Installation:

   Before I show you the installation pics, here's a comparison of the Ultima Series with two other PSUs that I have. the top PSU is a stock Enermax EG465V-PE PSU. You can see the tangling cables from the PSU. The second one is the Blue Enermax EG465P-VE FCA PSU which I had modified with black 1/4" and 1/2" sleevings that I found at a local electronics store. No more tangling wires but still not good enough. The last PSU is of course, the Ultima, with it's removable connectors so you only use what you need.

Comparison with other PSUs

   Here you see a rig with a stock Enermax PSU. This case is the Sunbeam VH Acrylic Case which I reviewed earlier. I use a typical setup of 2 x optical drives, a floppy drive and 2 x HDDs, something an average Joe might have in his rig nowadays. I also used a Gigabyte P4 motherboard and a few CC Fan kits as well. Well, the pictures speaks for themselves right?

   First you see the huge ATX main cable dangling around the top part of the case together with the connectors for the optical drives at the top. Then you have the cable clutter at the bottom of the case with the floppy and HDD connectors as well. Bear in mind, this is before I connect any IDE cables and the plug in all the fans into the system!

System with stock PSU

Cable clutter at the top

Connectors for HDD

   Now here's the Ultima in action. A stark contrast to it's stock counterpart. First of all, the supplied re-usable cable tie keeps the unusually long Main ATX Cable organized, especially in a Mid ATX Case.

Ultima installed

The ATX connector

   Here's something that might be bad or good to some of you. With the PSU installed, the socket connectors on the PSU is facing towards the other side of the case. It might be bad cuz you'll have a bit of a hard time trying to connect the Molex power cables in. It's good in the sense that once you got it in, you can run the cables along the other side of the case, away from view.

   Here's a couple more shots of the cabling in the top part of the case with the optical drives and also at the botom part, with the HDDs. You'll still see the cable bending between the optical drives and the HDDs. This is due to the close proximity of the drives between each other and the spacing of the right angle Molex connectors of 5". Of course, you'll probably be able to customize the spacings to your own measurements!

   I must say that the Blue Antec Ultima looks really good with the Sunbeam VH Acrylic Case since it's both of a Blue Color Theme! And with the customization option from Performance-PCs, you too can have your own color scheme!

Warranty Issues:

   Turning a perfectly awesome PSU into the Ultima Series definitely requires a lot of work and cutting/modding so naturally, the original manufacturer's warranty has already been voided the moment Performance-PCs gets into the PSU and takes the first cut. Bear in mind, Antec provides a 3-year warranty on their PSU and 3 years ain't a short time! Performance-PCs is smart in that they choose one of the best PSUs around to perform this mod on and one that rarely fails the end user but we all know, nothing is certain and you could be the recipient of a faulty batch. So what happens then? Well, here's what they have to say about this issue...

"Obviously the manufactures warranty is void with this Mod but, we've picked a reliable model that we have never had an RMA on. Please note that our power supplies are opened by us to be able to sleeve the cables into the casing and, since we have already opened the power supply, that may in fact void the manufacturer's warranty. In order to be fair and protect both our customers, and our interest, we now offer a Performance PC's Extended Warranty on all power supplies. What this warranty does is cover not only the power supply iteself but, also a complete new Mod, including the recovering of the wiring with sleeving and changing over any fans and case covers. If you choose to purchase this option from us you will receive a paper describing this warranty, the start and end date of this warranty, and your Order number, which will serve as the Warranty Number. If you choose to decline this option when ordering then your modded power supply is covered for 30 days by us which includes a new unit and redoing all Mods. The cost for the warranty will be a very nominal $9.99 to $19.99 depend on model and price of unit. This warranty IS transferable to any new owner of the power supply should you decide to sell it as long as they receive and keep the Warranty Paperwork. "

   Pretty comprehensive warranty coverage there! Just think, for $249 + $20 for a full year warranty coverage, you get the ultimate and most versatile PSU package available today! Of course, it's cheaper by purchasing the stock PSU and the individual mod parts and doing the mod yourself but you obviously can't send the PSU back to Antec if it fails you. Because you're definitely gonna lose the 3-year warranty from the moment you took the cover off the PSU! But I guess that's what modding is about.... voiding your warranty! LOL!

   But for the folks who simply do not have the time and skill but still wants the best performing and best looking PSU, I highly recommend the folks at Performance-PCs and the Ultima Series gets the thumbs up from us!

Conclusion:

   Performance-PCs is spot on when they named this new line of Custom PSUs the Ultima Series. This is by far, THE Ultimate Custom PSU Package available in the market today.

   First and most obvious of all, you get the best of the best PSU around, the Antec TruePower 550W PSU. These babies are known for their stability and reliability so you can't go wrong with that. On top of that, you get the awesome sleeving work on the cables that Performance-PCs is famous for. And it's no ordinary sleeving.. these are Flexo Pet Expandable UV Reactive Sleeves. You get the versatility of using only the number of connectors you need with their removable socket connectors. No more trying to hide the cables you don't use!

   Then you get the UV Reactive Acrylic PSU Cover, the Antec UV Reactive 80mm fan and a 92mm Blue Quad Led Fan! But that's not all... for those of you who worry about warranty issues, Performance-PCs also provide a standard 30-day warranty on their custom PSUs or you can add another 20 bucks to the $249 price tag and you get a full year warranty from them! The warranty not only covers the PSU, but all the custom sleeving work as well! And it's transferable! Provided you have all the necessary papers!

  This is definitely the ultimate and most versatile PSU package ever! Plus, Performance-PCs is also planning to add an entire page of add-on connectors for the Ultima PSU Line in the near future so you only purchase the number of connectors that you need! Who knows, maybe you can even specify the spacings between the Molex connectors to your own measurements!

   Now I know the fancy-smanchy stuff might not appeal to everybody... Maybe you don't need the PSU cover, the colorful sleevings, UV or LED fans but you still wanna be able to have the versatility of the removable connectors. What do you do then? For that, just drop on by this page at Performance-PCs and custom order your own Ultima and save a little green!

Pros:

• One of the best PSUs around from Antec.

• Awesome sleeving work they are famous for.

• UV Reactive sleevings, PSU cover and 80mm fan.

• Versatile connectivity with removable connectors.

• Low profile right angle Molex connectors.

• Comprehensive warranty coverage by Performance-PCs

• Warranty transferable! (as long as necessary papers are included)

• Add-on connectors can be purchased in the near future

• With the availability of many other colours of sleeving, heatshrink and PSU Cover, you can have your own custom Ultima!

Cons:

• Acrylic PSU cover might impede installation in certain cases.

   Big thanks goes out to Hank Baron and Derek at Performance-PCs for giving us the opportunity to review their Ultima Series of PSU. I just got word that they now have the Ultima Series for the Enermax PSUs too! For those who don't fancy the Antecs and would rather stay with their beloved Enemax, check out the Enermax 550W Ultima Blue and Enermax 550W Ultima Red!

Thanks for reading folks! Enjoy! Over and out...