Conclusion

Overall, the Ultra X3 600W unit delivers very good performance and is aesthetically pleasing without being kitschy. Similar to the other X3 units, we found the black Flexforce cables and gunmetal painted chassis an appealing and elegant combination.

The power output and the load regulation circuit of the unit left us highly satisfied, and the thermal performance is excellent. The only technical downside is the efficiency of the unit, which fell short of the manufacturer specifications of 85%, we in fact only achieved 82%.

The single strong 12V power line is a design decision we prefer when compared to multiple weak 12V lines which can be easily (individually) overloaded. However this could do with being slightly more powerful, as the 12V line of the 600W X3 unit cannot exceed an output of 36A/432W. A 7 year old high end 510W power supply had a 34A 12V power rail and the 3.3V/5V lines were of higher importance back then than they are now. 

A strong selling point for the X3 units is Ultra's warranty. Ultra offers a 3 year warranty upgradeable to a lifetime warranty if you register; not much of a burden for getting a lifetime warranty we think!

In summary; while the Ultra X3 600W unit is not the least expensive unit in its class, it offers a good price to performance ratio and it should easily find its way into your shortlist if you are shopping for a high quality mid range PSU.

What do these awards mean?

The Ultra X3 600W unit can be found in TigerDirect.com for 129,99$.