Introduction OCZ Technology is a familiar name to many PC enthusiasts. Their memory products have been among the best performers available, especially for overclockers, for quite a while now. When Ryan Petersen of OCZ told me thet OCZ was going to be making power supplies, I jumped at the chance to get a unit in to review! I'll be showing you OCZ's 420W model of their PowerStream line of Power Supply Units. Thanks go to Ryan and Andy for getting me the unit for this review.
First Impressions The first thing I noticed when I opened up the box was the mirror finish on the casing of this power supply. You can use this PSU to shave by, if you wanted to. It was very difficult not getting fingerprints all over it just taking it out of the box! OCZ's use of black labels really helped anhance the readability of the information on those labels, especially the one with the amperage and wattage information for each rail on it.
The second thing I noticed was the inclusion of some new power connectors for the BTX form factor, as well as a good number of some old stand-by's. With two sets of three large molex connectors with one small four-pin connector on the end, you shouldn't lack for a plug for any device you might install. There is also a four-pin motherboard supplementary power connection on the same string as a six-pin power connector, which I am assuming (dangerous thing to do, I know) will serve the same purpose on a BTX motherboard. The other part about the power connectors that got my attention was the sleeving of the BTX 24-pin motherboard lineand BTX video and hard drive lines, as well as the neatlt twisted SATA and molex lines. Little touches like this go a long way toward keeping the inside of your case neat and tidy. I need all the help I can get in that department!
The OCZ PowerStream PSU also has a feature that you won't find on too many other power supplies, adjustable rails. That's right, you can adjust the rails of the +3.3V, +5.0V, and +12V rails by as much as 10% above or below that rail's voltage. There are also LEDs to let you know where the voltage is for a particular rail at a glance. If the LED for a particular rail is green, it is within 5% of its target voltage. If the LED is yellow, the voltage is more than 5% UNDER the target voltage. If the LED is red, that rail is more than 5% OVER the target voltage.
Specifications Here are the specifications for the PowerStream line of PSUs, as taken from OCZ's website:
Specifications: OCZ PowerWhisper™ Technology OCZ PowerFlex™ individually adjustable power rails with LED indicators. OCZ ConnectAll™ universal connector. (ATX, BTX, SATA, P4 and EPS12V) OCZ PowerShield™ power leads. 5 year warranty backed by OCZ’s exclusive PowerSwap™ replacement program.* No more endless return-for-repair loops!
The combined total for all three rails is 400W. That is a LOT of juice!
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