Bad Experiance with Ultra Products

[Kaido]

Originally posted by: ColdZero
While not a big dent in their profits, at least $500+ of their power supplies have not been sold because of this, which is much more than they would lose if they just did the right thing. In which case I'd be telling everybody how I got a crappy power supply, but these people own, so get one anyway and they'd be making more money. I'd rather see Superflower get the money, who offered to replace BOTH of a friend's raptors that one of their power supplies killed as soon as they heard about it.

I fried the PSU on one of my early systems (involved a screwdriver, don't ask), and needed to get a PSU ASAP. I ended up ordering a 350w Super-Flower from Directron (my old #1, back in the day...now it's Newegg). I've been quite pleased with it. I've had it for awhile now, over a year or two I think, and it hasn't had any problems. It's actually going into my fiancee's system now. Props to Super-Flower :thumbsup:

 

[ColdZero]

Well I haven't heard anything from Malsert today, I'm starting to think that this is just gonna end with me having some extra broken parts and Ultra not having to take responsibility for anything. It is frustrating that companies can completely ignore their customers and get away with it.

At any rate, at least I can come away with some consultation that other people have heard of my experiance with Ultra and have decided not to buy their products. From the people in this thread who have said they won't buy one + the friends I've told, I believe the grand total of unsold stuff is now closer to $1000, which in some way brings a warm fuzzy feeling to myself.

Again I'd like to thank everybody again for replying, I'll keep updating if I hear anything from Ultra.

 

[ColdZero]

Surprise, surprise, I've heard nothing from Ultra. Awesome customer service. I hope those of you thinking about buying an X-connect seriously consider not buying one based on my experiance. Our purchase power is the only way we have of showing companies that treat their customers like crap that we won't take it.

 

[malsert]

Well, i guess i can add to this story. I built a amd64 3200+ with a k8v se mobo. I bought a chieftec full tower and an ultra '580'watt psu ...

Gan911, Ultra Products doesn't make a "580 Watt" Power Supply. I believe that you might have bought a power supply from a manufacturer that uses the adjective "ultra."

We would like to send you an Ultra X-Connect if you'd like one. Please PM me with your information.

 

[ColdZero]

Well Malsert called me today, she wasn't able to call me earlier for understandable personal reasons. She is talking to the people in charge about what is going to happen. I may be sending them back my broken parts. Things are starting to look up. I'll keep you posted.

 

[phlashphire]

Any update?

 

[otispunkmeyer]

sticky this for the duration!!

 

[KrazyDawg]

OEM CPUs carry a 1 year warranty on NewEgg. You should be able to RMA it as defective. The motherboard carries a 1 year warranty as well and you should be able to RMA it under NewEgg or the manufacturer.

 

[Subhuman25]

Note to self: Stay away from Ultra products!

I'm so glad I didn't choose the UltraX line of PSU's.Then again I don't give in to the gimmicky,flashing disco lighted crap,so there wasn't much to worry about.My interest was more concerning the modular cable management & power ratings.My common sense told me to stay with proven veteran brands though.Hence I'm sporting an Antec NeoPower 480 in my new system.In fact I've used nothing but Antec PSU's in my systems I've built for the last 10+ years and not a single one has ever gone bad on me or presented any problems whatsoever!Also I have not seen many complaints offered regarding their PSU's or cases for that matter.I tried and true household computer name you can swear by.
My apprehension towards UltraX was based on the fact that it's a gimmicky product(the lighting etc) and that I'd never even heard of them until recently.Now I'm seeing more and more reports of failures and other problems,including lousy customer support.Given they are a very new kid on the block and already are building a crappy reputation I'm glad I followed my instincts.
As far as malsert' comment directing this threads' readers to their product reviews in PC Gamer I have to say that reviews by magazines usually are biased towards certain brands.Usually the ones that advertise via them.User experiences are far more useful in determining real world performance and experiences with products.
I'd only recommend PSU's from proven manufacturers.Not only Antec,but Enermax,PC Power&Cooling,Fortron to name a few of the most highly regarded PSU's according to customer feedback.
Considering the amount of those brand PSU's in circulation being used by us consumers and the few problems reported and the few UltaX PSU's in circulation and being used,but several bad reports already,one can only conclude that this is a product you'd be better off not considering if you're building a reliable performance computer.

