Thread: Cooler Master UCP 1100

Lets face it - 1 plus kilowatt power supplies are a rare sight in our market. The use of these high-powered boogie knights is doubtful as well since no system, however powerful uses even 75 per cent of the power they can deliver. Even an Intel i7 965 Extreme with two GeForce GTX 295 graphics cards and other suitably powerful components would barely consume close to 550 W making a 1100W PSU an unnecessary beast. However, if you've got the money to burn for sheer bragging rights, we reckon a 1-kW PSU should be ownage enough.

UCP is an acronym for ultimate circuit protection. In keeping with this bold tide, this PSU series has a number of enhancements aimed at providing as stable and reliable as a power supply to the most demanding of components. This PSU is longer than most power supplies so make sure your cabinet has enough room before purchasing. The surface is matte coated and this gives a rugged, industrial-grade look. The gauge of metal used is thicker than most other PSUs around, but is not as thick as the sheet used on the Corsair HX series. The word Ultimate is emblazoned on the sides of this unit in white, a stark contrast to the all-black body. However, once inside a cabinet this will not be visible. A 12Q-mm, speed regulated fan keeps the assembly cool. One minus is this PSU isn't modular. Add to that the high power rating i.e. more cables for more components and you have a huge bunch of cables coming out of the unit that will mostly hang around uselessly, blocking airflow inside your cabinet. However, neat cable management will minimize this effect, but for such a high-end, 80 plus silver rated PSU, we'd prefer a modular design.

One of the advertised features is the inbuilt soft start circuit, (something that Corsair's HX series also features), that delays the rush of current into the unit as soon as it is switched on to prevent damage. It features active PFC as you'd expect from a high-end PSU. CM also advertises the use of Japanese capacitors. This is good for reliability and longevity. The 3.3-V and 5-V rails utilize only solid state capacitors. Internally, the unit is well designed with all components streamlined to allow airflow through the PSU chassis and out from the honeycomb grille at the rear. Unlike some other models there is no venting on the sides a good thing since there is no hot air that can get diverted back in to the cabinet thereby increasing ambient the temperature.

We tested this PSU with a Core i7 965 Extreme, 6 GB of RAM, 3 x 500 GB hard drives and two overclocked NVIDIA GTX 295 graphics cards and we found absolutely stable voltage ratings throughout our tests on idle and load. Impressive figures and its mighty efficient too. As you can see there is hardly and voltage swing from the power supply going from idle to load and this is the mark of a quality PSU. Priced at Rs. 17,000, the UCP 1100 is expensive, but not as much as the components it will be protecting. It has competition from Corsair's HX 1000 which is possibly as well built, but this one offers a slightly higher power rating and is slightly more efficient We lament the high price though and recommend this only for super enthusiasts will moolah to burn.