Ultra's basic 600-watt supply won't wow you with its features, but it gets the job done.

Sometimes you need a power supply with a monster capacity and bright lights; sometimes you just need a power supply that’s strong enough to keep a precious supply of electricity flowing where it’s need and efficient enough to keep your electrical bills from skyrocketing. The X-Pro 600W from Ultra (specifications here) isn’t a glamorous power supply – as glamorous as power supplies can be, anyway – but with its energy-efficient 80 Plus Performance Specification, the X-Pro sounds like it might be a good workhorse power supply. Today, we’ll find out if that’s really the case.

Installation
Installation of the X-Pro is pretty standard for a power supply – screw in the screws and plug in the connectors. Ultra labeled all of the connectors, so if you’ve got a well-marked motherboard, figuring out what plugs go where is pretty easy. The X-Pro isn’t modular – you’ll need to up the price class to get that feature – but the lack of modularity isn’t surprising; it’s all part of the X-Pro no frills, just performance image. One thing that did really bother me, however, was the two 4-pin ATX CPU power connectors – my unit had the two connectors stuck together in one 8-pin block that I had to find and separate before I could finish the installation. I’m not sure why Ultra chose to manufacturer the connectors this way; it increases the time and frustration of mounting the X-Pro by several factors of magnitude.

Post-installation, the computer started up without any problems. Along with the two PCI-e power connections needed for the X-Pro’s SLI certification, the power supply includes what Ultra labels on the box as “low noise technology,” a part of the effort by component manufacturers to keep PCs running as quietly as possible. I can state with pleasure that while the power supply’s 135mm fan isn’t completely silent, it’s certainly less obtrusive than the already minimal sound of the stock cooler sitting on top of my CPU. In other words, Ultra’s power supply is as quiet as they come.