First of all i would like to say thanks to Ultra with providing us with so many items for review! These guys are amazing and deserve 100% respect in their business. All of the product that i have ever came across Ultra beats everyone by far. Not only by the looks but also by performance! We are here to review a new product at Ultra. "X2 550W PSU - Titanium w/ UV Blue " This is a standard ATX power supply with few things up its sleeves. The following review would be based on the visuals and performance of this particular unit. We would like to cross exam the statistics of this unit to see if it will fit in the Average PSU or perhaps recommendation for Overclockers.

About the Product

This is from Ultras Website.

All New Redesigned 550 Watt X-Connect (X2) - UV
Just when the technicians and designers thought they had the perfect power supply in our legendary laboratories, its crack team of geniuses one-upped their own incredible product. Enter the hard-working power supply with the glossy titanium finish – the X2 550 Watt Power Supply.

Why X2 is Better than Ever
If you’re familiar with the X-Connect (1st Generation) you know that it’s the world’s first completely modular design. That means you only have to connect the cables you need. This leaves your system’s airflow unimpeded by clunky, chunky air stifling cables. The end result? Airflow that cools and protects your precious components. This born-to-be-modded power supply goes several steps beyond its award-winning predecessors. The Ultra 550-watt titanium finish X-Connect features FlexForce technology, which delivers easy cable routing while remaining hidden within your case. FlexForce’s special design allows air to travel 30-percent more effectively than standard cables. This results in a quantum leap in performance. Plus the 550-Watt X-Connect dresses its cables in a sleek, titanium UV reactive finish. Now available with UV reactive clear side and UV blue light inside.

Dual Rail Technology for More Stable Power
Specially developed for extreme gaming rigs! This 550-watt X-Connect features Dual Rail Technology. The X-Connect’s critical 12V power are divided into two separate rails. This distributes cleaner power to your CPU, offering better stability and greater overclocking potential. You’ll get phenomenal system performance with the this 550-watt X-Connect!

Product Features and Specifications

Made from premium steel and coated with a high gloss titanium finish, this sleek glossy look will give your computer the professional gamer look. Better Power Distribution Dedicated CPU Rail More stable power when you need it... Use only the cables you need! No need to clutter up your computer with useless cables. This not only increases airflow within your case, but it gives the inside of your case a clean professional look. Low noise 120mm fan will maximize airflow through the power supply as well as keep the noise level of your pc down. FlexForce Cables are designed to be easily routed and hidden within your case while increasing the airflow. Short Circuit Protection In-Rush Current Protection Thermal Overload Cutoff Protection All the power protection you'll need!

Total Output Power:Total Output Power

550W (Full Load, Nominal Input Voltage)
Efficiency:
72% Typical at Full Load and Nominal Input Voltage

Input

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

Additional Features

• Supports AMD and Intel Motherboards
• NVIDIA® SLI™ Ready
• UV Reactive Clear Side w/ Blue UV Light
• 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

 

Closer Look

The Box		Nice Packaging		WOW Incredibly Shiney

Bottom of the PSU		Left Side of the Unit		Flex Force Connectors

The Guts Inside

Warranty

Package includes

Ultra X2 550W PSU - Titanium w/ UV Blue comes with everything you need to get this up and running in no time. The following are the accessories that are included with the PSU.

Flex Force Connectors

 

Qty	Cable Description	Length(inches)
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

Installation and Testing

Installation of Ultra X2 550W PSU was a breeze. Just like any other PSU that you would buy at the market. There isn't anything special about mounting this particular unit. We dont have any floppy drives or cd drives in this machine so the air flow of the case really was helped by the Flex Force technology.

The way we have tested this power supply is with trusted Vastech 3-Digital Multimeter Model #DT830B. This Multimeter has following ranges:

3 1/2 digits LCD with a max. reading of 1999

Low battery indication

Operating Environment: 0-40°C,<80% R.H.

Overload protection

Specifications:

Specifications	Range	Accuracy±(%rdg+digits)
DC Voltage	200m-2-20-200-1000V	0.5%+2d
AC Voltage	200V- 750V	1%+10d
DC Current	200u-2m-20m-200m-10A	1%+2d
Resistance (Ω)	200-2K-20K-200K-2M	1.5%+2d
HFE	NPN, PNP  0 ~1000 Ib=10uA approx. Vce<3.0V
Diode Test	3V/0.8mA
Dimensions	126mm(L) x 70mm(W) x 24mm(H)

Testing

• Our Testing system:
• Pentium 4 HT 3. Ghz
• Asus P4c800-E
• DDR 1024 2.5-3-3-7 200 Mhz Dual Chan.

Test Machine		Test Machine

The way we tested Ultra X2 550W PSU is by measuring the unit with load and without load. Then we compared the results to the power supplies which we thought were suitable for this kind of mid range PSUs.

 

Test Graph

We took this measures before and during running Doom 3 and Half Life 2. For the Half Life 2 the readings were a little unstable but overall we figured out they were +- 2%.

 

Test Graph

 

Ultra X Connect 2	12.16	5.15	3.38
Ultra Xfinity 550w	12.06	5.12	3.36
TT Power Station 520w	11.98	5.04	3.35
Rexus 500W	11.85	4.98	3.29

 

After testing the PSU usage with the most hard core games that we could find. We went to the other reviews to see what other got for the same ballpark of PSUs. This chart explain that the stability of the Ultra X2 550W PSU is on the same lever as all of the other PSUs such as Ultra XFinity 550W or Rexus 500w.

While the unit was in the operational state, it did not produced much of noise, meaning the sound from the fan. Now we have not tested it for heat or the decibels but i do believe that it was reasonable. The Flex Force connectors were very nicely looking and did not created any air resistance in the case. Flex Force connectors are flat so they do not block the airways inside of the standard atx computer. The addition of the UV ability of the connectors really adds that "expensive look" to the case.

 

Conclusion

If you are looking for a PSU that looks great and does what it supposed to be doing, without any crazy care, the Ultra X2 550W PSU is for you. Ultra X2 550W PSU Provides stable source of power while keeping in mind overheating and noise levels down. Great product, however we did found few cons that might throw few heads off. We took close look at the whole package and realized that the unit has only 2 SATA power connectors. This was a turn off because in our test system we were running 2 36 gig sata raptors in raid 0+1 and we also had a 250 gig sata storage drive. I am sure you can pick up a Y spliter down the road. Over all this PSU unit is an exellent source of power and we would definitely recommend it to the every day overclockers.

Some pros we found:

Stable Voltage generation

Disables noise "quiet"

The unit has UV cables and a good length of them

Lifetime Warranty

 

Some Cons we found:

Lack of more sata connectors on the actual PSU

Lack of another fan for cooling the capasitors

No SATA Y connector is included in the box

 

 

In conclusion of out review we would like to give Ultra X2 550W PSU a 9 out of 10.