Good PSU?

[CraigRT]

Originally posted by: wolfman579

Originally posted by: Amaroque

Originally posted by: maluckey
One word that quickly comes to mind...........crap. That is what the Ulta-X connect is. Shiny and pretty, but crap.

Plain and simply, wrong.

agree, I just sold mine, but not because I disliked the PS.. it worked perfectly, it was not loud, and it was very stable in the voltage it provided. I can't complain much about it. The only things I dislike are the stiffness of the cables, and the loose fit they have on some drives, my Modstream has tighter connections.

 

[Insomniak]

http://www.dvhardware.net/reviews/ultraxconnect/11.jpg

The innards of an Ultra X-Connect. Note the wimpy heatsinks.



http://www.herta.hu/termekek/enermax/kepek/ener4.jpg

The innards of an Enermax PSU. Note the larger heatsinks, larger transistors and caps.




When it comes to build quality, the images are worth a thousand words.

 

[CraigRT]

Originally posted by: Insomniak

http://www.dvhardware.net/reviews/ultraxconnect/11.jpg

The innards of an Ultra X-Connect. Note the wimpy heatsinks.



http://www.herta.hu/termekek/enermax/kepek/ener4.jpg

The innards of an Enermax PSU. Note the larger heatsinks, larger transistors and caps.




When it comes to build quality, the images are worth a thousand words.

I've seen other well rated PSU's with small heatsinks... (I don't know for sure off hand), but it doesn't mean that the PSU sucks. If the heatsinks are too big, air would not even be able to flow through the unit. Having heatsinks take up the entire inside of the PSU would be even worse than having smaller heatsinks so that air could at least flow past them. The Ultra has some weight to it that's for sure, it definitely feels like a quality piece. It didn't disappoint me anyways.

 

[Patrick Wolf]

Originally posted by: Insomniak

http://www.dvhardware.net/reviews/ultraxconnect/11.jpg

The innards of an Ultra X-Connect. Note the wimpy heatsinks.



http://www.herta.hu/termekek/enermax/kepek/ener4.jpg

The innards of an Enermax PSU. Note the larger heatsinks, larger transistors and caps.




When it comes to build quality, the images are worth a thousand words.

Doesn't matter how big or small the heatsink is, the X-Connect has 2 80mm fans with small heatsinks, as compared to a 120mm fan with a large heatsinks in a power supply. They balance out.

Stop making excuses to bash the X-Connect, none of you actually have them, and are basing your opinions on the few negative things reviews have said, and seem to be completely ignoring all the good things.

You may have realized you have been proven wrong, but won't admit it because of your ignorance, or child-like behavior.

 

[Insomniak]

Originally posted by: wolfman579

Originally posted by: Insomniak

http://www.dvhardware.net/reviews/ultraxconnect/11.jpg

The innards of an Ultra X-Connect. Note the wimpy heatsinks.



http://www.herta.hu/termekek/enermax/kepek/ener4.jpg

The innards of an Enermax PSU. Note the larger heatsinks, larger transistors and caps.




When it comes to build quality, the images are worth a thousand words.

Doesn't matter how big or small the heatsink is, the X-Connect has 2 80mm fans with small heatsinks, as compared to a 120mm fan with a large heatsinks in a power supply. They balance out.

Stop making excuses to bash the X-Connect, none of you actually have them, and are basing your opinions on the few negative things reviews have said, and seem to be completely ignoring all the good things.

You may have realized you have been proven wrong, but won't admit it because of your ignorance, or child-like behavior.

Heatsink size does in fact matter, as does the ability of the sink to radiate heat. If you want to be really pendantic, you can note the larger number and larger size of the fins in the Enermax PSU, meaning there is more sink surface area and thus better radiation of heat into the air to be exhausted by the fan.

Assuming the sinks are made of the same quality metal, of course.

I'm not bashing the X-connect - well, maybe a little bit - what I'm doing is saying I don't trust them. They're sold by a manufacturer known for bad products (regardless of whether or not POWMAX actually makes the things), they're new on the block and unproven, and there are a lot of accounts of them buying the farm and taking systems or parts of systems with them. The seemingly cheap build quality does not help things either.

I don't trust them, simple as that - and considering cost is about the same, I would much rather spend the dollars on a known, trusted brand like Enermax, OCZ, Antec, PCP&C etc.

