Ultra Modular 1kW PSU Spy Shots

[malware]

Ultra is well known for being the first company to produce modular power supplies, debuting the X-Connect range last year. Now, the company plans to introduce SLI capable 1kW(1000W) PSU, that is modular. It sports a massive number of connectors on the back, including enough to power a couple of GeForce 8800 GTXs. The product will be on the market by the end of the year. Two variations, 800 and 600W will also be available at this time.

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[EviLZeD]

that thing looks sweet the cable are quite unique

 

[WarEagleAU]

Yeah, Im just glad it got past the 500W hump. Never used Ultra power supplies (their memory is decent but their cases suck) But I like the new 1000W look, also its flexforce cabling is indeed unique and allows for better airflow. Maybe they will get a test unit to try out.

-The Eagle

It is a nice PSU BTW

 

[POGE]

Even though they have changed their ways, I wouldnt want an Ultra PSU powering my $1400 graphics cards.

 

[bornfree]

Modular plugs are definitely a non-no for high current situations or vibration prone applications, like mobile devices or a PC for instance that is transported to LAN parties, etc.

I'll pass on this PSU.

 

[bruins004]

After hearing what Ultra did I just simply will not buy from them.

They sent reviewers (for their first X-Connects) really good PSUs which scored great.
Then they made cheaper ones and a lot of them blew up.
That is why you can find one of these 500W for $5AR or Free AR.

Might as well get a quality PSU instead of Ultra lol.

 

[EastCoasthandle]

Those that are in the "know", will not be interested in this AT ALL!!!

 

[Ultra Jon]

After hearing what Ultra did I just simply will not buy from them.

They sent reviewers (for their first X-Connects) really good PSUs which scored great.
Then they made cheaper ones and a lot of them blew up.

At risk of sounding confrontational, your perception is downright incorrect. A completely fabricated rumor. There was nothing different between the review samples sent out and those that could be bought at the store. They all shipped out of the same warehouse. The problem with some (very few, actually) units came from using a different OEM than who we typically used. When we moved production back to our original factory, the last batch of "original" X-Connects lacked the quality control we were used to seeing. We know the date code of these particular units and on request I have been replacing them with X2 550W units.

Those that are in the "know", will not be interested in this AT ALL!!!

I'm curious to hear what you "know" that others do not. That this PSU is 80%+ efficient, is rated for a continuous output (not peak) of 1000W, has a single 12V rail capable of 70A, has < 50mV ripple/noise, even on the 12V rail, has 1% voltage regulation and a lifetime warranty? Yeah.. Nobody will be interested in that.

 

[bruins004]

At risk of sounding confrontational, your perception is downright incorrect. A completely fabricated rumor. There was nothing different between the review samples sent out and those that could be bought at the store. They all shipped out of the same warehouse. The problem with some (very few, actually) units came from using a different OEM than who we typically used. When we moved production back to our original factory, the last batch of "original" X-Connects lacked the quality control we were used to seeing. We know the date code of these particular units and on request I have been replacing them with X2 550W units.



I'm curious to hear what you "know" that others do not. That this PSU is 80%+ efficient, is rated for a continuous output (not peak) of 1000W, has a single 12V rail capable of 70A, has < 50mV ripple/noise, even on the 12V rail, has 1% voltage regulation and a lifetime warranty? Yeah.. Nobody will be interested in that.

Hence, parts were different and they blew up...
That is not the consumers fault, that is the companies.

Also, you note that you have a lifetime warranty on these PSUs, however, would you provide a warranty for the other parts if this PSU malfunctions and blows up...
I def. doubt you will.

The saying goes YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR in the PSU world (which def. tends to be true sir).
So can you know please tell me why Ultra offers sooo much money is rebates for their X-Connects (I have seen it Free AR and even $5 AR).
Any PC expert knows damn well that those parts are not the best in the world.
They def. aint high quality parts like PC Power and Cooling puts in or OCZ or even FSP.

So all in all Ultra is not known for quality PSUs, hence, why many of us PC enthusiasts (def. spelt that wrong) will not buy this PSU.

EDIT: 70A on 1 12V rail....Hmmm is it just me or does that seem like a lot of amps on 1 rail. I know they had to change the connection to the mobo from 20-24 bc PSU were getting too big (in power requirements) and the 20 pins would of have melted.