 

[gplracer]

I will not get an ultra either. I got a Fortron 530watt ps a while back. When the ultras came out I thought it would be really cool to have one.

 

[PlatinumGold]

wow, that sux. the ultra's looked pretty good too.

now does all this hold true for Powmax as well?

 

[RadiclDreamer]

I've never used an "Ultra" brand product that worked very well. I've used their memory and a P4 HSF and was not impressed by either

 

[rgreen83]

Wow, now I really feel like a jacka$$ for buying one of these, I didnt care about the pretty stuff and fancy cables, I just liked the 34a on 12+, looks like i found a new place to look for why my system is screwed up (new build, hard to track down) Thanks for the info, I think Ill order one of those neopowers.

http://www.whois.net/whois.cgi2?d=ultraproducts.com

 

[ColdZero]

Well I did hear back from Ultra, I sent them my parts. Malsert was pretty helpful, she didn't say she could promise anything, but they've tracked down the broken P/S from FrozenCPU and will have my parts this upcoming week sometime. I'll post what happens...uhh when it does.

 

[alpha03]

howdy, new here I am, but not new to your problem- I have warned other over at AMDMB about this, i hope it helps you.

Alpha

 

[CraigRT]

Originally posted by: gan911
Well, i guess i can add to this story. I built a amd64 3200+ with a k8v se mobo. I bought a chieftec full tower and an ultra '580'watt psu ... all from tigerdirect. Well, after i get my entire comp together, I booted installed windows, etc. etc....Everything was fine except when i went to work one day, left my laptop and my new desktop on, came home and my desktop was dead. The psu on the ultra was fried...no storms, nothing...my laptop was on the same powerstrip and everything was fine. I had my new comp for only 3 days, and the psu was dead. I saw that my southbridge was also fried on the mobo...it literally left a big scorch mark on the inside of my case. Returned the psu to tigerdirect, only got 16 bucks back for it (never will buy from them again) and the mobo got RMAed. Hopefully my cpu isn't burnt out, since i have no way of test it. I should be setting the computer up again this weekend.....and i now have a thermaltake pure power 420 (from newegg)


my take? never deal with tigerdirect and stick with the better name brands for PSUs...

hey man, Thermaltake is no better
P.S. I have an Ultra 500 and no problems.. VERY stable voltages.

 

[jonnyGURU]

As you guys may (or may not know,) I was head tech at TCWO.

I've had little problems with Powmax or Ultra. BUT, I have run into problems with every brand just the same (at a percentage of about 2 failures per 100 units.) Fact is, sometimes power supplies fail. Sometimes they take out the motherboard too! What's odd about power supply failures is that power supplies are one of the few components that are tested PRIOR to going out to Joe Q. Public, but sometimes shipping can jar components inside the power supply lose causing a short.

I have an Ultra P/S in my 3200+. Have for two months and have had no problems. It actually replaced a failing Enermax (supposedly a good power supply, but then again.... every brand has failure rates.)

The replacement of the power supply is actually FrozenCPU's responsibility. Not sure why you started with Ultra, but.. ok.

As for their response about the motherboard/CPU... Normally, a vendor is not responsible for incidental damages to other products within the same PC. You actually would go back to whomever you bought the board from. The person at Ultra probably thought you had recourse with whomever you bought the board and CPU from because MOST resellers actually give you support after 30 days (at TCWO we supported product for a year.) Newegg is actually the exception, but with computer companies closing up their doors left and right because it costs too much to support computer parts that only have a 10-15% profit margin to start with (thus the reason I no longer work at TCWO and TCWO's doors are now closed,) lack of product support is quickly becoming the norm.

