Why do you hate the Ultra X-Connect 500W PSU?

[AZReDWiNG]

I have this PSU, and it's been reliable. (My computer experienced bad system failure the other day, but that's been attributed to majorly OCing the memory and has been fixed), at least as far as I can see. In fact, every single review I've read about this PSU has been positive, and the only negative feedback about it has been from the forumgoers at Anandtech.

The negative feedback has made me retroactively rethink my decision on getting an Ultra X-Connect, but from what I've read on the forums, nobody has a valid reason why it's "bad". I've seen "ZOMGz!!! IT FRi3Z 73H M0B0z000rzz!!!11oneone" or "if u wnt a ded comp get a ultra xconect" but no actual reason why the PSU performs so badly.

I for one don't think it's that bad. I've run 2xPrime95 (I've got an Athlon X2 4200+ running at 240MHz x11 = 2640MHz) for 36 hours with no stability problems. The only time I've had a problem was attributed to the overextended memory, and this problem has been fixed.

So, why do you love to hate the Ultra X-Connect 500W?

 

[Greenman]

I've never read a review on it, so I don't know weather or not it's any good. But I can tell you that even though it works fine for you, that doesn't make it a good PSU. If you really want to know if it's any good or not, find reviews where they use a measured load, and run the unit at it's limits for several hours while testing voltages. A good PSU will put out 100% of it's rated power, and hold voltages to within 5%. Some units will hold to 3%. If the Ultra will do that, then it's a good unit and you can rest assured that your money was well spent.
Back to your question, some people don't like them because they seem to be more about flash than performance, though I don't know if thats true or not.

 

[AZReDWiNG]

Originally posted by: Greenman
I've never read a review on it, so I don't know weather or not it's any good. But I can tell you that even though it works fine for you, that doesn't make it a good PSU. If you really want to know if it's any good or not, find reviews where they use a measured load, and run the unit at it's limits for several hours while testing voltages. A good PSU will put out 100% of it's rated power, and hold voltages to within 5%. Some units will hold to 3%. If the Ultra will do that, then it's a good unit and you can rest assured that your money was well spent.
Back to your question, some people don't like them because they seem to be more about flash than performance, though I don't know if thats true or not.

I did find a few reviews where they used a multimeter to measure the voltages and current across each line. On the +12V line (both in these reviews and my own stress testing) it holds within the +/-5% test (11.85A is the absolute lowest current I've hit).

No PSU can output 100% of its rated power (it's impossible to reach 100% efficiency -- hello 2nd Law of Thermo)

 

[Fullmetal Chocobo]

Because I can't stand "look at me, look at me" crap. If their performance was better, then sure, I'd consider them. People usually overreact to stuff on ATF, but I'd rather have the useless batter about they are evil, than have to hear another "I'm spending $2500 on my computer parts--will this $30 case & PSU combo work"...

 

[t3h l337 n3wb]

Because it's all about luck. About half of them work alright and half fail right away. Fortron/Sparkle/Seasonic/PC Power & Cooling/Enermax/OCZ/Antec/etc. >>> Ultra.

 

[vanvock]

Max PC magazine did a shootout & the Ultra crapped out on them.

 

[potato28]

Ultra is a buyer beware. I had 1 die on me, and they sent me a new one that is running strong right now! The odd 1 will crap out in 6 months, or will be DOA. Some will survive... o well... And some are just crappy... bought an antec and works better than the ultra ever did...

 

[alimoalem]

i don't hate it...i'm not too familiar with the psu but every manufacturer makes at least one good model so you may have gotten lucky or the previous poster could simply have been unlucky. even seasonic and stuff have psus that crap out randomly.

 

[jimbob200521]

they strike me as more looks than performace/reliablity. ill take a bland looking reliable psu over a flashy, unreliable/poor performing psu any day

 

[Greenman]

Originally posted by: AZReDWiNG

Originally posted by: Greenman
I've never read a review on it, so I don't know weather or not it's any good. But I can tell you that even though it works fine for you, that doesn't make it a good PSU. If you really want to know if it's any good or not, find reviews where they use a measured load, and run the unit at it's limits for several hours while testing voltages. A good PSU will put out 100% of it's rated power, and hold voltages to within 5%. Some units will hold to 3%. If the Ultra will do that, then it's a good unit and you can rest assured that your money was well spent.
Back to your question, some people don't like them because they seem to be more about flash than performance, though I don't know if thats true or not.

I did find a few reviews where they used a multimeter to measure the voltages and current across each line. On the +12V line (both in these reviews and my own stress testing) it holds within the +/-5% test (11.85A is the absolute lowest current I've hit).

No PSU can output 100% of its rated power (it's impossible to reach 100% efficiency -- hello 2nd Law of Thermo)

Yes, any good quality PSU can indeed put out 100% of it's rated power. We are talking about rated OUTPUT, it will of course use more energy than it puts out. So the first thing you need to do is understand what those ratings mean. A 500 watt psu is rated at 500 watt output, note the term output, it's input wattage will be higher than that. PSU's are always rated at an output level, not input. Hello knowing what you're talking about...

 

[JEDIYoda]

Yes, any good quality PSU can indeed put out 100% of it's rated power. We are talking about rated OUTPUT, it will of course use more energy than it puts out. So the first thing you need to do is understand what those ratings mean. A 500 watt psu is rated at 500 watt output, note the term output, it's input wattage will be higher than that. PSU's are always rated at an output level, not input. Hello knowing what you're talking about...

