I remember way back when the first Ultra X-Connect power supply hit the market a couple years ago, it was truly a watershed moment.  While modular power supplies are de riguer these days, it wasn't always the case.  The X-Connect, being the first fully modular power supply, showed us that every component in a PC has the potential to be a fashion statement. The bane of case modders everywhere has always been the excess cabling from the power supply.  With the advent of the modular power supply, the only cables that were present were the ones that were absolutely needed.  Fast forward to 2007, and every PSU maker in sight (with the exception of PC Power and Cooling) has a plethora of modular power supplies on the market. 

     So, it would appear that Ultra struck gold with the modular idea.   So can they strike twice?  Today we bring the third generation of the X-Connect; the X3. 

Out of Box Experience:

The attractive and glossy package are a hint as to what is to come.

     The box actually has a flap that lifts up and gives us most of the basic information that we need to know about this unit.   We also get a nice shot of the third generation modular connector interface. 

Inside the box is another sealed box, continuing with the same shiny black motif.

     Within the box, the PSU is sandwiched between two slabs of foam, topped with a box packed with all the accessories. 

The power supply is well situated in its protective foam, and wrapped in plastic to protect the finish.   

     The first look is at the back of the power supply, and we see that the X3 utilizes the honeycomb design that is becoming rather popular these days.

On the bottom, we see the massive 135mm fan in charge of cooling the unit.  As you know, the bigger, the better.

     On the front side, we see the connection interface for the modular connectors.  As you can see, the X3 eschews the practice of using proprietary connectors in favor of the standard Molex and PCI-e power plugs, with the exception of the two SATA rails.  This may appeal to case modders, as building custom cables is now much easier.  The connectors themselves are mounted onto an aluminum plate for added rigidity.

     Here we see the top of the supply.   The power supply consists of a very glossy coated metal.  The only drawback to this gorgeous surface is the fact that it is ridiculously easy to smudge. 

The X3 shows off the specs with a nice big label.  36A on the 12V rail should be sufficient for any single GPU system.

     Finally, we have the spaghetti.   The FlexForce cables are fully coated black strands, which makes the aesthetics consistent.  The cables are also more flexible than standard cables, which should help with organization.  Now that we know what the X3 looks like, we can talk about the innards.