 

[cdawall]

i have 2 ultra PSU a 400 watt v series and a 500watt something else (disontinued series) they work fine but all the modular ones i have heard of die even the guy at microcenter told me not to buy one cause they had like 75% returned cause the blew (this is just the modular)

 

[Azn Tr14dZ]

Ultra Jon, I've seen you in the Ultra Forums, but never in any other ones.

Good Job on Ultra PSUs btw. My X-Finity 500 Watt is doing a great job of powering my system and it's been stable ever since I recieved it. Thanks, and hopefully this product (1kw PSU) will do great as well.

 

[newtekie1]

Modular plugs are definitely a non-no for high current situations or vibration prone applications, like mobile devices or a PC for instance that is transported to LAN parties, etc.

Modular connections, if done correctly, pose little issue with high currents or vibrations. I have never had a problem with any of my connections falling out. Even the ones that use nothing more than friction to hold themselves in place, and there are a lot of them in a computer(molex connectors, IDE connectors). And since almost all modular power supplies use some kind of latching system to hold the connectors in, I think you are just trying to make a problem where none exists.

As for the quality of Ultra products, they aren't the best. However, they aren't the worst either, I would put them near the middle in terms of level of quality.

As for this power supply, 70A on a single 12v rail is completely stupid. Divide it up into at least 2 rails if you are going to go that high, or don't go that high.

 

[Easy Rhino]

blah

1000 watts for 8800 sli certified? hahaha! how many people are buying into this stuff. dual GPUs for 1000-1400$ ?? honestly, very few people are putting out that cash. and then you need some massive PSU to get it to work properly.

i really dont see the point to all this. especially lately with all the amazing increases in technology. certainly these 8800 gpus will be dropping in price once newer and more effecient stuff comes out, which means you hopefully wont need a 1000w psu. companies IMO are blowing their load to early! directx 10 isnt even out yet, more than half of game companies arent even programing yet for dual core cpus, nevermind quad core. lots and lots of companies arent bothering to upgrade to vista until atleast sp1 which means game companies most likely wont bother with directx 10 until late 2007. so why all this freaking technology now? this is like the housing bubble that burst a few months back it was an amazing market but its popped because of lack of foresight. i implore all of you to not spend a dime on any of this new technology until the majority of companies can catch up to technology. its just a waste of money at this point. go buy an xb0x360 and be done with it!

::end rant::

 

[Ultra Jon]

No offense, really... but again, your post has a bit of speculation.....

Hence, parts were different and they blew up...
That is not the consumers fault, that is the companies.

Never said it was the customer's fault. I did say that we do acknowledge a problem run and I also stated that these units were being replaced with, not the same, but a better part.

Also, you note that you have a lifetime warranty on these PSUs, however, would you provide a warranty for the other parts if this PSU malfunctions and blows up...
I def. doubt you will.

We actually do handle such claims on a case by case basis. Fortunately, it doesn't happen too often, but it does happen and in those few cases the customer has been asked to send all potentially damaged product back to Ultra so we can inspect it.

That said, the problem is not always the PSU. Just last week I had someone claim that their 700W XVS blew up their hard drives. Upon inspection of the returned merchandise it was found that the customer had plugged (forced) one of the modular Molexes in backwards so 12V was on 5V and 5V was on 12V. Hard drives don't like that.

But back on topic; incidents where a PSU "blows up" components are further and farther between than you may think, and all of our PSU's have always had all of the appropriate circuit protection so such catastrophic failures don't occur often. Yes, I've read about them on the web, but often times it's the same incident rehashed over and over. Overall, PSU RMA is less than 2%. Of those, those that would somehow damage something plugged into the PSU is probably only about 1% of that number.

The saying goes YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR in the PSU world (which def. tends to be true sir).
So can you know please tell me why Ultra offers sooo much money is rebates for their X-Connects (I have seen it Free AR and even $5 AR).

That's not how retail works or how rebates work. A $5 after MIR PSU is not a $5 PSU.

Any PC expert knows damn well that those parts are not the best in the world. They def. aint high quality parts like PC Power and Cooling puts in or OCZ or even FSP.

I don't believe anyone at Ultra claimed to be the best in the world. But you're not familiar with our entire product line, and you don't know anything about the 1kW shown at bit-tech. I can say that compared to PCP&C, OCZ and FSP's offerings, the "EE" line of Ultra PSU's (of which the 1kW is part of) are more efficient, have less ripple and better voltage regulation than most of those company's current offerings. You can call that fud. That's fine. You don't have to take my word for it.

