Ultra X3 1000-Watt Energy Efficient Modular PSU

Name: Ultra X3 1000-Watt Energy Efficient Modular PSU - Page 2
Brand: Ultra

by Jeff Bouton — Thursday, October 11, 2007, 05:00 PM EDT

Ultra X3 1000-Watt Energy Efficient Modular PSU

The Ultra X3 1000 Watt PSU - Up Close

Technology Overview

The Ultra X3 1000 Watt PSU is both functional and attractive. The outer shell has a platinum mirrored finish that compliments its quality feel. The end of the unit sports all of the required modular connections to marry up to the included cabling. While each plug isn’t labeled, the series is unique, making it easy to discern which cable marries up to the appropriate output.

Total Output Power:
1000W (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

The Ultra X3 is rated for a total of 1000 watts of peak power. The +5V and +3.3V outputs combine for 160W at 28 and 24 amperes respectively. +12V power maxes out at 840W and 70 amperes while -12V and +5VSB outputs combine for 19.7W and 25W.

Cooling the Ultra X3 is an oversized 135mm ball-bearing fan that provides adequate airflow while maintaining low noise. The rear of the unit is entirely perforated for reduced air resistance as well, and the fan speed is throttled based on temperature to help furhter control fan noise. In our test environment, we found the PSU to be exceptionally quiet and could not detect any audible differences to coincide with fan speed fluctuations. In the end, the Ultra X3 was virtually silent throughout testing.

One item worth mentioning is what Ultra dubs Flex-Force Technology, which is a fancy name for extremely flexible cables. The cabling is the easiest to manipulate, most flexible cabling we've encountered in a PSU, with virtually no spring or memory to it at all. The idea behind Flex-Force Technology is to be able to easily route the cables so they can be hidden for maximum airflow within a case. After setting up this PSU in a test case, we found the cables to be the easiest we've had to work with to date.