just out of curiosity, what happens to cooling performance without the acetate fan cover?

Exactly the first thing I was going to ask!

Yet another outstanding review I just love it when you get hold of things for testing, I find it almost impossible to find anyone who manages to come close to the detail and accuracy of your reviews.
This is a PSU that on some sites is rubbished without good cause, I have linked some of your previous reviews to that site and there have been people who have changed their minds because of that.

Please keep up the great work it is wonderfull that people can visit here and get a truly honest and unbiased report.

We didn't touch that. Generally speaking, in reviews, we leave the product pretty much as it came to us unless it is simple to do and doesn't void the warranty. With this, even tho it is simple to do, the PSU has to be opened up -- that in itself is more than most people want to do, and usually voids the warranty. It's part and parcel of their package.

IMO, removing the acetate block would mean more of the air blows out the back by passing the hot components -- it is not going to improve cooling, imo -- although it's possible the measured temp at the exhaust could decrease -- because less of the heat is carried out of the PSU. The interpretation of the temp rise is tricky... Noise could improve becaue of less turbulence, but it's not going to improve enough to make it quiet.

Very informative review, although to be honest all the information I would have needed are "not quiet by any definition"...

Yes, this was an unusual product for SPCR to review, as Ultra-X do not have a reputation for making quiet components; also the "bling" appearance of the PSU and abundance of flashy marketing hype on the box are generally contra-indicators of quiet components (it is not a massive generalisation to say that most genuinely quiet components come in understated, fairly plain packaging; clearly the idea is that the component's quality should speak for itself). However, I understand that it was very kind of the manfacturer to make a test sample available to SPCR, and it would be churlish not to post a review of a product which may help people with hellishly noisy computers. For most veteran SPCRers they are already below the sound level at which this PSU can reduce overall system noise, but for novices on the SPCR path this information will be helpful.

Sorry to bump this thread.

I realize this power supply received a mediocre review, but Radioshack.com has the Ultra X-Finity 500W Power Supply-Black for $9.99 after a $50 rebate. Sale ends July 5th. Here is the rebate form.

Some of you may need a reliable back-up in case your NeoHE doesn't work. Haha.

This pic is from radioshack.com.

I bought one of these cause it was so cheap, and it arrived today. I'll take out the Modstream and try this in my PC.

It's $9.99 at Fry's after a rebate this week. I bought one for a back-up.

Do the seasonics ever get discounted like this? I heard that Antec sometimes does but not that I've seen.

A PSU for £5!!!!! That's insane! I still think you get what you pay for though.

True, But I did see someone Post that Fry's occasionally sells the Antec PSUs for about $15 (After Rebate).

I don't know what it is about rebates. I think it amounts to a relitivly cheap loan for the companies involved or maybe it helps the current quarter's financial bottom line by providing cash on-hand now (possibly without having to declare the future payment as a debt).

They also probably studied how many people actually will use the rebate and calculate that into the bottom line.

I'm sure it works well for them somehow because so many companies offer them.

geobrick,

I read an article in Business Week last year that broke down the percentages of rebates. I googled it for you.

The Great Rebate Runaround

These companies have it all planned out. The term "slippage" is really funny. Basically, people who received their rebate check but never cashed it!

As for Seasonic, they only have $10 or $20 rebates. Seasonic could be considered the Lexus of power supplies and you will pay accordingly, unfortunately.

Back on topic. The Ultra has lots of bling and lots of connectors but it's not good enough for most of us around here. However, if you want a back-up PSU or something to play with without messing up your primary PC then it's a great deal.

Strangely, I bought some catfood from PetSmart today, and the $17 bag of catfood printed out a $5 rebate at the register. No rebate was advertised , but hey, almost 1/3 for something I buy anyway? I'll hit that ****.

Shadowknight,

I love Hot Deals! I've been thinking about playing a more active role in SPCR's Deals sub-forum, to help out my silent peeps.

BTW, I think my cat could eat Petsmart's entire food inventory within a weeks time.

FYI, it was the ScienceDiet Light catfood. Since the rebate wasn't advertised, at least not on the shelf, I don't know if it applied to their other types of catfood.

Thanks SK.

Goldmember, Thanks for the link. It's a good article.