So all in all Ultra is not known for quality PSUs, hence, why many of us PC enthusiasts (def. spelt that wrong) will not buy this PSU.

No doubt it's been a tough road... or shall I say, "roller coaster ride." The X-Connect was a very early effort and for it's time it was really a great product. I personally feel that it stuck around a lot longer than it should have and wore out it's welcome. I'd like to think that the X-Finity and X2 has made up for the X-Connect's shortcomings and it has been well received and well reviewed. These new units are just the next progression of Ultra getting better and better with each new product.

EDIT: 70A on 1 12V rail....Hmmm is it just me or does that seem like a lot of amps on 1 rail. I know they had to change the connection to the mobo from 20-24 bc PSU were getting too big (in power requirements) and the 20 pins would of have melted.

For some time (about a year) people have forgone the 240VA rail limit. Take a look at the PCP&C 1kW SR or the new Silverstone Olympus 1kW, for example. MOST power supplies are going back to single 12V rails instead of two to five because, quite frankly, 20A on a single 12V rail isn't enough juice for a pair of 8800GTX cards or an AMD FX72.

 

[Ultra Jon]

i have 2 ultra PSU a 400 watt v series and a 500watt something else (disontinued series) they work fine but all the modular ones i have heard of die even the guy at microcenter told me not to buy one cause they had like 75% returned cause the blew (this is just the modular)

Between you and me: Microcenter is where most of those "bad batch" PSU's ended up. I think they were the last one to order the X-Connect after we discontinued it and it was the last run of that model that we had the most problems with.

1000 watts for 8800 sli certified? hahaha! how many people are buying into this stuff. dual GPUs for 1000-1400$ ?? honestly, very few people are putting out that cash. and then you need some massive PSU to get it to work properly.

This is going to sound funny.. but I agree!

I hold the GPU companies responsible for not making more efficient GPU's. 225W per GPU? And the next gen is going to be upwards of 300W per GPU?!?! Come on!! (FYI: The new PCI-SIG specification is even called 225/300W spec and the reason there are two PEG connectors on an 8800GTX is because each one is "only" capable of delivering 75W before the resistance degrades the voltage.)

They need to take the path the CPU manufacturers took: smaller, more efficient dies.

Right now, the 8800GTX SLI doesn't use much juice. But they're not fully optimized right now either. I run a pair with 600W, but as soon as DX10 and some new games to utilize it come out, you know the power consumption on these bad boys are going to sky rocket.... and so will power consumption.

 

[bruins004]

No offense, really... but again, your post has a bit of speculation.....



Never said it was the customer's fault. I did say that we do acknowledge a problem run and I also stated that these units were being replaced with, not the same, but a better part.



We actually do handle such claims on a case by case basis. Fortunately, it doesn't happen too often, but it does happen and in those few cases the customer has been asked to send all potentially damaged product back to Ultra so we can inspect it.

That said, the problem is not always the PSU. Just last week I had someone claim that their 700W XVS blew up their hard drives. Upon inspection of the returned merchandise it was found that the customer had plugged (forced) one of the modular Molexes in backwards so 12V was on 5V and 5V was on 12V. Hard drives don't like that.

But back on topic; incidents where a PSU "blows up" components are further and farther between than you may think, and all of our PSU's have always had all of the appropriate circuit protection so such catastrophic failures don't occur often. Yes, I've read about them on the web, but often times it's the same incident rehashed over and over. Overall, PSU RMA is less than 2%. Of those, those that would somehow damage something plugged into the PSU is probably only about 1% of that number.



That's not how retail works or how rebates work. A $5 after MIR PSU is not a $5 PSU.



I don't believe anyone at Ultra claimed to be the best in the world. But you're not familiar with our entire product line, and you don't know anything about the 1kW shown at bit-tech. I can say that compared to PCP&C, OCZ and FSP's offerings, the "EE" line of Ultra PSU's (of which the 1kW is part of) are more efficient, have less ripple and better voltage regulation than most of those company's current offerings. You can call that fud. That's fine. You don't have to take my word for it.



No doubt it's been a tough road... or shall I say, "roller coaster ride." The X-Connect was a very early effort and for it's time it was really a great product. I personally feel that it stuck around a lot longer than it should have and wore out it's welcome. I'd like to think that the X-Finity and X2 has made up for the X-Connect's shortcomings and it has been well received and well reviewed. These new units are just the next progression of Ultra getting better and better with each new product.



