Ultra X-Connect 500w

[anthony88guy]

I have heard that Ultra is a crappy brand; newegg doesn?t carry their products. Although I have heard some good things about the X-Connect power supply. Do you guys think I should find a better brand? Here are the Specs on the Power Supply, as you can see if the amperage is pretty good on those rails.

X-Connect Link

 

[drpootums]

Well, for the most part your going to have negative feedback on these forums. They are kinda cheaply made and have very small/cheap heatsinks in them (high fan speed ALL OF THE TIME!), and a lot of people are gunna give u stories of how they wrecked their/someone elses system.

But, there are some on here who have had nothing but good luck with these. It's kinda like gambling. You may get a really good one, but you may get a dud and kill your system.

It's up to you...

 

[anthony88guy]

I'll get the OCZ ModStream, and not risk killing my system.

 

[drpootums]

ok, good choice, i just got mine yesterday ( havent run it though, waiting for som AS Ceramic )

 

[Operandi]

This question gets asked seemingly ever day, the answer is the same ever time. It's a crap PSU, use the search function.

 

[Zepper]

Op beat me to it,
. There are tons of threads here and in the Gen Hdwr section on the X-Connect. I just read a review on trustedreviews.com and their sample blew up when they tried to get full output. Definitely substandard.
. I love this quote, so I'll repeat it here: "There once were only two classes of PSU: quality and crap. Now there are three: quality, crap and crap that glows."

. You can get a kit from svc.com et al. to make any PSU modular. So pick a known good brand and mod it. If you aren't handy with tools, there are at least 5 other brands that have modular now. Almost any one of them would be better than any Ultra product.
.bh.

:moon:

 

[Mucker]

The search function for the X-Connect is a double edged sword. You will find alot of great reviews and an equal amount of bad ones.

All of the so called "experts" around here praise the testing that Silentpcreview.com does. So let's take a look at what they have to say about the unit: http://www.silentpcreview.com/article193-page1.html

Their review paints it far from a crap PSU. And, there are many users that use them without a single glitch. It really boils down to your power and noise requirements. My personal experience with the X-Connect was not good. Wacked voltages and too noisy for my liking. I more than likely got a bad unit. The build quality is actually pretty good and the cables are impressive, but just as the review states, the internals leave a bit to be desired. You will find better PSU's for a similiar price, and, I too, would recommend a more stable PSU with better quality internals, but it's hard to convince people that are having great success with these units, that it is a crap PSU........

m

 

[Anthony The Daddy]

one word.

JUNK!

About the OCZ modstream, I have seen on Hardforum that it is flawed hardware and has been killing systems.

Buy an Antec NeoPower it won a the MaximumPC "kickass" product rating and is way more trustable than any OCZ psu. Come to think about it I have yet to see any of thier products win awards from anybody I would consider reputable. It won some Bling Bling award from NeoSeeker how hilariously crap. I read several reviews on it and not one of them was a "real" review that used hardcore hardware like a multimeter or an oscillascope to test it. I would stay the hell away from it.

If the Antec NeoPower won the "kickass" rating I bet MaximumPc did all kinds of random abuse to it on top of throwing all kinds of crazy hardware at it on top of trying to get it to power more than it could handle.

You want to save some money? and want something pretty, bling blingish with a cool Blue Led fan? stable and made from a reliable company?

buy this.

FORTRON 500watt Blue Storm

 

[Anthony The Daddy]

Actually that is a crap review. It is only based on how loud it runs. They did not use a multimeter and oscillascope to test the rails on it.

I find it ironic that only the brands that I would put in one of the many machines I have built have real reviews on thier products and send thier products out to be reviewed by complete professionals with real hardware to test thier PSU's.

That website is crap. It is only about if a component is quiet.

It is not crap if you are trying to build a ultra quiet pc but as far as truly testing a PSU they did not accomplish a "true" review of this crap Ultra X junkpile.

Originally posted by: Mucker
All of the so called "experts" around here praise the testing that Silentpcreview.com does. So let's take a look at what they have to say about the unit: http://www.silentpcreview.com/article193-page1.html

Their review paints it far from a crap PSU. And, there are many users that use them without a single glitch. It really boils down to your power and noise requirements. My personal experience with the X-Connect was not good. Wacked voltages and too noisy for my liking. I more than likely got a bad unit. The build quality is actually pretty good and the cables are impressive, but just as the review states, the internals leave a bit to be desired. You will find better PSU's for a similiar price, and, I too, would recommend a more stable PSU with better quality internals, but it's hard to convince people that are having great success with these units, that it is a crap PSU........

m

 

[Mucker]

Just curious, have you ever owned an X-Connect Antony? Better watch out too, lot's of Silentpcreview fanboys here

m

 

[Gamingphreek]

SilentPCReview does excellent reviews. However they are built around efficiency and sound benchmarks not stressing the components.

Do a google and youll find a bunch of good reviews. The Ultra cannot sustain any amount of load stably. They use cheap capacitors, and small heatsinks. Also all the rails are powered from one line. Additionally the voltage regulation is poor as well as its ripple.

All it is is flashy. I would definitely put it much better than generic but i would stick it right below the Thermaltake powersupplies.

-Kevin

 

[Insomniak]

I wouldn't touch the Ultra with a stick.

