only reputable brand samples are submitted for our stringent testing, almost every PSU has passed voltage regulation checks easily, often with flying colors. The Seasonic Super series were among the best in this regard, and the new Rev.03 models are no different, with tolerance better than +/-2% in every case.

A test instrument mentioned in the article SPCR's Revised PSU Testing System was used briefly with the new Rev. 03 samples. The California Instruments 801RP Variable AC Power Supply (CI-801RP) allows AC voltage to be varied in order to consider the effects of brownouts and other real-world conditions on PSU performance.

As the voltage is reduced, the PSU has to draw more current (Amps) in order to maintain the output voltages. The actual power drawn by the PSU rises when the input voltage is reduced. This is why, for example, that a power supply rated for 120VAC, 5A might be rated for 240VAC, 3A. Maintaining steady output voltage lines becomes much harder with lower or varying AC voltage. This is how PSU voltage regulation can be really tested.

The PSU was placed in the thermal test rig, with 120VAC power delivered by the CI-801RP. Each PSU was warmed up for a few minutes at 120W, then set to deliver full power. Internal test box temps were ~37°C. AC measurements were made with the Kill-a-Watt AC power meter. Voltmeters were used to continuously monitor the 12V, 5V and 3.3V output lines. The VAC was then reduced from the standard 120VAC down to 80VAC. This is a very demanding test, as the Seasonic PSUs are rated for full power output with 100-240VAC.

Note that the output voltage remains constant through these dramatic drops in AC input voltage — and the associated increases in the current and power drawn by the PSU.

The same test was conducted at 300W output on two other SPCR-reviewed PSUs that will remain unnamed at this time: One rated at 350W sparked and shut down within 15 seconds of running at 90VAC. It appears to be dead. The latter, rated at 380W, auto-shutdown safely within seconds of 100VAC operation. It appears to consider operation at any AC voltage under ~103W to be unsafe.

It is a measure of the Super series' quality design. It means that sags and brownouts in AC power, experienced by many people in many places in the world, should have no effect on a computer powered by one of the Seasonic Super series PSUs. A table of the Super Silencer 400 could have been posted but it would have been redundant because the voltage accuracy and output remained constant down to 80VAC there as well.

We'll look at the VR / VAC relationship in more detail, and examine this aspect of performance in other PSUs in the near future.
Click to expand...

very few test PSU till they "spark" :p
 
Well, has anyone done a true test with this PS yet? I'm either going with this or the antec neopower.
 
I have this PSU and it's great! Very stable voltages from what I can see using software voltage tools. It's stinky at first, but the smell goes away.

I will be writing a review on this PSU soon, I will be using a ocsilliscope and half a dozen hard drives to test this thing out.
 
I have this PSU also and I am getting the smell. Aside from the smell which should pass it works as advertised. One thing to note. It is a PITA to use this PS in a smaller case. The modular cables are nice, but they are not as flexible as regular cables.
 
PClark99 said:
I have this PSU also and I am getting the smell. Aside from the smell which should pass it works as advertised. One thing to note. It is a PITA to use this PS in a smaller case. The modular cables are nice, but they are not as flexible as regular cables.
Click to expand...

Agreed, the cables would suck major ___ if used in a small case. For a midtower case like a PC60 the cables are perfect.

Likewise, I'm planning on not using a case at all (just a motherboard rack), if you're not going to use a case, the modular cables are nice too.
 
Another owner here. I haven't stressed it greatly, and its worked fine for me. As I don't do serious overclocking it shouldn't be an issue. The neatness of the cableing is just great, I've got almost zero cable clutter in my case now. General users, this is the PSU for you, heavy overclockers, be very careful.
 
What a joke of a review. The writer spends 95% of the time talking about the outside of the power supply, then taking a single set of voltage measurements with no comments on when and how those measurements were taken. What a pitiful excuse for a review.
 
xonik said:
What a joke of a review. The writer spends 95% of the time talking about the outside of the power supply, then taking a single set of voltage measurements with no comments on when and how those measurements were taken. What a pitiful excuse for a review.
Click to expand...

