Ultra X-Finity and X-Pro 800 Watt Power Supplies

Ultra is a fairly new brand in the power supply market.  They initially began offering value and modular power supplies under the V Series and X-Connect labels, which performed great for the price that they were offered at.  Now with the X-Finity and X-Pro line of power supplies, Ultra is aiming to offer more 'professional' power supplies for the PC enthusiast / performance market.  Today, we are looking at the X-Finity/X-Pro 800 Watt Power Supplies.  They are essentially the same power supply internally and externally, except for the type of power cabling that is used in each; and the color.

Ultra X-Finity 800W Manual / Accessories

Ultra X-Pro 800W Manual / Accessories

Upon opening the box, you will find the manual, which features detailed test graphs and product descriptions, a power cable, and screws for mounting the power supply. There was plenty of foam protection surrounding the power supply, which is great for protecting this power supply.

Here are the features and specifications of the X-Finity and X-Pro from Ultra's website:

FlexForce Cabling (X-Finity Only)

• Manageable - FlexForce Cables are designed to be easily routed and hidden within your case.
• Increased Airflow - Special design promotes easy cable management and 30% better airflow than ordinary cables by easily routing cable under the motherboard, behind drive bays, etc.
• Design - Cables are dressed in a sleek looking titanium like finish.

AST (After Spin Technology)

The Power Supply:

The X-Finity features a matte black colored housing, while the X-Pro comes in a matte silver color.  Personally, I like the black colored X-Finity better; although the black paint does indeed scratch off easily.  These power supplies come with Active PFC and offer an efficiency of up to 80%; which is great for conserving power.  Both of these power supplies are also nVIDIA SLI certified.

Looking at the side of the power supply, there is Ultra X-Finity / X-Pro label which features the Ultra logo, with the model and a condensed specification list.  Being that both power supplies are identical, except for the color, the specifications are also identical.  There are four 12v rails, each offering up to 20 Amps.  The UL number reveals that both of these power supplies are manufactured by Andyson.  

The exhaust side (outside of case) features a single 80mm fan, power switch, and a power input.  Both of these incorporate APFC and support the full range of voltages, so no switch is necessary.  The 80mm fan is not a standard 80mm fan, the blades are smaller. 

The intake side of the power supply features another 80mm fan, the same model as the exhaust fan.  The power supplies cables also exit here. 

The Cables:

When choosing between the X-Finity and X-Pro, two different types of cabling are used.  The X-Finity uses what Ultra calls FlexForce cabling, which is silver colored cabling that allows the cables to be neat and flexible at the same time.  The X-Pro features the more standard mesh wrapped cabling.  I like the standard mesh wrap better, since the FlexForce cable simply does not look as professional and it is not as easy for me try and tuck away cabling in the computer case.  The silver coloring also stands out more.  Some users may like the FlexForce cable better.

These power supplies feature the following cables:

-X-Pro's mesh cabling for comparison.

-A 24-pin ATX power connector with removable 4 pin for backwards 20-pin compatibility.

-A 4-pin / 8-pin CPU ATX Power Connector

-2x 6-Pin PCI-Express Power Connectors

-8x Molex Connectors

-2x Floppy power connectors.

-4x Serial ATA connectors

These two cables allow for 3-pin fans to continue spinning even after you shut down your computer.  Ultra calls this 'After-Spin-Technology'  This can help cool down hot components, which can lengthen their overall lifespan.

This is a pass through to allow for CPU fan monitoring when AST is in use. 

This connects to the motherboard to allow for the monitoring of the exhaust PSU fan.

Cooling:

The X-Finity and X-Pro both feature two 80mm fans, one on each side.  During testing, these two fans were quiet at idle speeds and only went to a 'medium' speed during load testing.  I've never considered it to be loud at all.  This is great for a PSU with two 80mm fans.  After shutting down the system, these fans, along with the 3-pin fans attach to the AST connectors stayed on for about 3 minutes.  I like the AST feature, since it will continue cooling the system components after the system has shut down.

Inside the Power Supply:

* Taking this power supply apart will void the warranty.

Inside the power supply, there is an extra large copper ferrite coil that is seen on the bottom center of the image.  The two main transformers are also fairly large. The two very large / dense finned silver heat sinks allow for maximum cooling as the air is blown across the fins by the two 80mm fans.  This cooling method is great. The APFC components can be seen on the top right.

Temperature is monitored with this diode.

Testing:

The test system consists of the following:

-Antec Nine Hundred Case

-AMD Opteron 165 Dual Core Socket 939 CPU @ 2.9 GHz (1.60v)

-ThermalTake Blue Orb II Heat Sink

-DFI LANParty nF4 SLI-D

-2GB of Corsair XMS Platinum PC3200 Memory

-320GB x 4 Western Digital 16MB Cache Hard Drives

-2x eVGA nVIDIA GeForce 8800GTS Video Cards @ 660MHz Core / 950MHz Memory

-Sound Blaster Live! 5.1 Digital Sound Card

-Sony 16x DVD-RAM / 18x Samsung DVD-RAM Drives

-3x 120MM fans, 1x 200mm fan

-2x CCFL Lights

Installation was easy and the wrapped cables made the case slightly neater.  There was still a mess of unused cable that I kept close to the power supply via twist ties. 

(Multimeter Results)

Voltages are at 'Max Load', running 3DMark06 CPU Test 1 and 2 / Deep Freeze HDR test, and read with a Multi-Meter.

I was not surprised when both power supplies had the nearly the same voltage values, since they both have identical insides.  Performance was excellent for both power supplies, the test system remained stable during testing and everyday use.  I was also impressed by the cooling capabilities that the two 80mm fans had.  They remained relatively quiet during testing, quieter than some power supplies with a single 120mm fan.

For the X-Finity, the only thing I did not like about it cosmetically was the FlexForce Cabling.

Overall, the X-Finity and X-Pro (both offered at ~$200) offer excellent performance and sound characteristics. Both offer up to 800 Watts of power, which leaves plenty of headroom for today's computers.  It is up to the user to choose whether they like the FlexForce cabling (X-Finity) or the standard mesh cabling (X-Pro).  I enjoyed the AST, which allows for the power supplies fans / 3-pin fans to remain on, even when the computer is shut down.  This can prolong the power supply and system components lifespan.  Both power supplies are SLI Certified, but do not have enough PCI-E connectors for Quad SLI.  It is not ready for the next generation of PCI-Express video cards, which require the new 8-pin PCI-E connector.

*For additional / larger pictures, Click Here

Pros +

-Power Delivery and Stability

-Quiet dual 80mm fans

-After Spin Technology

-Mesh Cable Wraps

-Great Construction (Heavy / Durable)

Cons -

-No 8-Pin PCI-Express Connector(s)

-Flexforce (subjective)

-No Modularized Cabling

-X-Finity's Black Paint scratches off easily

Techaddicts.net would like to give both of these power supplies a 9 out of 10 rating and the 'Recommended' Award for its excellent power delivery and unique features (AST and Flexforce).

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