 

[PhoenixOrion]

/sarcasm\But they have a nice glow, have see-through windows and great cable management!/sarcasm\

 

[QueBert]

I own an Ultra-X, sweet ass PSU. I have seen bad reviews of it, but you'll see way more very good ones if you google. The heatsink size might be an issue for some. But I wouldn't trade my Ultra-X for any PSU *period* Besides the 1 or 2 bad reviews, the only people who talk poorly of this PSU are the fanboys who've never used it (or even seen it in person) but read the one review where the reviewer admitted "I probably got a bad unit"

my rails are SPOT on
thing gives out plenty of juice
it wasn't expensive
modular cables kick ass.

I traded an Enermax for this, and no I'm not sorry I did

 

[ribbon13]

Originally posted by: Zepper
I love this quote, so I'll repeat it here: "There once were only two classes of PSU: quality and crap. Now there are three: quality, crap and crap that glows."

Nice!
:beer:


I like making my own components glow. FrozenCPU.com
Then you at least get UV and/or the color you want.

 

[Gamingphreek]

Originally posted by: QueBert
I own an Ultra-X, sweet ass PSU. I have seen bad reviews of it, but you'll see way more very good ones if you google. The heatsink size might be an issue for some. But I wouldn't trade my Ultra-X for any PSU *period* Besides the 1 or 2 bad reviews, the only people who talk poorly of this PSU are the fanboys who've never used it (or even seen it in person) but read the one review where the reviewer admitted "I probably got a bad unit"

my rails are SPOT on
thing gives out plenty of juice
it wasn't expensive
modular cables kick ass.

I traded an Enermax for this, and no I'm not sorry I did

There are way more than 1 or 2 reviews bad about it. The Ultra cannot hold up under any type of load. You put it under a nice heavy load it will crap out. It is proven. They use small capacitors, heatsinks, they also run all the rails off of one line.

the only people who talk poorly of this PSU are the fanboys who've never used it

Yeah because you sure do seem to know a lot about power supplies. You just got one of the biggeset crap PSU's out there. You bought all based on looks ill bet.

-Kevin

 

[Idleuser]

hahah gamingphreek and your basing this on one maximum power pc review that tested a beta unit?

 

[Gamingphreek]

Actually no im not how many reviews would you like me to find within reason.

-Kevin

 

[Idleuser]

go for it show me

 

[Gamingphreek]

Link 1

Well that is only one example of what im talking about. Note the small capacitors, extremely small heatsinks, and the fact that all rails are driven off of one wire.

Someone might be able to help me out. Which sight is it that the guy test by hooking up like 8 lightbulbs and seeing how the computer does. I know the X-Connect lit like 3 of them then refused to do anything while the Nexus lit 4 or 5 while posting, and the OCZ lit em all and ran F@H.

-Kevin

 

[Mucker]

Nice link gamingphreek, but you have contradicting views with the reviewer. Overall, that reviewer recommended the X-Connect to both the mainstream user as well as the enthusiast, if you read the conclusions. He hardly paints it as a crap PSU.

All of us here know what the OCZ's can do. For the price, the OCZ should make you toast in the morning too! I only tried the X-Connect because Fry's was selling it awhile back for $49.99AR. And their return policy is great, so there wasn't alot of risk. I returned mine because of problems, but that doesn't mean all of the units are all bad. If you do a search with "an open mind", you know, be honest with yourself, you will find that there are alot of people with hgih power demands using them with no problem. I would hardly call that crappy. Again, I am not a fan of the X-connect, but I do have an open mind, and facts are facts......

m

 

[Idleuser]

Originally posted by: Mucker
Nice link gamingphreek, but you have contradicting views with the reviewer. Overall, that reviewer recommended the X-Connect to both the mainstream user as well as the enthusiast, if you read the conclusions. He hardly paints it as a crap PSU.

All of us here know what the OCZ's can do. For the price, the OCZ should make you toast in the morning too! I only tried the X-Connect because Fry's was selling it awhile back for $49.99AR. And their return policy is great, so there wasn't alot of risk. I returned mine because of problems, but that doesn't mean all of the units are all bad. If you do a search with "an open mind", you know, be honest with yourself, you will find that there are alot of people with hgih power demands using them with no problem. I would hardly call that crappy. Again, I am not a fan of the X-connect, but I do have an open mind, and facts are facts......

m

Amen to that Btw, I own both ocz powerstream 520w and ultra x-connect uv blue which I got for 70 dollars So i'm happy with both.

 

[Gamingphreek]

I see where you are coming from Mucker but i find it very hard to recommend this PSU when it is very poor under a true heavy load. Not to mention the small HS's and capacitors.

Part of this might be that i swore that i wouldn't sell myself short anymore as i have the worst luck with cheap components. But the Ultra isn't bad. It is much better than Generic. I wouldn't have any problem putting it somewhere around Tt standing plus a little more seeing as it does have more power, and it is modular.

-Kevin

 

[Mucker]

Originally posted by: Gamingphreek
I see where you are coming from Mucker but i find it very hard to recommend this PSU when it is very poor under a true heavy load. Not to mention the small HS's and capacitors.

Part of this might be that i swore that i wouldn't sell myself short anymore as i have the worst luck with cheap components. But the Ultra isn't bad. It is much better than Generic. I wouldn't have any problem putting it somewhere around Tt standing plus a little more seeing as it does have more power, and it is modular.

-Kevin

:thumbsup::beer:

m

 

[kY]

What are some other reputable modular PSUs out there?