Big computer systems require big power. Does your computer have multiple video cards? How about multiple hard drives? What about elaborate cooling and lighting? Maybe even “all of the above”? Well, you will need a power supply with a lot of watts to power all that gear. But what about the rats nest of cabling that a high wattage power supply is going to leave sitting in your case? A modular power supply may just be the solution you need.
Ultra Products makes a return to the modular power supply market after a brief absence, and they are ready to take it on again full force with their new X4 series of modular ATX power supplies.
Features and Specifications
Ultra Products was the company that started the whole modular power supply craze. Their original X-Connect power supplies were quite popular. They allowed you to only connect the power cables you needed, which saved space and improved airflow inside your computer. The X2 and X3 series followed, making needed improvements to build quality. Then Ultra retreated to the court room to pursue patent rights on the modular design.
Now that the dust has settled they have come out with the new X4 power supply line. This latest line of power supplies, from which we are reviewing the 1050W model, features the same modular design seen in all previous generations. It also sports the following features.
- Modular Design
- 80 Plus Certified
- Power Protection
- Simple Installation
- Lifetime Warranty
- Reduced Acoustics
Unfortunately Ultra hasn’t updated their home page with a dedicated product page for the X4. Keep an eye on their site if you are looking for further specifications.
As for pricing, the unit is available for $279.99 USD from retailers that commonly sell other Ultra products. Ultra seems to be making a bit of a statement with this price, along with the features they are pushing. This power supply is being targeted near-direct at the high end of the market. Hopefully the performance numbers can live up to the marketing.
Modular Cables Everywhere
It’s a good thing that you can be so selective with your cables, because Ultra provides a whole host of cables with the X4 power supplies. The list includes the following.
- 24-pin ATX connector
- 1 x 4 pin 12V CPU connector
- 1 x 8 pin 12V CPU connector
- 3 x 6+2 pin 12V PCIe connectors
- 3 x 6 pin 12V PCIe connectors
- 11 x SATA connectors
- 9 x Molex connectors
- 2 x Floppy connector
- 2 x 3-pin fan connectors
Of particular note is the PCIe cables, as the selection provided allows you to power three PCIe video cards that use two power headers. Ultra even includes a double-sided pouch to hold all the cables you don’t use.
Some Extra Shrapnel
In addition to the PSU and the cables, Ultra included some extra that range for nice-to-have to cannot-live-without. There’s of course a user manual and mounting screws. You can choose to mount the PSU using either standard screws or thumbscrews. When mounting the PSU you can use the included silicone gasket to dampen and vibrations that may be transmitted from the operating power supply to the computer case, reducing noise even further. To assist in airflow, a small bundle of zap straps have been included to secure cables within your case.
Looking For A Little Black Box?
Like it’s predecessor, the Ultra X4 is a single rail design kept cool by a bottom mounted 135mm fan. It’s actually surprisingly small for a high wattage PSU, only being slightly bigger than the aforementioned cooling fan. Short circuit protection, in-rush current protection, and thermal overload cutoff protection are all built in, and work together to protect systems from under voltage, surges, and brown outs.
No explanation is really made as to why Ultra has selected an odd sized fan, instead of the 120mm fans typically found on modern power supplies and cases. However the large fan size combined with the slow moving fan makes for a lot of cooling power with very little noise. The only issue that may pop up is if the fan dies and has to replaced, which would by done by Ultra anyhow as this PSU has an unprecedented lifetime warranty on it.
As for the general construction of the X4, unlike some of their previous products Ultra has gone for an all metal outer shell. Even the mounting plate for the modular cable connectors is metal. The power supply feels very sturdy overall.
Unlike other modular power supplies, Ultra’s products have always been completely modular. Most other units have the 24-pin and 8-pin motherboard cable permanently mounted, as well as an additional 8-pin cable that is nearly almost extraneous. With Ultra’s design you can eliminate this cable clutter, as well as leave out any other unnecessary cables.
Cracking It Open
Before moving on to testing, I figured it was a good idea to take apart the Ultra X4 1050W PSU and take a quick look inside. It would appear Ultra has taken the effort to install some fairly good components in this PSU, and configured them in a fashion that should promote performance and stability.