But hey, if you want to risk it with an X-connect, be my guest. I'm going to take the sure thing.

 

[0010010110]

Originally posted by: wolfman579
Doesn't matter how big or small the heatsink is, the X-Connect has 2 80mm fans with small heatsinks, as compared to a 120mm fan with a large heatsinks in a power supply. They balance out.

You'd think so, but:

Cracking open the PSU, we find the heatsinks small and unimpressive, and the electronic component layout is not particularly tidy. While we're not overly concerned with presentation, the messy layout of components could inhibit airflow. The inside appearance of the unit does not instill great confidence, especially compared to some of the recent PSUs to pass through the lab.

Another shot -- you can see the heatsinks are just thin rails with small fins. Again, the clutter doesn't lend itself to good airflow.

http://www.silentpcreview.com/article193-page2.html

 

[Patrick Wolf]

Originally posted by: 0010010110

Originally posted by: wolfman579
Doesn't matter how big or small the heatsink is, the X-Connect has 2 80mm fans with small heatsinks, as compared to a 120mm fan with a large heatsinks in a power supply. They balance out.

You'd think so, but:

Cracking open the PSU, we find the heatsinks small and unimpressive, and the electronic component layout is not particularly tidy. While we're not overly concerned with presentation, the messy layout of components could inhibit airflow. The inside appearance of the unit does not instill great confidence, especially compared to some of the recent PSUs to pass through the lab.

Another shot -- you can see the heatsinks are just thin rails with small fins. Again, the clutter doesn't lend itself to good airflow.

http://www.silentpcreview.com/article193-page2.html

Yes, I have read that review many times, I also read their review of the OCZ Modstream, and comparing the two, I decided to return the X-Connect, and get a Modstream 450. Mainly due it's better performance, and it supports PCI-E, which is big +.

 

[maluckey]

If looks and convenience mean more than performance, then by all means, get it.

Rate it versus the high-end FSP, Zippy, Tagan or PC Power and Cooling and you get a very bad picture. Stability and durability often go hand-in-hand. A well designed PSU is also likely to last longer as more attention is paid to things like over-volt, ripple, transient response time, and under volt protection. I have yet to see a review that tested any of these on the Ultra-X PSU. I would be VERY surprised if at 50 percent of its rated line current at 45 C., that it would hold together very ling.

FSP units are burned-in and tested and at 50 C. and certified to put out their rated amps at that temp. I would wager that the Zippy, Tagans, PC Power and Cooling and the others of that league do similarly. The Ultra-X would be lucky to produce 60 percent of it's rated on ANY heavy extended load.

Despite my original concerns, the X-Connect did a fine job of supplying power even as the going got tough, though its tendency let the 12V line go walkabouts as I increased the load to 25 Amps was slightly worrying. That said, most people aren't likely to hit that ceiling, particularly when you remember that's 25 Amps in addition to the power already being supplied to the graphics card. you'd need one hell of a system to have it generate that level of load on a regular basis.

This is no anomaly, nor a small issue. It is a disaster waiting to happen. Try running an OC?ed setup with that PSU for extended gaming and watch the life expectancy plummet. MTBF is a real issue on cheaper PSU's, and you pay dearly when they let go. As I stated elsewhere in these forums, I have experienced a PSU failure do to overtaxing it. When it went, it killed half of my setup with rapid-fire overvolting.

Buy what you like, but to defend this pretty unit for anything other than what it is, which a re-branded and chromed Semi-generic Powmax unit is misguided.

When I was into restoring old race bikes, there was a valid motto "If it won't go, chrome it". That applies in this case.

 

[dheffer]

Like I said, the fact that we're talking about this isn't a good sign and really drove me away from buying this.

 

[I800C0LECT]

I own an Ultra X. Christmas Present. Although my rails seem high, they have been consistant. I attribute some of the reporting due to a misreport from the bios. I haven't tested them otherwise...but for a fairly average PC...it does quite fine. If I woulda picked it out...never woulda chose this one. I'm actually impressed since I never thought it would be any more than subpar. Still not gonna be my next choice

 

[DrCool]

hmm.. maybe if this question gets asked every 30 seconds, we'll finally get the REAL answer!

for all the NEWBS:
SEARCH IS YOUR FRIEND, use it!