Ultra X-Finity 2nd Gen 500w PSU w/ Active PFC

PSU - Power Supply Units 108 Page 2 of 5 Published by

teaser

Photos - Exterior

Photos - Exterior

Copyright 2006 Guru3D.com

When you go to a store and pick up this PSU to power your new high-end gaming system, you will indeed have a sticker, or rather a plate on the side of the PSU detailing the specifications. Ultra preferred to use a special plate rather than a plain old sticker to follow the unit's industrial theme. Unfortunately the printer couldn't provide the labels they wanted, so a third party is currently finishing them, and that's why you see no sticker on this particular PSU. Rest assured that when you go to buy it the plate will be in tact and this is a very nice touch and it makes a nice change. This is another point at which Ultra are attempting to seperate themselves from other manufacturers and it appears to be working well. The lack of voltage selection switch is attributed to the fact that this PSU has APFC. It will automatically detect the input voltage for you.

Copyright 2006 Guru3D.com

This PSU actually features a pretty huge 138mm fan. I couldn't find any model numbers on the fan enabling me to look up the specs and give you the airflow and/or noise ratings, but what I can say is that the unit is a little noisy. Noise levels are extremely subjective but for reference the X-Finity is a little louder than an Antec TruePower but quieter than a PC Power and Cooling 510. To me noise is not an issue but for anybody looking for an extremely quiet PSU this isn't really for you. The PSU also emitted a clicking sound when in use which may irritate some, but is only really noticable with an ear right next to it. The industrial theme of the X-Finity 500w APFC is for me much preferred to the fancy "shiny shiny" theme of the X-Connect. It's a lot more subtle.

Copyright 2006 Guru3D.com

Length wise, this PSU is a little longer than the X2-Connect, so is a fair margin longer than a conventional PSU. It's not in any way as long as, for example, a PC Power and Cooling 1KW though, so you shouldn't have any problems fitting this PSU in your case even if it's something as small as an Antec Super Lanboy. And weight wise, it's a good weight. You used to be able to tell a good quality PSU from it's weight, but I'm not so sure this is the case anymore since nowadays manufacturers use bigger fans for cooling and thus can reduce the size of the heatsinks used which'll mean a lighter unit overall.

Copyright 2006 Guru3D.com

The FlexForce cables are, in my opinion, just something to seperate Ultra from rival companies. Argueably they might look good, but from a functional point of view they don't offer anything over regular cables in terms of airflow, although yes they are a little easier to manoeuvre as they are more flexible. As with the Ultra X2-Connect, it's a shame the cables aren't using "Easy-Grip" connectors, but that's not a major problem, it just would've been useful and made life a little easier. The length of the cables is very good. In particular the two cables featuring 4x molex and 1x floppy connector each are a lot longer than the others, almost twice the size, so you will have no problems at all using this PSU in a large case. The cables are long enough to reach all areas. If you've an older mainboard which uses a 20-pin connection, that's no problem, as there is a block of four on the end of the 24-pin connector which simply detaches giving you a 20-pin connector to use.

Share this content
Twitter Facebook Reddit WhatsApp Email Print