Ultra X3 800-watt Modular PSU

Ultra’s latest products have shown some serious innovation and Voltron-like intercompatability. The X3 800-watt modular PSU is another fine example of synergistic design that augments the unique Power Bar feature in certain Ultra cases, and the unit blends topnotch build quality with a great efficiency rating and modular capability. If you’re in the market for a new PSU, any member of the X3 line should join your short list.

Introduction

Ultra Products

Lately Ultra has been focusing on multiple-product integration, and we’ll talk more about that later. For now: the specs.

Ultra X3 800-watt Specs & Product Sheet

Dimensions

Output

Total Output Power:
800W (Full Load, Nominal Input Voltage)
Efficiency:
85% at Typical Load

Input

AC Input Voltage: 115V/230V
AC Input Frequency: 50-60Hz
AC Input Currents:
· 13A (RMS) for 115VAC input
· 8A (RMS) for 230VAC input

Additional Features

• Supports AMD and Intel Motherboards
• Low Acoustic Noise
• 135mm Fan
• Meets ATX Version 2.2, v1.3, and ATX 12V Version 2.2 Specifications
• Short Circuit Protection
• In-Rush Current Protection
• Thermal Overload Cutoff Protection
• MTBF > 100,000 Hours at Full Load, 110VAC and 25°C Ambient Condition
• FCC and UL Recognized All New X3® Modular Power Supplies
  Ultra pulls out all of the stops for their latest power supply. By combining our “EE” (Energy Efficient) platform, which converts as much as 85% of AC power into DC power during typical loads, with a quiet 135MM ball bearing fan, our patented modular interface and our Limited Lifetime Warranty, Ultra clearly dominates the market with the new X3 power supply!

Product Sheet

All New X3® Modular Power Supplies

If you’re looking for an efficient, quiet, powerful, modular power supply with a Lifetime Warranty, there’s no reason to look any further than the Ultra X3!

What is FlexForce Cabling?

• Manageable – FlexForce Cables are designed to be easily routed and hidden within your case.
• Increased Airflow – Special design promotes easy cable management and 30% better airflow than ordinary cables by easily routing cable under the motherboard, behind drive bays, etc.
• Design – Cables are dressed in a sleek looking titanium like finish.

There should be enough options here to get this unit in anyone’s case without cable hassle. Let’s look at the design and installation, and see if everything makes sense in use.

Product Design

The Box

The packaging is all about simplicity and font, making way for the giant X3 splash, and when you pull the top there’s a nice spec piece with the product highlights and features. Outer layers of cardboard can take quite a beating in the mail as you can see on the edges of the box, but the power supply itself should emerge unscathed.

X3 PSU Design

As alluded to by the box, Ultra chose to theme the unit with a deep mirror obsidian, and its reflective paint has got some serious eye-grabbing appeal. The problem as always with shiny objects is fingerprint retention, but 9/10 times, any nice-looking PSU is going to be stashed away in the depths of your case where no one will see it anyway. The cooling fan is 135mm, very quiet, and pulls plenty of cool air through the rear honeycomb. Besides the pretty paint job everything is more-or-less standard until you arrive at the front of the unit.

X3 Modular Connections

Here is the reason people will buy this PSU – besides the 85% efficiency rating at typical load. The X3 800 comes with 19 FlexForce cables that can be configured to suit your system’s needs using the 15 modular connections on the unit.

On the X3, you’ve got the standard 24, 4, and 8-pin connectors to provide thirsty modern motherboards and CPUs the juice they need; followed by (4) 6-pin PCIe connectors for those 8800s; a whole slew of (6) molexes; and (2) 5-pin SATAs. If you also have the m998 case, you can take advantage of Ultra’s Power Bar feature, which puts everything right where you need it and reduces case clutter even further. See my Ultra m998 case review for more info… and uh… just ignore that PATA cord below. I really should Sharpie it black.

Installation

Typical PSU install, no hassles; in Ultra’s m998, the top of the case pops off to accomodate this rather wide unit, but the X3 should squeeze in anywhere.

Now that it’s in, let’s get down to business.

Testing

The Ultra X3 800-Watt Modular PSU was benched in a real-world test environment. Presently, Bjorn3D does not have a dedicated load simulator, which is both a blessing and a curse, because we are forced to achieve stress using typical and extended idle and load scenarios. However, these tests should give users an indication of measurable performance in an environment much like their own. Test conditions follow:

1. Voltages taken using Radioshack’s 22-218 Pocket Multimeter.
2. Idle voltages taken 24 hours after initial bootup.
3. Load voltages measured an hour after stressing began.
4. Stressing was achieved by running the Crysis demo at 1024 x 768 on High settings while copying a 4GB DVD ISO across hard drives. Adobe Flash CS3, Adobe After Effects CS3, and Adobe InDesign CS3 were also used simultaneously for content production. All tasks were run at once, and were tabbed between regularly.

  Results

Extremely impressive!

These are definitely winning numbers; I’m running a workstation motherboard for productivity reasons where voltages need to be spot-on stable. I am comletely satisfied with the X3 800-watt PSU’s reliability, and it’s going to live in my system for the time being. Nice job Ultra!

Conclusion

Pros:

+ Ridiculously stable

+ Sensible modular design

+ Tons of options for connections

+ Molex for days for people who need it

+ Fantastic efficiency rating of 85%

+ Flex Force cabling

Cons:

– MSRP is a bit too high

Final Score: 8.5/10 and the Bjorn Seal of Approval