Foe had a new review up on the 500W X-Finity ATX PSU from Ultra Products. This unit sports some pretty unique cables and has the usual Ultra blingage to boot.


Check it out here.

Foe.. i'm pretty sure those "do not remove" tags on matresses are only for the third party distributer.

Wow is it weird to see painted finger nails in a PSU review. Superb write up Foe

See, PR is setting the trend again. How many other modding/hardware forums can boast a top notch female Admin and reviewer?

freakin awesome, i just oredered that exact PSU the other day for silver surfer. im glad to see another posotive review on it.

Great review Foe, you made my day.

got from tigerdirect for 69.99 no rebate

It's about time somebody made a PSU with flatt cables. I have seem them use flat power cables that are paper thin for home theaters recently too.

Thanks for all the positive feedback on the review.

This PSU is in my main rig, and I love not only how it looks (which is smooth) but even if it were ugly it still performs.

Nice review, Foe...Thanks!

This article may very well make an impact on my next PSU purchase.
Now if Ultra would combine the flat cable option with the modular X-Connect........

Edit 11/22/05 7:49pm : Looks like my wishful thinking just spawned the x-2......
http://www.ultraproducts.com/x2/

That's a nice looking PSU, and a nice review. I really like the cables, but is it true that the airflow will be better with the flat cables? Isn't bad airflow the reason many people have moved away from flat cables (i.e. IDE cables)? Oh well, it doesn't matter too much, since you should try to hide them no matter what

Sorry if I missed this in the review, but how loud is the PSU? I assume that with only the one 120, it will be fairly quiet. Is it noticeable when compared to other power supplies?

Awesome review! Awesome product! I'm glad Ultra is getting better with cables. The X-Connect was nice and all, but I like my wires hidden. You can't do that with such thick cables as those available with the X-Connect. It really seems like Ultra is paying attention to use enthusiast, their market. All manufacturers should just go modular with options for cables including those like these. Hide the wires you want, flaunt the ones you want.

I wonder if there is an amperage loss due to the wires being so small and thin.

Sorry I'm late.

Thanks for all of the kind words and kind review. I'd like to touch on some of the concerns/questions that have come up....

Quote: Originally Posted by Bionic ...but is it true that the airflow will be better with the flat cables? Isn't bad airflow the reason many people have moved away from flat cables (i.e. IDE cables)?

The idea is to "hide" the cables, and by making them flat you can easily hide the cables behind drive bays, under the motherboard, etc. I would have to agree that if you were to NOT hide the cables, or at the very least pin them down to the inside of the case, that your airflow could potentially be negatively effected.

Quote: Originally Posted by Sparky I wonder if there is an amperage loss due to the wires being so small and thin.

Actually, the wires are the same 16/18/20AWG wires that you would typically find. The only real difference is that the wires are stuck right next to each other side to side. Kind of hard to do with mere Super Glue and zip ties.

JC@Ultra
Glad that you came and cleared up those couple of points, and for the compliment on the review.

Even if you don't hide that cables through cablegomi, the airflow in my case is still good. I think it depends on how you leave them inside the case. If they are in the direct path of vital air circulation then it could negatively impact the temps.

Doing cable management is essential to any case. The Flexforce cables give more options.

Thanks for the response!
I figured that the intent was indeed that the cables should be hidden, and I agree with the fact that this design probably makes it easier to hide them, however, from the review:

Quote: Increased Airflow - Special design allows air to travel 30% more effective then standard cables, increasing efficiency

as well as

Quote: Specially engineered cable design promotes easy cable management and 30% better airflow than ordinary cables

Make it sound like the actual cable design itself provides increased airflow. It's sort of a picky point, since I would take it as a given that the cables should still be hidden as much as possible, and at least out of the main airstream of the case.

I guess I would just reword that second sentence to read "Specially engineered cable design promotes easy cable management, giving up to a 30% increase in airflow through the case" or something like that.

That being said, I'll definitely keep this bad boy in mind when I need my next PSU

Quote: Originally Posted by Foe JC@Ultra Glad that you came and cleared up those couple of points, and for the compliment on the review. Even if you don't hide that cables through cablegomi, the airflow in my case is still good. I think it depends on how you leave them inside the case. If they are in the direct path of vital air circulation then it could negatively impact the temps. Doing cable management is essential to any case. The Flexforce cables give more options.

Absolutely, and that sort of addresses Bionic's concern.... It all depends on HOW you route the cables. Naturally ANY cable in the direct path of airflow is a bad idea. Just keep in mind that sometimes improving your airflow with the FlexForce cables can be as simple as taking the screw out of your motherboard's upper right most stand-off and tucking the cables underneath that quarter of the motherboard.

1. Indication is that unit is AMD compatable. AMD recommends two fans. Please comment on this.

2. I would like to install this PS in an SG01. You say that it is a bottom draw rear exhaust cooling system. Will this interfere with CPU cooling since the PS fan would be directly over the CPU in my application.

thanks, art

Quote: Originally Posted by artpb1 1. Indication is that unit is AMD compatable. AMD recommends two fans. Please comment on this. 2. I would like to install this PS in an SG01. You say that it is a bottom draw rear exhaust cooling system. Will this interfere with CPU cooling since the PS fan would be directly over the CPU in my application. thanks, art

1) If your HSF is of good quality then the PSU is secondary.

2) Not knowing the clearance that is the only problem I see for this issue.

Quote: Originally Posted by Foe 1) If your HSF is of good quality then the PSU is secondary. 2) Not knowing the clearance that is the only problem I see for this issue.

What I perceive is back-to-back fans blowing away from each other. One blowing air over the CPU cooler and the power supply fan blowing in the opposite direction. Possibly reducing the performance of the CPU cooler.

If the PSU is drawing air from the bottom, and blowing it out the back it would be working in tandem with the HSF in drawing hot air away, just from opposing directions. Which is only going to provide more cooling.

The bottom fan pulls air out of the case and the back fan (the one on the outside) pushes it out with this psu. (I BELIEVE, but am not totally sure. This is how Ultra has normally done business.)

Actually AMD does not necessarily suggest two fans. They merely suggest an exhaust type airflow from the CPU out of the back of the case. In other words: The PSU acting as part of the chassis total air flow solution. Of course, this is in regards to your typical ATX case and not an SFF solution like the SG01.

Quote: Originally Posted by artpb1 What I perceive is back-to-back fans blowing away from each other. One blowing air over the CPU cooler and the power supply fan blowing in the opposite direction. Possibly reducing the performance of the CPU cooler.

In cases such as the SG01, I can understand the concern. But any PSU with a bottom mounted 120MM is going to suck air into the PSU housing from that fan. That's a fact. So in your case where the PSU is directly above the CPU, one would think it's going to suck air away from a fan that's trying to blow air down onto your CPU.

A problem? Can't say. Certainly Silverstone would have thought about that. Sure fire solution? Either reverse the fan on the CPU cooler so it's sucking air off the heatsink (not as effective, I'm sure.) or get a cooling apperatus that blows air ACROSS the heatsink instead of down on it. There's a number of options out there, but then clearance is a concern. You don't have a lot of room there. Might I suggest a water block?

The alternative is a PSU with push/pull airflow, like the 600W version of our X-Finity. This design moves air from the front of the PSU to the back and therefore shouldn't affect how much air your CPU cooler draws in.