Date: |
July 06, 2004 1:30 PM |
Price: |
$100 |
Sponsors: |
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Author: |
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Editor: |
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Score: |
10/10 |
OCZ PowerStream 420W PSU Testing & Results Test System
Here is the configuration of hardware I used to test the PowerStream 420W PSU:
CPU: Intel Pentium 4 2.6C
Motherboard: Albatron PX865PE Pro II
Motherboard BIOS: 1.10
Heatsink: Scythe Kamakaze
Fan: Thermaltake Smart Fan II
Video Card: ATi Radeon 9700 Pro 128MB
Video Driver: Catalyst 4.6
Hard Drive: WD 80GB ATA 100 7200RPM Caviar Special Edition
DVD ROM Drive: I/O Magic BDV316C 16X
CD-RW Drive: Lite-On 52246S 52x24x52x CD-RW burner
In addition, there are also four 80mm case fans, two of which have four LEDs in them. I know they don't add much of a load, but they are installed and they are running.
Testing Methodology
I have broken down and purchased a digital multimeter from the local Radio Shack, so I am no longer going to have to depend on Motherboard Monitor for voltage readings. :-) The voltage readings were taken from a large molex connector, i the case of the +5V and +12V rails, and from the Auxiliary connector in the case of the +3.3V rail.
Testing
The Idle voltage reading was taken after closing all active programs and allowing the PC to run for 30 minutes in that state. To put a load on the OCZ PowerStream, I had all of the following tasks going on simultaneously:
SiSoftware Sandra Burn-in Wizard in a loop
Spybot Search & Destroy running a check for bots and spyware
Folding@Home 4.0 client running a unit of work
Motherboard Monitor 5.3.7.0 monitoring temperatures
Using Nero 5.5 to burn XPSP2RC2 ISO image to a CD at 52x
Outlook 2003 checking for email
Three instances of Internet Explorer 6 SP1 running
Several documents opened in Edit Plus 2 (a text editor)
Running a virus check with Norton Corporate Antivirus 7.6
Results
Here are the results of the testing. I was completely blown away by just how stable the voltage coming from the OCZ PowerStream PSU is! Not only did it not waver while under the Load testing, it barely changed at all going from Idle to Load in the first place! Take a look for yourself:
Rail Idle Load
+3.3 3.42 3.42
+5 5.18 5.17
+12 12.33 12.31
As you can see, not only is each rail well within 5% of its stated voltage, the variance when put under load is extremely small!
If you have any comments or questions regarding this review, please post them in this thread on our forums.
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