Of the major components in your computer, there is one piece that people tend to turn a blind eye towards, not thinking about the vitality of its operation and durability. The power supply is easily the most important piece of equipment in your computer, and also one of the relatively cheaper parts. When people who are new to computers organize their first build, they tend to think that any power supply will do just fine – a power supply is a power supply. They buy the ones with the most wattage, because the bigger the number, the better it is, right?
It is absolutely vital to have a good quality power supply for a stable and long-lasting computer. In my years working with computers, I have seen cheap power supplies cause more problems than any other single component in a computer. The problem the power supply has is that it is hooked up to every hardware component in your system, and when it dies, it tends to take other components with it. I’ve seen bad power supplies take out motherboards to hard drives, and everything in between. Poor power supplies also cause the system to be unstable during normal operation, resulting in random reboots, system crashes and lockups, and other various errors. When power supplies are one of the cheapest computer components to get, why get a poor brand? The numbers don’t always indicate how good a power supply is, and many people get caught in that trap.
Ultra Products has sent us a nice looking unit for review, the X-Connect Series 550 Watt ATX Modular Power Supply, currently going for $129.99. Will it pass my stiff requirements for power supplies? Read on to find out!
Modular What?
Some of you may not know what a modular power supply is. Honestly, before I was offered the review, I had never heard of them. So, I did a little research and found some pretty useful information.
Modular power supplies are made to reduce cable clutter by allowing you to plug in only the cables you need to your power supply. For instance, if you only have one hard drive and one optical drive, you only have to have one or two 4-pin power connectors. If you have an SATA hard drive, you can just plug in the SATA cable and one 4-pin connector.
The purpose of the modular power supply system is to reduce clutter, make it look neater, and increase airflow through the system. A pretty clever idea, if you ask me.
Initial Thoughts and Impressions
The packaging of the Ultra Products power supply is done well to protect the unit itself, wrapped in plastic and surrounded by styrofoam, with the cables in a separate box within the main box. The unit comes with 14 cables (as follows):
| Quantity | Length | Type |
| 1 | 19″ | 20/24-Pin Motherboard |
| 1 | 19″ | +V 4-Pin Motherboard |
| 2 | 24″ | 6-Pin PCI-Express |
| 1 | 21.5″ | 5-Pin SATA Power |
| 1 | 25″ | 4-Pin |
| 1 | 3.5″ | 4-Pin to Floppy Adapter |
| 1 | 7.5″ | 4-Pin |
| 1 | 18″ | 4-Pin Floppy |
| 1 | 19″ | EPS Motherboard Adapter |
| 1 | 21.5″ | Y-Cable, 2 SATA |
| 2 | 19″ | Y-Cable, 2 Molex (4-Pin) |
| 1 | 12.5″ | 4-Pin to Three cooling fans |
Basically, it has enough cables to do just about any job it would need to do, and as I said above, you just plug in the ones you need.
As far as looks go, it doesn’t get much better than this. It has a glossy titanium finish, so it is nice and shiny, with pretty looking grill covers and connection panels. The cables are UV-ready, and come in a bright silver color. I definitely like the looks of it.
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