There’s plenty of surface area from the heatsinks to keep things cool. The filtering stage is quite good, and even the black and red wires that feed the PSU precious current are quite thick.
Test System Setup
To test the Ultra X4 1050W Power Supply, we hooked it up to the following test rig. These components were selected with the express intent of sucking back as much electricity as is possible in a gaming system, given availability of components.
- AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition CPU
- GIGABYTE GA-MA790FXT-UD5P AM3 790FX Motherboard
- Kingston HyperX 4GB DDR3-1600 Dual Channel Memory Kit
- GIGABYTE GV-R489-1GH-B Radeon HD 4890 Video Card
- DIAMOND 4890PE51GSB Radeon HD 4890 Video Card
- Kingston SSDnow V-Series 128GB Solid State Hard Drive
- HighSpeed PC Top Deck Tech Station
- Corsair Hydro Series H50 High-Performance CPU Cooler
Our testing was fairly simple in terms of number of programs used, with only OCCT and 3DMark Vantage making a behind-the-scenes appearance. OCCT was the start of the show, being used to place press on the CPU, the PSU, and the whole system. 3DMark was simply used as a representative of gaming performance, and how much power used during such an activity.
Time To (Torture) Test
Incidentally, our first test has to do with power consumption. Using a UPM Blue Planet EM100 Energy Meter to monitor how many Watts the system was using, we determined exactly how far we could push our test rig. The System Load test was performed using the CPU benchmark in OCCT, and the Gaming test done using 3DMark Vantage.
Though both tests showed an impressive amount of power sucking, they still weren’t as high as I thought they were. That’s when I discovered OCCT’s latest PSU test. This script puts stress on every component, causing the system to draw as much power as it can. With this script were finally able to break 50% load.
Actually this test did give us our efficiency numbers, which even beyond the 50% threshold still held fast at 85%. What do I mean by “50% threshold” you may ask? Well I’m referring the fact that even though this PSU is 80-Plus Certified, the group that does certification only considers better then 80% efficiency up to 50% load to be required for certification. Beyond 50% is where the men are separated form the boys. Some of the worse power supplies drop to 60% efficiency beyond 50% load. The Ultra X4 isn’t one of the unfortunate PSUs though. I’ve read reports that it maintains 80% efficiency all the way up to 100% load, if only just barely.
Electrifyingly Good? Or Shockingly Bad?
Voltage fluctuations in the Ultra X4 also appear to be quite stable, with only the most minor of fluctuations between each testing mode. The most significant drop was the 12V line on our Full Load tests, and that was only by 0.1V. Noise levels didn’t vary at all throughout testing, and this PSU should make a good addition to any high end system with dreams of being a quiet computer.
Final Thoughts and Conclusion
Ultra’s return from litigation to the world of building power supplies can be hailed as a success, and a welcome one at that. Their latest X4 line of power supplies seem to represent the culmination of four generations of products and improvements, as this is the most refined PSU Ultra has put out yet. The overall build quality is quite good, and the design and engineering will be a breath of fresh air to many a system builder. The ability to only connect the cables you need is the cornerstone of any good modular PSU, and the small footprint will only serve to make the Ultra X4 easier to install in many systems.
Still the product isn’t without flaws, however minor they may be. Though the construction is all metal and everything appears to be secure, after a fair degree of use I found the sockets for the modular cables were a little loose. There’s also the lack of features and specs from Ultra, though I’m sure they’ll update their page soon. Finally, though the PSU did stand up to our battery of tests the internal components don’t seem as high quality as some of it’s contemporaries. However, our fear may be unwarranted as Ultra does stand behind it with a lifetime warranty which is simply unprecedented in the industry.
In the end, the Ultra X4 1050W power supply is a good overall power to add to the components list of a power hungry system. It provides all the power you need, while still saving a few bucks off offerings from other competitors. I’d recommend this for someone looking for a good quality kilowatt PSU that will last a while and possibly for a lifetime.
Pros
- Quiet
- Efficient
- Good overall construction
- Well thought out accessory package
- Unprecedented lifetime warranty
Cons
- Some fit and finish issues
- No technical data available (as of the publishing of this review)
Overall Rating: 9.0/10.0
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