LOL, exactly ... no oscilliscope used either! Can't wait until I bring my PSU to the lab.
 
I really, really want to see how well this PSU does its job. I am in the market for a new PSU and I wanted to get something a little prettier than the fortron 530 watt. Does the ultra connect have adjustable pots inside the case?
 
I think he has had enough :p

once apon a time most if not all of us thought that proceedure was an acceptable "review"
before we knew better

there are maybe 5 sites able to conduct a good PSU review
(or at least that Im aware of)
the rest are as mentioned, cheerleading squads happy to get freebies
 
i think i want to get this power supply.

looks great
can easily replace the two standard fans 80x25 with leds
better wire management
enough power to upgrade

a bad thing i saw in a lot of the reviews was the 12v looked a tad high
 
this psu is good, except for the cable ends being so bulky. I found plugging them into my friend's 9800XT very difficult, I had to use a extension cable to make it work. Also the cables are very firm and not too flexible.
 
Kain said:
SPCR is one; what are the others, Ice?
Click to expand...

pcperspective
xbitlabs
systemcooling.com
amdmb and anandtech but its sort of hit and miss
your looking for individual reviewers that know WTF they are doing more than sites
in a few cases, the owner of the site and the reviewer are one and the same but not always
(note that Lee "Robotech" Garbutt, did the pcperspective, amdmb and the systemcooling reviews)
 
A nice effort, better than like 95% of reviews, but they barely scratch the surface of what's really involved in a power supply review. For instance, they didn't measure the line regulation and AC ripply as the load drastically changes (a very real situation in the average PC). Also, their power consumption measurements were crude, and their comments on active PFC with regards to power efficiency was quite revealing of their power systems knowledge, and not in a good way.
 
Kain said:
http://techreport.com/reviews/2004q4/psus/index.x?pg=9

What're your thoughts on this review?
Click to expand...

somewhat flawed but better than most
http://techreport.com/reviews/2003q3/psus/index.x?pg=7
at least they are employing an oscilloscope, but they arent altering the AC input
or seriously giving the transient response a workout
temperature measurement is flawed all in all they get a C-
where most get D or F
their proceedure is still somewhat opaque so that might improve but thats my first take on it

Mike Chin and Lee "Robotech" Garbutt getting B+ > A-

I consider destructive and extreme dynamic load testing A+
If I win the lottery I'll do that and bust up a few mobos and supplies per week :p

did you review that anand tech memtest86 hack proceedure?
I thought that was very clever, and would like to see more of that

http://www.anandtech.com/casecooling/showdoc.aspx?i=1841&p=24

This is kind of a unique test we have worked on for a while. One of the more important qualities of a power supply is to make sure it does not produce harmful interference to the components. Perhaps the most sensitive of these components is the memory (video card, RAM, and CPU cache), which is just millions of little transistors locked in an on or off position, held in place only by a delicate balance of electricity.

The driving theory behind ECC memory is that it corrects errors that occur in memory. Perhaps a transistor is faulty and flipped for the wrong reason, or a faint electrical signal pulled a transistor into the incorrect position. While researching this review and others, we have noticed the largest factor for incorrect memory blocks is faulty power supplies.

How it works:

We started off by modifying MemTest86. We bumped the delay between tests up to several hours, rather than seconds. MemTests86 works by writing various patterns into the memory. After our programmed delay of six hours, the program goes back over the memory and analyzes how many of those bits were flipped out of the original pattern. Both the memory and motherboard used passed the unmodified MemTest86 without any problems.

Not only is this a good measure of shielding on the PSU, but also a good measure of shielding on the motherboard and memory. However, we used the same motherboard and memory for the entire test. This way we assure that the small amount of interference coming off the motherboard is consistent with each power supply. Unfortunately, it took 6 hours to run this test and we ran it three times for each supply to assure accuracy. On the next page is a table showing the trial data.
Click to expand...
 
I thought it was funny that there was a blurb about the X-Connect on the [H] News.
 
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