Actually even a bad PSU can indeed put out 100% of its rated power.....or can it?
Think about this....
There are some PSU`s that are considered good yet there rated wattage by the company is say 500watts...rated at 25c......
Which in effect means that you double that to 50c and there rated wattage of 500 watts is actually...say 300watts.......
Compare that to a PSU rated at 500watts at 50c and you beginn to see whay I said what I said.....

 

[l Xes l]

dey crap

 

[Budarow]

I like mine and bought another one like it for my next build.

 

[CraigRT]

I had one and it was fine.. but I went Modstream and I also like it.. I am not a hater on the X-connect, but it's not as well built as some brands thats all.

 

[Swedish Avenger]

What are the rail outputs? It's all very well having a high wattage, but loads of 500-600W PSUs will supply less power than a 400W to the essential components. That is part of the reason why a 500W Antec, Zalman etc costs twice that of a crappy 500W + case.

I managed to run a

3200 64 @2.2
9800XT
1024MB 3200
3 DVD drives

on a Q-tec 230W, no jokes I was so shocked when I saw the label. But it had power on the rails getting juice to the core components, which is why I was fine. The 500W I got free with a case would actually run the system less consistently.

Ultra-X seem pretty middle of the road, so they aren't crap, but they certainly aren't good.

 

[Ike0069]

I would always suggest against getting an Ultra PSU, but that doesn't mean that every single one will have problems. If you search around, you will find many happy Ultra-X owners. But you will also find many unhappy ones. The problem I see is that they have a much higher failure rate than the average. Even the best brands will have problems from time-to-time, but it's all about reliability.

Would you buy a vehicle that had a 50% engine failure rate after 6 months, even if the other 50% normally last for >200,000 miles? I know I wouldn't.

 

[Budarow]

Originally posted by: Ike0069
I would always suggest against getting an Ultra PSU, but that doesn't mean that every single one will have problems. If you search around, you will find many happy Ultra-X owners. But you will also find many unhappy ones. The problem I see is that they have a much higher failure rate than the average. Even the best brands will have problems from time-to-time, but it's all about reliability.

Would you buy a vehicle that had a 50% engine failure rate after 6 months, even if the other 50% normally last for >200,000 miles? I know I wouldn't.

More than likely, Ultra PS' have a similar failure rate to other "middle-of-the-road units". Since the 500 watt X-Connect (with 34A 12V rail) model has been selling for ~$25 after MIRs for ~1 year, I bet they've sold many thousands of units.

Do a google search and notice the FEW posts there are regarding failed Ultra units (and NOT postings saying "I heard of a guy who's Ultra PS' blew up and took out a whole city block...blah....blah"). I mean actual posts from peeps with actual Ultra PS related problems (not RAM, not video card, etc.).

 

[64ninjas]

wow, I have an ultra-x 500w.. hope it lasts
was only $5 at fry's anyway.

 

[Bobthelost]

For that money you might as well

 

[Ike0069]

Originally posted by: Budarow

Originally posted by: Ike0069
I would always suggest against getting an Ultra PSU, but that doesn't mean that every single one will have problems. If you search around, you will find many happy Ultra-X owners. But you will also find many unhappy ones. The problem I see is that they have a much higher failure rate than the average. Even the best brands will have problems from time-to-time, but it's all about reliability.

Would you buy a vehicle that had a 50% engine failure rate after 6 months, even if the other 50% normally last for >200,000 miles? I know I wouldn't.

More than likely, Ultra PS' have a similar failure rate to other "middle-of-the-road units". Since the 500 watt X-Connect (with 34A 12V rail) model has been selling for ~$25 after MIRs for ~1 year, I bet they've sold many thousands of units.

Do a google search and notice the FEW posts there are regarding failed Ultra units (and NOT postings saying "I heard of a guy who's Ultra PS' blew up and took out a whole city block...blah....blah"). I mean actual posts from peeps with actual Ultra PS related problems (not RAM, not video card, etc.).

I would disagree. I believe they have a reliability in the bottom 25% of PSU makers, but I have no personaly way to verify that.
But I do think that the reason they are so cheap AR is because people started realizing that they were not worth anywhere near the price tag they had intially, so the rebates had to be offered to speed up sales on backed up inventory.

Also a big problem IMO is their RMA policy. You have to purchase a new one thru Tiger Direct, then send the onld one in and wait for a refund. WTF is that?

 

[Crashedout]

Couple of reasons they are not well regarded:

-They started at 70 dollars when they were new, and since they are made by a low end OEM it was a rip off
-Their failure rates seem to increase the closer you get to the rated value, ie 300W on an Ultra is fine 400+ seems to cause failures.

If you actually measure your load, you are probably not even crossing 350W so you should be fine. I have a kill-a-watt and the measurments on my oc'ed A64 make my 350W antec overkill.

 

[TK-421]

I have one in my current rig and it's working great. It's nice only having the cables I need and not having the case all cluttered up.

However, the first one I bought was DOA. So, it seems you have to flip a coin to see if you get one that works or not.

When I bought it a year and a half ago, there were only 2 modular PSU's out there. Now there's a bunch, so you have a lot of choices if you want modularity.

 

[djnsmith7]

I've always seen a lot of returns on these at Fry's...I wouldn't buy one...I'm happy w/ my OCZ Modstream & Enermax Liberty 500...

 

[AndrewZorn]

they are OK psus i bought one solely for external use (read: not powering a PC) and for $20 you cant turn that down. since it looks good it actually works great sitting on my desk.

 

[SniperWulf]

I've been told that the X-Connect rails are pretty weak compaired to what they claim. I have the X-finity 600w. Its been a good PSU so far. The main reason I got it was because locally, it was fairly inexpensive and is on nvidia's certified for SLI list