The PSU

The Cooler Master Ultime Protection 900W leaves a great visual impression. Its surface is covered by a metal flake paint job which feels extremely durable. On both sides you have an "Ultimate" logo, which is aligned so that the logo is upright no matter how you install the PSU.


Unfortunately the PSU is not modular, all connectors are fixed to the unit.


When you take a closer look at the back of the UCP 900W you will notice that the power plug is different to the "normal" one. The one Cooler Master uses is called IEC 320 C19/C20. The one on a normal PSU is IEC 320 C13/C14. Compared to the smaller plug, the maximum current rating is 16 Amps vs. 10 Amps at 220V. This connector makes use for equipment that goes beyond 2000W wall power draw - not for a 900W PSU. The Amps rating is given at 220V, so at 110V you have twice the maximum current draw allowed through the cable.
I fail to understand why Cooler Master went with such a design choice. This limits you to the single cable included and getting a replacement is hard in case the cable breaks. C19/C20 cables are hard to find, I did a quick check on ebay. Out of 960 power cables, only two are of the C19/C20 variety - and cost more than 10x more than a normal one. If you go to a LAN party and forget your power cable you will be out of luck, you can't borrow a cable from a friend, it won't fit. Also this unique connector is certainly more expensive to use since the manufacturing volume is definitely lower. There will be no difference in power quality, the PSU won't draw anywhere near the maximum power of a normal power cable. At least Cooler Master included an on/off switch in their latest power supply.


The motherboard connector is made of 24 pins, there is no option to remove the extra four pins to run with a 20-pin motherboard. Even motherboards with 20-pin connectors usually have some extra space left to the sides of the connector so this shouldn't be an issue.


Depending on your motherboard you either need a 4-pin or 8-pin CPU power connector. Cooler Master has chosen to split the connector so it will fit on all motherboards, no matter how limited the space.


Two PCI-Express power cables come with one 8-pin and one 6-pin connector. While it is certainly nice to avoid excessive cabling going to your graphics card, it means that the current from both connectors runs over one physical cable and is always fed by the same 12V rail. Cooler Master however includes two additional 6-pin power cables, which means that you can use separate rails if you desire to.