One of the most important parts of a pc(Update Febuary 12,2006)
Written: Jan 14 '06 (Updated Feb 14 '06)
|
Product Rating:
|
|
|
Pros: Well designed-well built does as advertised
Cons: none I have found
The Bottom Line: Get it-it's worth it
|
|
|
| dragon1's Full Review: Ultra V-Series 500 Watt Power Supply (31841) - Bla... |
If you have read other reviews that I have done. You probably notice I think the power supply is one of the most important parts of a computer. Most people think just any power supply will do. You can have the best motherboard/cpu and hardware but if the power supply cannot supply the correct voltages/current all the time, it will be as if you bought the worst of parts.
A few of my previous mentions of power supplies
Nice motherboard not the latest but good(Updated Nov28,2005)
http://www.epinions.com/content_211804262020
Why I need 1 plus info on power supplies
http://www.epinions.com/content_191675993732
How I built my AMDx64 computer(Udated Nov28,2005)
http://www.epinions.com/content_187014155908
Ultra Power Supplies
Now I have been in Electronics since 1960. Building my own pc's since about 1987. In that time I have seen a lot of power supplies and can say that Ultra Power supplies are one of the best. When Ultra Products say it is a 500 watt power supply, they mean it. They will supply that wattage of full load continuously. A lot of manufacturer's will list their power supplies at what it can supply intermittantly.
Review on Ultra Power Supply 500 watts
Features from Ultra Products website
Supports AMD and Intel Motherboards
Low Acoustic Noise
Meets ATX Version 2.03 and
ATX 12V Version 1.2 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
Connections:
1 - 20/24 Pin Motherboard Connector
1 - 4 Pin +12V Motherboard Connectors
8 - 4 Pin Molex Connectors
2 - 4 Pin Floppy Power Connectors
1 - PCI Express Connector
2 - SATA Connectors
AC INPUT 115V/230V 10A/6A 60/50Hz
MAX OUTPUT +5V/32A +3.3V/ 20A +12V/ 28A -5V/ 0.6A -12V/ 0.6A +5VSB / 2A
Total Output Power:
500W (Full Load, Nominal Input Voltage)
Efficiency:
70% Typical at Full Load and Nominal Input Voltage
Now as can seen above there are plenty of connectors availible for most anything most people want to add to their computers.
Also the fan in the power supply is 120mm. Which means the rpm is only aproximately 1700 to 1800 rpm. Even though the fan spins slower than a cpu fan because of the size it can (in most cases) move more air than 2 80mm fans. Most of the noise from a fan is caused by the rpm's, by this I mean that because of the hi rpm's of the fans noise is generated by turbulance of the moving air. Also because of the 120mm fans in the power supply and case I have to put my ear up to the case to tell if even running-but then I am getting older.
Plus at full load it's efficiency is at least 70%. Which means there is less heat generated while converting from input voltage to voltages needed.
For your information, say your pc has a 500watt power supply but the your computer only uses a maximum of 350watts. What happens is that the efficiency of that power supply is actually more than probably 80% or more, as you increase the load of a power supply the efficency will actually decrease and as the efficiency decreases, it generates more heat..
As can be seen in the above the 3 most important voltages can supply 20 or more amps for whatever is needed.
I usually use a table to decide what size wattage I want in the current pc, I'm in the process of buying parts for.
Table
Component Wattage Required
Motherboard 15-30
Low-End CPU 20-50
Mid To High-End CPU 40-100
RAM 7 per 128MB
PCI Add-In Card 5
Low To Mid-Range Graphics 20-60
High-End Graphics 60-100
IDE Hard Drive 10-30
Optical Drives 10-25
Now since I usually buy my parts from TigerDirect, I started looking at their computer cases. I was planning on spending anywhere from $100 to $120 for the case and power supply. I already had decided on a Ultra 400 Watt Power supply. But I found a Premium case with a 500watt Ultra power supply for $79.99. Now at that price I knew I could not go wrong as this power supply will supply all the wattage on whatever I add to this computer. The case beat my expectations as it is well designed and well made. I will soon be buying this again when I build my next PC.
Now this power supply comes with a standard 3 year warranty but if you go to their website or mail a registration card. They change this to a Lifetime warranty. Now that is what I call confidance in their product.
Now for you non-technical people that read my reviews-I'm trying to do a reviews that you can understand. There will be some things I will put in for more technically inclined. But if there is anything you do not understand or you have a question. Leave it in comments and I will try real hard to explain or answer. Plus if I have done that let me know there also.
Recommended:
Yes
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
dragon1
|
 in Computer Hardware, Software |
|
Member: Michael L Hereid Sr
Location: Clinton, Iowa
Reviews written: 71
Trusted by: 70 members
About Me:
I'm back-was without for 2 1/2 weeks -will catch up rating asap
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.