PSU decision bad?

[bd1886]

Was wondering what kind of experiences have lead up to Ultra psu's being put on the 'bad' list?
I've heard that the ones that come with the Ultra sff cases aren't good but reviews on the larger ones seem to be as positive as anything else. Have an Infinity x2 550w modular. Talk to me. Any imput will be appreciated Am going to be running it with a P4 541 cpu, Zalman 9500 hsf, BFG 6600 oc video card, 2 gigs kingston ram, and nominal everthing else in a larger midtower case by Rosewill. Shouldn't too taxing on it?

[newbuilder14]

The OEM manufacturer for Ultra units does not make quality parts, thus leading to a higher failure rate than higher quality manufactureres.

[Mr.Ferrari]

OK.

Ultra's "bad rap" comes from one production run of one model: X-Connects. All other Ultra's should have no such reputation.
Only the 500W X-Connect was made by Youngyear. The X-Finity 500, and ALL OTHER X-Finity's, are made by Wintech.

Youngyear= the same people who make those generic aspires and other bottom of the bin powersupplies which I would consider fire hazards :P.

Wintech= Not high end, nor lowend. Most of their products result in decent, not amazing powersupplies that shouldnt screw up on you.

The Xfinitys, the X2's and the new XVS are all ok powersupplies. I would certainly pick a silverstone or FSP over them, but they are not something to fear.

I'll be the first person to tell you that using a Youngyear built X-Connect probably isn't the best choice for...heck... ANY PC. But one model, made two years ago, discontinued a year ago, and is only currently available because it's being blown out.

Ultra has a lot of damage control to do. Thank God that's not my job. But to make a blanket statement about a brand because of one model that was outsourced by a manufacturer that was only used once for that one particular model.... It's like giving Ford a hard time today because of the Pinto.


Ok now the other side. GLC has had I believe three? Wintech sourced ultra psu's come to him.
I believe all three were unstable and junkers. Three failed psu's doesnt make me at all want to ever support ultra.

Overall, if your gonna go ultra stay away from X-connects, xfinity and others are ok. I still suggest for new builders to stick with known CONSISTENT brands and not give yourself a headache. Sure wintech/ultra isnt bad. Not the best though.

Most of the time, there is definately a whole lot better out there for the price. If you find one of the good ones on a hefty mail in rebate, they make a good backups.

For high end rigs, definately stay away from ultra. I would definately opt for something better.

[bd1886]

Needed facts. and I got 'em!! Wading through all the half truths,myths,urban legends and chicken little crap is a pain. Now.. I guess I do have an X-Connect 2 550w (as seen @ TD).Bought it at Fry's with a huge rebate.( Not being familiar with psu's,I guess I glossed the model names and all together in my head!) Life time warranty so we'll see what happens. Hella good looking thing,heavy and looks "beefy" for a possible future paperweight! You wouldn't know if it's the modular cables that are the problem? Regardless...I'll monitor it closely. Muchas!!!

[Mr.Ferrari]

No modular cables are not the cause. Its just the overall build quality from a shoddy OEM.

However, if you bought it recently yours might be one of the newer X-connects.

If you can follow this Link , you'll get to the UL page through which you can find out if your x-connect is one of the newer Wintech sourced ones, or youngyear.

If its wintech, I might trust it with that rig..its still a x-connect though =/, if its youngyear..well you know the rest .

[Alaron]

Here is our Ultra power supply review: http://www.pcmech.com/show/reviews/980/ Two out of three units sent were defective, and these were units Ultra sent to us directly.

[bd1886]

Lucked Out!! Never got a youngyear.The review and link (to the UL site) pretty much brought this issue to a conclusion.( Learned a lesson about only using a single source for a review!) Going to get this put together and run some tests on a few things. THANKS ALL!! Well... there's another project. So...
Thanks again.