Ultra X3 1000-Watt Energy Efficient Modular PSU

Name: Ultra X3 1000-Watt Energy Efficient Modular PSU - Page 4
Brand: Ultra

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

Vitals Continued: Load Testing

Page 4: Vitals Continued: Load Testing

Load Testing: 100% CPU Load

Just Add Power

In our next test, we set our test machine up to run two iterations of Prime95’s torture test set for maximum power draw and heat. As with our Idle testing, each PSU was allowed to run for thirty minutes before recording the readings.

When we review the results of the CPU load test, we find similar scaling as recorded in our idle tests. The ToughPower 750w managed the least draw at 309 watts while the Ultra X3 1000w ran 8w higher at 317w. The Tagan TG1100 proved to be the most power hungry of the three, drawing 335w, 18w higher than of the Ultra X3.

Load Testing: 100% CPU Load Plus GPU Load

Just Add Power

To further stress each PSU, we continued to run Prime95’s torture test while loading a level of BioShock at 1600x1200 with maximum settings in game.

With the increase in wattage draw from the GeForce 8800GTX graphics card, the test machine, when powered by the Thermaltake ToughPower 750w increased by 44w while the Tagan TG1100 increased by 49w and the Ultra X3 added 59w. We have to suspect that the Ultra X3 may have increased in temperature more so than the comparison models, which caused its large fan to spin up, which in turn could account for the noticeable increase in wattage draw when stressing the graphics card concurrently with CPU load testing.