For some time (about a year) people have forgone the 240VA rail limit. Take a look at the PCP&C 1kW SR or the new Silverstone Olympus 1kW, for example. MOST power supplies are going back to single 12V rails instead of two to five because, quite frankly, 20A on a single 12V rail isn't enough juice for a pair of 8800GTX cards or an AMD FX72.

Thanks for the input.
I was stating my opinion and what I have found with the other members.
I def. dont want anything bad to happen to them.

However, I do find that companies are jumping the guns on the 1k PSUs bc quite frankly the market is very slim for those who would even need this.

I do have to disagree with you though.
Lately, across the PSU market, I have seen more and more multi-railed GPUs.
All the load (esp. when it exceeds 65Amps on 1 12V rail) does put a lot of stress on the 12V line rail.
Due to this power is lost and is not as consistent then if you had 2 32A rails.
I agree that 3 18A rails is not effective, but I have seen many multi-rail PSUs coming out.

EDIT: As a side note, good luck with your PSU, however, I refuse to buy a 1k PSU. I also prefer my OCZ and PC Power and Cooling

 

[Easy Rhino]

Between you and me: Microcenter is where most of those "bad batch" PSU's ended up. I think they were the last one to order the X-Connect after we discontinued it and it was the last run of that model that we had the most problems with.



This is going to sound funny.. but I agree!

I hold the GPU companies responsible for not making more efficient GPU's. 225W per GPU? And the next gen is going to be upwards of 300W per GPU?!?! Come on!! (FYI: The new PCI-SIG specification is even called 225/300W spec and the reason there are two PEG connectors on an 8800GTX is because each one is "only" capable of delivering 75W before the resistance degrades the voltage.)

They need to take the path the CPU manufacturers took: smaller, more efficient dies.

Right now, the 8800GTX SLI doesn't use much juice. But they're not fully optimized right now either. I run a pair with 600W, but as soon as DX10 and some new games to utilize it come out, you know the power consumption on these bad boys are going to sky rocket.... and so will power consumption.

why is it funny that you agree?

maybe im wrong, but i think the companies are stupid to release a product for something whose future is unknown. sure they are free to make money off it, but i feel bad for the morons who buy into this stuff. if you want great graphics in games id say go buy an xbox360 for $500 and spend $500 on a cheap pc.

 

[WarEagleAU]

Its all hullaboo. If its good, we will see it, if not, more bashing.

-The Eagle

 

[Ultra Jon]

Thanks for the input.
I was stating my opinion and what I have found with the other members.
I def. dont want anything bad to happen to them.

However, I do find that companies are jumping the guns on the 1k PSUs bc quite frankly the market is very slim for those who would even need this.

True. The market is limited to G80 SLI, the new R600 Crossfire and when the G90's come out which will be able to run three card (why?!?!)

Quad core also uses a lot of juice. I was surprised to hear that TDH of a quad core is double that of a dual core. Hmm.... I would think there'd be better efficiency there with two cores on one die, but I guess not.

I do have to disagree with you though.
Lately, across the PSU market, I have seen more and more multi-railed GPUs.
All the load (esp. when it exceeds 65Amps on 1 12V rail) does put a lot of stress on the 12V line rail.

Hey.. Can't disagree with fact. Like I mentioned: PCP&C discontinued their original 1kW in favor for a single 12V rail version (12V @ 72A.) The PCP&C Silencer 750W is a single 12V rail (12V @ 60A). Silverstone's "Zeus" line is filled with quad-12V rail PSU's, but the new 1kW Olympus is a single 12V rail (12V @ 80A!), and what's even more amazing is that it's based on a PSU that was originally engineered as a quad-12V rail! Seasonic built units like the Antecs, Corsairs and new M12's claim to be three 12V rail, but the fact of the matter is they're actually single 12V rail.

Due to this power is lost and is not as consistent then if you had 2 32A rails.
I agree that 3 18A rails is not effective, but I have seen many multi-rail PSUs coming out.

No power is lost. Power is only delivered as it's needed. Besides, even multiple 12V rail PSU's still derive their power from a single source. 99.9% of the time, your multiple rails are derived by simply splitting circuits and installing over current protection (aka "limiters.") The only disadvantage to a single 12V rail is that there's no limit to trip the PSU if a single connector is overloaded, like in the case of a short. This, and the fact that choke coils used in the circuit separation of a multi-12V rail PSU does provide some signal isolation reducing noise is the reason why you still see some multi-12V rail PSU's.