You could contact the motherboard manufacturer regarding the dead board. The CPU? You're screwed. OEM CPU's aren't supposed to be sold to end users in the first place. They're all gray market. Fortunatley, AMD and Intel is putting a stop to this practice by tracking serial numbers back to the original buyer of the OEM product (HP, IBM, Dell, etc.)

On a side note, I am surprised the CPU died. The CPU actually doesn't get voltage directly from the power supply, but rather has it's juice regulated by motherboard components that feed off of the 5V rail of the P/S. I can only assume that your motherboard was going to take a dive at any moment. It is entirely possible that the motherboard was the initial point of failure, despite the fact that it worked for this long with another power supply, and not the power supply. Hell. I've had RAM work up until the point where I move it to a particular working system's motherboard and then have the RAM never work correctly again. Stranger things have happened. I do also have to agree with CoolJazz though that MOST flaky systems stem from power supply issues.

I'm glad Ultra stepped up. I hope they pull through for you. Keep us up to date. I like it when companies actually stand behind their product... unlike Abit, Asus, Lite-On.....

 

[ColdZero]

OK here is an update and its frickin AWESOME:

I got a call from Malsert today, Ultra got my parts and they are going to send me a new proc and motherboard, but it gets better. The processor I had was a A64 3000+, they are going to be sending me a A64 3700+ and a new motherboard. Thats a nice little upgrade. Malsert also said they'd send me a new power supply.

Thats frickin awesome. She said she was receiving emails about this, so thank you to everybody who sent one.

Just wanted to let you guys know what happened. I'd like to thank Ultra for being a good company about the whole thing, Malsert was also very helpful.

 

[phlashphire]

Wow that's impressive! Now if all other companies are willing to go that extra mile...

 

[Yolner]

wow

 

[dark79]

I wish I could chime in with a "wow" but considering how much time / aggravation it took just to get a resolution, I'm not really impressed. I'm glad things worked out for you because you found someone there that would help, but I don't think I can overlook the fact that everyone else there was giving you a "you're SOL" kind of answer. I thought about getting an Ultra but I ask myself is all that hassle really worth it if it fries my stuff? Nope, not really.

 

[gan911]

well, 1st custom built computer ... 1st psu....1st psu failure after 2 days worth of usage.....1st ultra psu

idk, maybe connected, maybe bad luck.......my my thermaltake hasn't failed me yet, but they often get slammed too

it takes a while to reverse a brandname once ppl start to point at it as the reason - see ocz.....

 

[TwYsTeD]

ColdZero, thats good to hear. I'm glad they took care of you.

I ordered one of those Ultra psu's last night, despite the problems I'm hearing about. I just really like the modular design and the 34amps on the 12v rail. I hope all goes well when I install it.

 

[jonnyGURU]

Originally posted by: dark79
I wish I could chime in with a "wow" but considering how much time / aggravation it took just to get a resolution, I'm not really impressed. I'm glad things worked out for you because you found someone there that would help, but I don't think I can overlook the fact that everyone else there was giving you a "you're SOL" kind of answer. I thought about getting an Ultra but I ask myself is all that hassle really worth it if it fries my stuff? Nope, not really.

I'm hearing flash backs from AT's WMC times.

This is an isolated incident. Do you know how many Ultra power supplies die, never mind fry other pieces of equipment? Even cheap power supplies fail at a rate of less than 2%. Do you know how many vendors will warranty a power supply or ANY computer part after 30 days? Less than 2%. Do you know how many companies will take responsibility for coincidental damage even if it seems that their product is not to blame? Try none.

Too much time and aggrevation???

Good luck with whatever product you end up with. But if it happens to fry your stuff (which is unlikely,) good luck getting a hold of ANYONE that will help you with anything more than replacing the power supply with just another of the same. ;-)

 

[epsilon9090]

God i love antec, sorry to see that you had problems with that CPU. Somtimes I can only stand to buy the best, buying cheap stuff from bad companies just irks me.