Testing Methods:

   In order to test the stability of a power supply it's best to put it thru it's paces with a high-end system and some serious gaming and benchmarking trials. In order to test the efficiency of this power supply I used the Seasonic Power Angel and I will compare it to previous units I've compared.

   The load stats are compiled running long gaming sessions of Need for Speed: Most Wanted, Quake 4, and/or Call of Duty 2. Also benchmarking stress testing included Prime95, PC Mark 2005, 3D Mark 2005 and Sisoft Sandra CPU Burn in.

Test Hardware:

 

Seasonic Power Angel Results Comparison:

Test	Enermax 620w	Seasonic 430w	Old Antec 480w	X-Finity 500w
120v Reading/wall outlet	121.8	122.7	122.5	122.7
Amperes	1.41	1.39	2.26	2.20
Watts	170w	170w	190w	182w
Volt-Amps	172va	171va	277va	270va
Hertz	59.9	59.9	59.9	59.9
Power Factor/120w load	0.99%	0.98%	0.68%	0.67%

   The Efficiency results were not the best of the bunch and certainly no comparison to the Seasonic 430w I reviewed previously or the Enermax Liberty 620w. You can see particularly with the Volt-Amps and the wattage usage are below average, or at least below the best of class. Keep in mind the "Power Factor" is the fancy term for "Efficiency". So the closer to 1.00% we get the better. With only a .67% rating for the Ultra X-Finity 500w we're only getting about 70% efficiency.

Voltage Readings:

   The voltage readings were all extremely stable and I didn't notice any stutter or "Waves" in the power output, even with my high-end system. I didn't really expect any problems however, this is a high quality power supply with special attention to the power outputs and stability. My SLI and X2 dual-core system didn't give this unit any troubles that I could find. That's not to say it's all that tough, the 550w Sunbeam NUUO does just fine for my hardware too and it's in the same price range.

Conclusion:

   The new Ultra X-Finity 500w Power Supply is definitely a good solid product. The looks department are covered with a mirrored finish and shiny titanium look cables, but it's not overly snazzy. There's no LED fans or modular cabling. It's more re-writing the rules of the basics while adding stability to the rails and using a very unique flat flexible cable design.

    The quality feel of this unit is something to behold. It's as solid a power supply as I've ever handled and part of that solid feel is the lack of a modular cabling system. Modular's are great and something that most people say "once you go modular, you never go back", but I can tell you from experience, having a modular power supply in some of today's inverted ATX and BTX cases can be more of a hassle than it's worth.  Remember my Lian Li V1000 review where I had to completely remove the power supply cage and half the hard drive cages to get my Modular psu to fit correctly? Well, that's what I'm talking about....I wish I had a beefy power supply like this at the time. It would've been such a better experience.

   After a thorough review, installation and testing of this unit I can whole heartedly recommend it for purchase. At a street price of between $70 - $100, it's on par with other quality power supplies in it's class for this amount of wattage. However no other power supply can say they have the Flex-Force cabling system, and no other can say they're better built than this unit. It's top quality construction all the way.

   So with all said and done, I recommend the Ultra 500w X-Finity Power Supply. This power supply is just slick, mean and well designed with special attention paid to not only looks, but also quality and stability.

   Head on over to the Ultra Products Website and check out their large selection of unique and quality products.