Good read here: http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/other/display/atx-psu5.html

I don't agree with Oleg 100%, but he's a smart guy and makes his point very well.

EDIT: As a side note, good luck with your PSU, however, I refuse to buy a 1k PSU. I also prefer my OCZ and PC Power and Cooling

That's cool.

 

[Ultra Jon]

why is it funny that you agree?

I think it's pretty obvious why it would be "funny." As a manufacturer of power supplies, Ultra benefits from end users needing larger power supplies as, as GM would put it, there's almost a "planned obsolesence."

But as a gamer, I get frustrated that by the next year I can't buy the latest game and have it work properly on my machine until I buy.. not one, but TWO new graphics cards AND a PSU to power them!

I would rather focus on rock solid, super efficient 500W PSU's then scramble to put out a decent 1kW. Maybe I'm just too practical.

maybe im wrong, but i think the companies are stupid to release a product for something whose future is unknown. sure they are free to make money off it, but i feel bad for the morons who buy into this stuff. if you want great graphics in games id say go buy an xbox360 for $500 and spend $500 on a cheap pc.

Well, if you think about it, how different is the Xbox, PS3, etc. from what we're talking about here? Xbox 360 replaced Xbox. PS3 replaced PS2. What came out last year is never good enough and as long as people buy them, these companies will keep cranking this stuff out.

Fortunately, we'll gradually see the prices drop on the G80 cards. Just look how cheap 7950GX2's are now! How cheap is a PS2? I'd just as well as go out and buy one of those and PS3 be damned! But what's better? The PS3, of course! You'll always have those people that will stand in line and pay the absolute premium just to have the bleeding edge. I was floored to find that people overseas were paying DOUBLE for pre-released G80 cards shipped from the US. WHY?!?! Just wait a week!!!

Its all hullaboo. If its good, we will see it, if not, more bashing.

You got a deal!

 

[cdawall]

Between you and me: Microcenter is where most of those "bad batch" PSU's ended up. I think they were the last one to order the X-Connect after we discontinued it and it was the last run of that model that we had the most problems with.

well as you can see i own 2 of the ultra PSUs they run issue free i also haev a ultra 4bay case and a 512mb stick of ram 3200 i really like the good cheap stuff ultra sells its nice

 

[EastCoasthandle]

I'm curious to hear what you "know" that others do not. That this PSU is 80%+ efficient, is rated for a continuous output (not peak) of 1000W, has a single 12V rail capable of 70A, has < 50mV ripple/noise, even on the 12V rail, has 1% voltage regulation and a lifetime warranty? Yeah.. Nobody will be interested in that.

Talk is cheap (what's on paper doesn't alway convert to reality). I want a decent review from this PSU:
1) Brown out testing
2) Ripple testing
3) HotBox testing
4) capacitor inspection
5) Cross loading test
6) Oscillograms
7) How hot this PSU gets? In other words how much heat can it dump inside a closed case
8) How well does this PSU do under heat (40C)? Or whatever the normal temps are in most closed computer case with the computer on for at least 3 hours. I am sure it ain't 25C during the winter with the heat on or during a summer day without A/C.
9) ETC

You learn at an early age that everything that glitters gold is not gold. Besides the obvious tainted history they have a lot to prove to the enthusiast community. We await our un-biased, fully professional review!

 

[wtf8269]

Even though they have changed their ways, I wouldnt want an Ultra PSU powering my $1400 graphics cards.

I wouldn't trust Ultra either. Two of my friends bought the same Ultra PSU at the same time. In one the lights and fan went bad and that was enough for him not to use it anymore. In the other the lights went bad and it ended up overheating and crashed his system; he ended up putting a thermaltake smart fan in it and continued using it - although none of us support him in that decision.

 

[Ultra Jon]

I want a decent review from this PSU

Really? Sounded more like you wanted to blow it off before knowing anything about it.

Review samples will be going out after CES. And they're not going to go to the "we threw it in our PC and it worked" crowd, either. I swear those guys do the industry more harm than good sometimes.

 

[Ultra Jon]

Well... I've said all that needed to be said. Just wait for the reviews.

As for those who would "never trust Ultra" I don't expect to change anyone's mind in that respect. I still have a friend who'll never buy a Shuttle motherboard when the one I recommended to him SIX YEARS AGO was DOA. He's never forgiven me for that.

Later guys!