When one builds a PC, one first begins by listing the components: I want this RAM, this proc, this mobo, this, this, this and that. On initial planning, pretty much all the pieces are planned, ahead, and I said almost because on too many occasions, a crucial yet too often over-seen component is left out: the power supply.

As a special PSU-dedicated article in Computer Power User magazine informed me pretty well, often too much emphasis is put on quality components, and when it comes to what gives the juice to those quality components, there is in general a slight slacking off. You know, the parts only work as well as what powers it; a bigass hydro generator doesn’t work without a river to power it.

With that in L1, I headed out to find the power supply. Of course, CPU presented along with it’s article a couple of high and mid-ranged power supplies, but none of which really fit my needs; I wanted something over 500 watts, SLI compatible and at a price no more than 120 $CAN if possible. After a fair bit of ebaying, I finally found what was necessary to make my monster run: I present to you the Ultra X-finity 600w. In my price range, this was pretty much the best unit available. It has the following features:

• Dual 12 volt rails
• 38 AMPs total on 12 volt rail
• 70 % efficiency at full load
• Thermal cutoff, shorting, and in rush overload protection systems
• Meets ATX 2.2 specs
• Thin, flexy and sexy Forceflex cables which are more areodynamic n stuff
• Nvidia SLI certified
• 100 000 hours of full load operation rating

So yeah, its not THE ultimate power supply, but if all goes along my calculations, and even if its a bit over, I should be all right for amperage requirements of my system-to-be. Plus, it comes in a cool titaniumized (?) black finish, which just happens to match with my case. Furthermore, I was worried about not finding a power supply without a fan on top, because my case doesn’t have a top vent, but this model has two 120 mm fans on both ends, which does not interfere with my chassis’ design. So in the end, great chassis + great power supply = great success.

See the product page here.

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