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Why I will never buy another ULTRA psu again


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Not saying your's  isn't flakey, buy I've been using 2 Ultra brand psu's for the last 2 years and have never had a problem, I ran 2 gtx 460's in sli on my 650 watt without a hitch. But then again I never had to deal with the company about an rma . :no:

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I know right, its a pain. Also tigerdirect wasn't the problem, it was Ultra itself. Yeah I have never heard of a PSU having a compatibility issue. Yeah they just listed it in the system as a compatibility issue and now when I call they just give me the same speech.

 

I have seen PSU Incompatibilities with certain graphics cards. We experienced this with several of our reviewers. However that PSU should run anything you throw at it. Couple of questions though. Some PSU's are very specific about how the rails are loaded and about what connectors need to go where. I would look through the manual and see if you are following that load out. How old is the system BTW? 

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I know right, its a pain. Also tigerdirect wasn't the problem, it was Ultra itself. Yeah I have never heard of a PSU having a compatibility issue. Yeah they just listed it in the system as a compatibility issue and now when I call they just give me the same speech.

 

I have seen PSU Incompatibilities with certain graphics cards. We experienced this with several of our reviewers. However that PSU should run anything you throw at it. Couple of questions though. Some PSU's are very specific about how the rails are loaded and about what connectors need to go where. I would look through the manual and see if you are following that load out. How old is the system BTW? 

 

This is why I'll only buy single rail units lol, no nonsense with load balancing. Any connector is the right connector :lol:

 

Either way at 1600W...there's not excuse they could make (especially if it's really new).

 

I don't think my Ultra PSU was "bad" per say but like lower quality units, it's PEAK was probably 600W but age and the fact that it never could sustain 600W probably gave it early problems

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I think ccoke is on the right track, you can overload a single rail if the wirling is setup wrong. You can find both multi-rail and single rail PSUs and if you have everything loaded on one rail,it doesn't matter what the wattage is if each rail only has like 10 amps. If the PSU is a single large rail than I don't know, maybe its just cheaply made.

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I think ccoke is on the right track, you can overload a single rail if the wirling is setup wrong. You can find both multi-rail and single rail PSUs and if you have everything loaded on one rail,it doesn't matter what the wattage is if each rail only has like 10 amps. If the PSU is a single large rail than I don't know, maybe its just cheaply made.

What?? A single rail can be as strong as you want, mine is 60A for instance...where did you read/hear/experience that single rail meant a weak PSU? :huh:

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I'm saying they could be lying about a single rail and overloading one of multi rails would be fairly easy if your not counting the amps.

I'd say you may do so easier on a multi rail but on a single rail you can't mess anything up unless you simply don't buy a strong enough/quality unit ya know?? There's no guess work with a single rail unit

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Have you tested your rail outputs,.. could be your power supply is over volting the lower rails,.. which if so,..is cause for a full refund as unit is faulty.

 

It is not vary likely a compatibility issue with the graphics card or cards your running,.. however if the power supply is out of spec or over volting max ATX rating,.. it will cause same symptoms you are experiencing,.. And that is what you base your return on.

 

+12V max is 12.60V,  +5V max is 5.25V,  and +3.3V max is 3.47V 

 

 Outputs will be the same If your plugged into a 20 amp outlet at rated 1600W max, or a 15 amp outlet at 1200W max output.

Edited by Braegnok

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The Ultra employee who said that had no technical qualifications.  I don't think anybody at Ultra does because several years ago, back when they still had a forum at their website, I asked if their V-Series PSUs had thermal shutdown.  They had to refer to the actual manufacturer, Wintech, who told them the PSU didn't have that protection but would inherently start cutting back on power at 55 Celcius enough to shut down before burning up (reassuring).

 

 
My only Ultra PSUs are some old ones made by Wintech that were free after rebate.  One came with a couple of ground wires that weren't soldered because they were too dirty, and a capacitor on the low voltage side came really close to touching a 120VAC lug (that capacitor was bent down for greater clearance in the other PSU, which probably came from a different factory or production run).   Also the fan wouldn't turn on if the PSU was cold and the room temperature was oo low -- bad design.
 

If you bought the PSU with a credit card, do a written "billing error" chargeback and say you do not "accept" the product because it's not only defective but so is it's warranty (you paid for a warranty but didn't know it wouldn't be honored).    Mail this to the special address for billing inquiries because that will put the credit card issuer under certain federal legal obligations, and they'll be responsible for correcting your bill, regardless of the merchant paying back the money (but don't be surprised if the card issuer denies that -- they often misinform consumers about their rights).  Your only obligation is to _try_ to return the merchandise to the dealer.  And while you should provide proof of purchase, a copy of the warranty, any advertising claims, etc., you're not obligated to do so, contrary to what the issuer says.  If the card issuer gives you a hard time and it's a Visa or American Express card, contact those companies because they're good about making their member banks comply.  Mastercard seems to be a lot worse.

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