If we have learned one thing from television, it’s that more power is a good thing. Tim the “Tool man” Taylor always wanted more power in everything he did. Captain Kirk demanded more power from his chief engineer “Scotty” and by george he got it. And I challenge anyone to try and and find someone out there who has uttered the words “We all would have made it through that wormhole if only we had less power.”
So you can guess where my sad attempt at humor is taking us? Why yes, the new beefy power supply by our friends at Ultra, the X Connect 2. 550 watts of pure power complete with a slick electric blue light a whopping 14 cables to go along with the 120mm fan built into the chassis. Am I excited about this thing, hell yeah! Why? Because this thing is sitting next to me humming and I’m scared to say anything negative about it for fear of it punishing me. Yes it’s that tough.
Check out some of the features the new X2 has, then we’ll get into some other stuff…
- Supports AMD and Intel Motherboards
- NVIDIA® SLI™ Ready
- Low Acoustic Noise
- 120mm Fan
- Meets ATX Version 2.2, v1.3, and
- ATX 12V Version 2.2 Specifications
- Short Circuit Protection
- In-Rush Current Protection
- Thermal Overload Cutoff Protection
- MTBF > 100,000 Hours at Full Load,
- 110VAC and 25°C Ambient Condition
- FCC and UL Recognized
And on top of it all, the 120mm fan built in to the X2 is surprisingly quiet compared to other power supplies. I kid you not, my wife has inadvertantly hit the reset button because she couldn’t hear any sort of noise eminating from the tower.
OK, so when you first start messing around with this thing, you will notice the power supply is one of the prettiest things ever placed into a computer. Its titanium finish is so shiny and clean I felt I needed to wear rubber gloves and a face mask while handling this thing of beauty. Its a well built hunk of machinery with just enough weight to validate the surrounding foam it comes in. The high sheen finish is damn near mirror-like and I
actually felt bad when my fingerprint left a mark on it.
Now the X2 while bearing a slightly close resemblance to a Nintendo GameCube console, easily has more power then said GameCube, it can be said that the Ultra line of power supplies, eliminates the need for a cluttered and inefficient case. With it’s non-connected supply of cables, this is the first power supply I’ve dealt with that features cables set up like this. Basically the power supply has all the input jacks on the front of it and you only connect the cables that you need rather then have an ugly mess of jumbled wires much like all my other computers. I know, this isn’t the first time this has been offered, but since this is my first time experiencing a concept like this, I get the pleasure of stating how nice and clean this makes everything.
Check out these cables:
- 1 20/24 Pin Motherboard Connector 19″
- 1 4 Pin +12V Motherboard Connector 19″
- 2 6 Pin PCI-Express Connectors 24″
- 1 5 Pin SATA Power Cable 21.5″
- 1 4 Pin Power Cable 25″
- 1 4 Pin Power Cable 7.5″
- 1 4 Pin Power Cable with Floppy power connector 18″
- 1 8 Pin EPS Motherboard Power Cable 19″
- 1 Y Cable with 2 5 Pin SATA Connectors 21.5″
- 2 Y Cable with two 4-Pin Connectors 19″
- 1 12.5″ 4 Pin Power Cable with 3 cooling fan connectors 12.5″
- 1 4 Pin Power Cable with Floppy power connector 3.5″
The cables are made of a flexable type of material and have been designed much flatter then your standard cables, the adequate length allows you to press the cables into the corners and crevaces of your case, giving an open feel to the inside (quite refreshing).
One might argue that this only adds more time to the assembly of the computer, but I will be the first to point out that anyone who purchases the X2 is more then likely not your average computer user, but someone who demands perfection in their machine, and lining everything up nice and clean is the benchmark of a computer eliteist. There I said it, I am someone who wants his machine as efficiently running as possible, and I suspect if you are reading this review then you want the same, the X2 is your man, er… power supply.
Well, I stared at this thing for days before actually installing it, and like I said previously I was a bit lost on the whole “Holy Crap 550 watts!” I just couldn’t wrap my noodle around it. Why, cause I’m an idiot, but more so, what’s with this dual rail technology, I hadn’t heard of it before. Well it turns out the dual rails placed in the X2 are designed to help deliver a cleaner power flow to your processor, and with the lack of unnecessary cables the air flow from the fan cools the system down even further. But more importantly the dual rail power flow allows for greater overclocking potential. This baby is taylor made for those suped up gaming machines that steal an extra .? gig from the processor and need to be kept in the clear.
Please note that one of the dual rails is exclusively designed to take care of the processors power giving a staed 12v of power, never wavering, never faltering, it’s the U.S. Marines of the computer set.
The other 12v rail powers everything else in your computer. Think about it, if your processor is getting it’s own steady IV of power, then less problems are likely to occur.
For those of you who like to read about the specs on a beast such as this, I offer the following:
| Ultra X-Connect 2 550W PSU Specifications | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| AC INPUT | 115V/230V 10A/6A 60/50Hz | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| MAX OUTPUT |
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| Total Output Power: | 550W (Full Load, Nominal Input Voltage) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Efficiency: | 72% Typical at Full Load and Nominal Input Voltage | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| AC Input Voltage: | 115V/230V | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| AC Input Frequency: | 50-60Hz | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| AC Input Currents: | 8.8A (RMS) for 115VAC input 5.7A (RMS) for 230VAC input |
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Now the X2 is definately a quality piece of machinery, but the website says the MSRP is 129.99. That’s quite a bit even for a monster such as that. So I looked around on the net, and without telling you (we don’t get no kickback) I did find this very power supply being sold from reputable dealers at a lower price.
The conclusion on this badboy is a positive one. While it is awful pretty to look at, the X2 is a power supply capable of taking on a massive yet steady workload. The heavy design lets the user know this thing is made well and the collection of power cables that you choose to install are of the nicest quality. Please note that this is the largest power supply I have ever seen and the neon blue light is wasted since my case does not have a window. If you are looking for an upgrade to your power, I have to say it does not get any better, just be sure your case can accomodate it’s size (5 7/8″w x 6 1/4″L x 3 1/2″H).
Here’s my scoring breakdown…
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