I really like the cables on the Ultra XVS power supply, this was the easiest wiring job I think I've ever done. The black cables don't stand out like regular red and yellow wires and the molded insulation keeps them looking neat without the bulk and stiffness of mesh or plastic wrap. It makes even SATA cables look untidy by comparison. I had to completely unscrew the back half of the adjustable duct in order to get the side panel in place and it barely clears the CPU heatsink. It's also not centered on the socket, but it's close enough for the fan to still pull some air through. With the big window in the side panel, it would have been nice if Ultra included an LED fan or two. The power supply also uses two plain 80mm fans for intake and exhaust. The only light comes from my CPU and chipset fans.

The Ultra Grid was installed with the following hardware:

A64 3800+ X2 Manchester
(overclocked to 2.7Ghz)
Chaintech VNF4
2x512 OCZ PC3700
MSI 6600 PCIe
(overclocked to 500/1000)
2x74Gb Raptor HDD
48X Artec CD+RW
4 USB Devices
4 Assorted Fans (2 LED)

To test the included Ultra XVS power supply I generated load conditions by running the following simultaneously:

Windows Disk Defragmenter
Folding @ Home Client
Aquamark 3

I use a Fluke digital multimeter to monitor the +5 and +12 output voltages at one of the 4-pin molex, and the +3.3 directly from the ATX connector. I recorded both idle and load readings.



There was a relatively small amount of change between idle and load conditions. Rails remained fairly stable, the worst being the +12v under load, which varied between 12.02 and 12.04 volts.