The final word on X-Connect

khankhan New
edited July 2005 in Hardware
I've heard two things:
X-Connect is awesome!
X-Connect is manufactured by Powmax, and thus, is crap!


What is the verdict on something like this baby:
http://www.xoxide.com/ultra-x-connect-400-w-ps-black.html

PS: Would that power an AMD 64 3400+ and a nvidia 6800 and assorted accesories? 20$ is hard to pass up.

Comments

  • TheBaronTheBaron Austin, TX
    edited July 2005
    khan wrote:
    X-Connect is manufactured by Powmax, and thus, is crap!
    ANYTHING manufactured by powmax is crap
    khan wrote:
    PS: Would that power an AMD 64 3400+ and a nvidia 6800 and assorted accesories? 20$ is hard to pass up.
    learn the lesson that many of us have learned - if you buy a $20 psu you will regret it later. I have had 2 $25 Allied PSUs crap out on me, and I consider myself lucky to have caught them doing the whine of death before they died and took anything else with them. the bottom line is, you get what you pay for. if you need a case as well, why not consider something like the Antec Sonata that comes with a silent and NAME BRAND psu?
  • LeonardoLeonardo Wake up and smell the glaciers Eagle River, Alaska Icrontian
    edited July 2005
    Did you notice on the voltage chart that the 12V rail is only rated at 16 amps? That's clearly substandard. Even some generics have better amperage than that. Too bad. I really like the design on that PSU.
  • mmonninmmonnin Centreville, VA
    edited July 2005
    Yeah the 12V line is really low!

    I just of something. How about getting a PSU like that and putting an Antec inside of it.
  • lemonlimelemonlime Canada Member
    edited July 2005
    Antec PSUs are great. I ran an Antec 430 for the longest time, and it had no difficulty handling what I threw at it.

    OCZ also makes some fantastic PSUs. If you like the modular units, check out the OCZ Modstream. The Powerstream PSUs are also fantastic. Check out the Powerstream 420. That should be plenty of power for what you need, plus it has a beefy 12V rail.

    As mentioned above, you usually get what you pay for in a PSU. Since it powers everything in your system, it also has the capability to destroy everything in your system, so its not the best area to skimp out in.

    That should be a great system you are putting together!
  • GrayFoxGrayFox /dev/urandom Member
    edited July 2005
    The X-connect is a horriable psu get something thats decent an antec (neopower is quite good) ocz (mod stream is awesome) pc power and cooling (Anything from them is better then anything else on the market) or enermax.
  • TheBaronTheBaron Austin, TX
    edited July 2005
    just to backup my opinion on X-Connect, Kyle from the [H] posted this thread saying how great is PSU was followed almost immediately by this news post describing how it crapped out on him
  • GargGarg Purveyor of Lincoln Nightmares Icrontian
    edited July 2005
    My Thermaltake "Silent" Purepower does well, and has long cables, but is anything but silent.

    My new Zalman PSU has really strong rails and is practically silent at low loads.

    Neither were cheap, I think the Zalman was $70. But, I think they'll both last me a long time.
  • LeonardoLeonardo Wake up and smell the glaciers Eagle River, Alaska Icrontian
    edited July 2005
    Thermaltake - isn't that the company that brought us those rediculous "Orb" coolers in the around 1999 - 2002?
  • ronboronbo Connecticut
    edited July 2005
    A bargain power supply is no bargian at all. I had one in my old 800mhz computer. When it went, it took everything with it, motherboard, memory, cpu and video card. After that lesson I always buy the best power supply I can afford... :eek::eek:
  • entropyentropy Yah-Der-Hey (Wisconsin)
    edited July 2005
    Eh. I've been running my Ultra 500w (not X-Connect, though) for a year and a half. It has never once been the cause of any problems (other than kinda noisy... but I fixed that ;D).

    As always, YMMV.
  • GargGarg Purveyor of Lincoln Nightmares Icrontian
    edited July 2005
    Leonardo wrote:
    Thermaltake - isn't that the company that brought us those rediculous "Orb" coolers in the around 1999 - 2002?

    Yup. ;D You might get a kick out of this. As I struggled to fix a dying orb, Tt planned to re-release those horrors back upon humanity. :eek:
  • rykoryko new york
    edited July 2005
    has anybody here actually used an x-connect psu? or are you all just jumping on the bandwagon and assuming it is crappy b/c of its 1st run issues?

    as an owner of an actual ultra product, i think the 400w version is not worth it b/c of the low power ratings. i have the 500w version of the one you posted, and i have had no problems with it... when 1st released, ultra admitted that the 1st revision had some irregularities with the internal connections which could cause psu failure. if you owned the 1st revision, you could send it back to ultra for a free replacement of the updated version. luckily i waited a few weeks after they came out, and got a 2nd revision right off the bat.

    plusses:

    looks: best looking psu and cables around!
    voltage: very stable and strong rails
    lifetime warranty: 'nuff said

    minuses:

    temp: seems to run on the hot side
    small fans/heatsinks: only 2 80mms keep this bad boy somewhat cool
    lifetime warranty: only applicable if you register your product with ultra immediatly following your purchase

    I really think they should have squeezed in a 90/120mm in the bottom of this thing and it would have been perfect. to help with it's airflow problem i modded a 120mm in the rear of my case (instead of the 2 80mms) and it has been running nice and cool ever since.

    So the only caveat is not enough airflow, but nothing is perfect....if you have a case with good rear exhaust that can compensate then i think it is great. :thumbsup:
  • kanezfankanezfan sunny south florida Icrontian
    edited July 2005
    I have never, ever, had anything other than a cheap ass PSU. Never once has one blown up my computer, ever. Right now I have some no name 300w that powers two optical drives, two hard drives, one radeon 9500 pro, and like 3 or four fans. My computer is super stable. I've always thought that the importance of a PSU is overrated and that you guys have all been taken for a ride. Maybe I'm wrong, but I dont think so. Let the flaming begin.
  • LeonardoLeonardo Wake up and smell the glaciers Eagle River, Alaska Icrontian
    edited July 2005
    No flames, Kanez, just my own experience. I've used quality and generic ("cheap ass") PSUs in several different computer builds. I've never experienced a catastrophic failure - PSU failure that damaged/destroyed computer hardware. I have though, had failed PSUs and irregular voltage-induced instability problems. The incidence of these problems has been at about a ratio of 1:2, quality name brand versus generic. I do not buy generic PSUs anymore.

    Factors to consider when determining quality needs are overclocking, power draw (multiple case fans, high-end video cards, and so forth), and general stress on the computer (minimal operations or full-time 100% CPU usage).
  • JonseyJonsey Microsoft Corporation
    edited July 2005
    I've got my 500w X-Connect, and while my tests downstairs with the multimeter aren't really that accurate, they do seem to show it easily outperforming my current PSU, and it's been up to the job nicely for two years now.

    I wouldn't touch the 400w, but that's mostly because I may someday need more than 400w peak-power, HDDs are getting cheaper.

    I will update you as I move to an AMD 4400+ & ATI x800xl on this x-connect 500w, but I really think it'll do, even if there were issues with the lesser/older/whateverer models.
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