Ultra Products 600W

Introduction

A few months ago we reviewed an innovative power supply known as the “X-Connect.” We then reviewed an innovative Hard Drive Enclosure that converts most EIDE hard drives into an external drive. Today, Ultra Products has sent us an even more impressive power supply. Now that our computers are harboring powerful CPUs, graphics cards, and 10,000 rpm hard drives, it is important to have a power supply that can supply enough juice to ensure system stability. The power supply is often overlooked component for a system’s vitality. It is assuring that Ultra Products has decided to offer those enthusiasts a more powerful option for a power supply while avoiding further “modular” capabilities to keep costs to a minimum, although I suspect a modular 600 watt will be seen in the near future.

Ultra Products 600W

As usual, Ultra Products packages their power supplies in a nice and informative box indicating the power supply’s features and specified ratings. The contents of the box includes everything needed: the power cord, screws, a manual, and the 24-pin to 20-pin converter.

Opening the box, I was amazed at the shininess of the power supply chassis. The power supply uses two blue LED 80mm fans, one for exhaust and the other for intake. It also incorporates the use of windows to display the insides. The windows allow for a very nice glowing effect.

The power supply has enough connectors to satisfy a large number of peripherals. Here are the connectors:

• 1 20-pin to 24-pin ATX connector
• 1 4-pin 12v connector
• 2 SATA power connectors
• 8 Molex connectors
• 2 Floppy connectors
• 1 auxiliary connector

Although the motherboard connector is fully sleeved, I would like to see this power supply have the other cables sleeved as well. However, I should not be complaining, with the price tag on this beauty.

Before I opened up the power supply, I noticed that Ultra’s 600Watt monster weighed much less than my OCZ PowerStream 520watt. From my past experience, I have concluded that the power supply’s weight is a good indicator of the its quality. Upon opening the chassis, I noticed that Ultra Products has done a remarkable job of positioning the various components of the power supply on the PCB for maximum cooling performance. First, notice how the positioning of the 80mm fans are directly across from each other, ensuring that the air is passing through evenly. Most power supplies usually have the two 80mm fans that are not directly aligned. Second, Ultra Products has positioned the large capacitors (the component that dissipates the most heat) in that stream of air. This allows for smaller heatsinks because the components are already being cooled efficiently. It’s hard to notice the golden heatsink in the picture because all the components are grouped together. Note that there are no adjustable pots for the voltage rails. Although these are unnecessary if the power supply is strong enough to keep solid rails, it is a good option for those looking to overclock.

Specifications

Output

Total Output Power
500W (Full Load, Nominal Input Voltage)
Efficiency
70% Typical at Full Load and Nominal Input Voltage

Input

As you can see, Ultra Products supplies a sufficient amount of amps per rail, but not enough to equal OCZ’s 600watt or PC Power and Cooling’s 510 Deluxe. These other power supplies have over 40 amps on their 12v rail. It’s even more surprising to see Ultra Product’s 500watt X-Connect has more amps per rail than this 600watt. We’ll see if this low amount of amps has any effect on the performance of this power supply.

Test Setup and Results

Test Setup and Methods:

• AMD Athlon64 3000+ Winchester
• MSI K8N Neo2 Platinum
• 2 x 512MB OCZ PC3200 Platinum Rev2
• eVGA 6800 Ultra
• Western Digital 30GB 7200RPM
• Pioneer 10x DVD Rom
• Sony Floppy
• 2 x 80mm Antec Fans
• DLink 802.11b wireless NIC

Running Stock:

• AMD Athlon64 3000+ Winchester – 1.8GHZ @ 1.4v
• OCZ PC3200 Platinum Rev2 – 200HTT 1:1 200MHZ @ 2.5v
• eVGA 6800 Ultra – 400/1100
• VAGP 1.5v

Running Overclocked:

• AMD Athlon64 3000+ Winchester – 2.52GHZ @ 1.65v
• OCZ PC3200 Platinum Rev2 – 280HTT 1:1 280MHZ @ 2.85v
• eVGA 6800 Ultra – 435/1170
• VAGP 1.65v

Results:

The results for this power supply may not be stellar, but they are solid enough to make it a good power supply. The 3.3v and 12v rails do not fluctuate and remain constant in both stock and overclocked settings. However, the 5v rail is kept only slightly above 5v at 5.01 volts, but drops below to 4.99v. Lower rated power supplies, such as the OCZ PowerStream 420watt, always keep the 5v rail above 5 volts, even under load at overclocked settings. Certainly, this has no impact upon stability and performance. For those looking to push their system to the limits, a power supply that supplies more amps per rail might be more suitable. The sound of the power supply was also particularly loud due to the fans running at full speed under load. While I thought the positioning of the inner components was effective, perhaps this power supply needed much larger and effective heatsinks to cool down the inner components. The sound itself was not annoyingly loud, but those seeking ultra quiet performance will be left disappointed.

Conclusion and Thoughts

Ultra Product’s offering of the 600W power supply for extreme enthusiasts started off on the right track. The power supply is great at keeping the system stable. Each rail on the 600W is backed by enough amps to prevent substantial fluctuation in the rails in an overclocked environment. The price tag of the power supply is reasonable, and is actually cheaper than most high end power supplies out there. However, the 600W does not come with many extras. First off, there is only a single 12v rail. The new Intel 12v requirement calls for dual 12v rails. Secondly, there are no large heatsinks to aid with additional cooling. Thirdly, there are no adjustable potentiometers. Lastly, there is no PCI-E connection. This beefy power supply would be suitable for a SLI system, but there are no PCI-E power connectors. I found it to be a bit strange. Regardless, the 600W is an excellent choice for users who want to have a high wattage power supply.

We would like to thank Ultra Products for providing us the sample. If you have any questions or comments, feel free to hit us up in the forums. You can also check out more of our latest reviews on the front page.