Cooler Master UCP Ultimate 900W PSU

Item: Cooler Master UCP Ultimate 900W PSU
Author: Richard Swinburne

Written by Richard Swinburne

November 27, 2008 | 09:22

Companies: #cooler-master

Comparative Efficiency

In terms of comparative efficiencies to previous PSUs we've tested, the Cooler Master UCP 900W tops the tables, only to be bested by mere fractions of a percentage at 50 percent load by the Corsair TX750W and the Be Quiet! Dark Power Pro 650W at 100 percent load for the 3.3V/5V, but overall its average is higher than anything we've tested before.

The graph below clearly demonstrates the extra lengths Cooler Master has gone to as the thick red line sits with a thick white gap between most of the competition below it.

Only the Be Quiet! Dark Power Pro 650W gives it some stick up there, and while we love the BQ-DPP 650W a lot by constantly recommending it in our monthly buyers guide, the two aren't really in the same market - where the UCP 900W serves the hardware happy premium end, although they both command a respectable price premium.

Value and Conclusions

For £161, the UCP 900W is damn expensive for a sub-1,000W PSU. While we're evidently reminded of the quality inside by the above graphs, we can't ignore other popular options like the Corsair HX1000W that is not far behind in terms of efficiency and can be found for nearly £20 less at £146.84 . In addition, there's the OCZ EliteXStream 1,000W which is the more powerful version of the 800W we've already reviewed. This has the generally excellent PC Power & Cooling innards and can also be found for £136.36.

There are more expensive options out there though, like the Enermax Galaxy 1,000W (that's due to be replaced very soon) which retails for at little more at £165.57, but this is barely more than 80 percent efficient and in a completely different league. On the other hand, the new Revolution 85+ should be far more impressive, but also likely upwards of £200 for the 1,050W model.

For almost the same wattage, how about the Hiper 880W Quad Rail that claims 85 percent efficiency for half the price? We haven't tested it yet, so can't ascertain if it’s any good, but it does make you reconsider. The Antec Signature 850W series is also cheaper at £149.99 - while we haven't yet published the review, we know its performance is within a nose of the UCP 900W - its rails are more accurate but its efficiency is a mere single percent lower. Is it worth saving £20 for 50W difference? We'd suggest so.

Final Thoughts

This would make a fantastic PSU for Folders: it's exceptional efficiency at very high loads, which means that it will save you the maximum amount of money while you help to find cures for diseases. At a nominal 20 percent load the rest of us will be using for most of the time, it's no more efficient than any other PSU and without spending all day at load to recoup the cost difference through power efficiency benefits, you'll need to use the UCP 900W for several years to make up the extra money you'll spend on it.

While the graphs above might be very nice for a direct comparative, and paint the Cooler Master UCP 900W as a bloody awesome and very well engineered PSU (which it clearly is), the price premium simply outweighs the benefits of 80 Plus Silver certification. As a result, the UCP 900W doesn't do enough to justify the asking price, but if you are looking for one of the best PSUs on the market today, regardless of cost, it is definitely right up there.

Update 28/11/08 19:15 GMT:
Since publication of this review, we have been informed that the price has now dropped to £145.84 (inc. VAT), which obviously changes the UCP 900W's value quite considerably. We have left the original scores intact below, but bear in mind that it represents much better value for money at the lower price point.