Overclocker Cafe - OCZ GameXStream 700w PSU Review

OCZ GameXStream 700w Power Supply

Manufacturer: OCZ Technology
Supplied by: OCZ Technology
Street Price: $130

by Dean Barker (6/7/2006)

Introduction

OCZ Technology has been building on their power supply line for the past few years. The latest addition to the line up is their GameXStream power supply. The GameXStream is clearly geared toward the power gamer with its dual 6-pin PCI-E rails that are SLi / CrossFire ready. In addition to being dual VGA card ready, OCZ looks to have included all the necessary practical extras while nixing the fluff. No windows, wattage viewers or external rheostats found here; just a straight forward package that has most everything a gamer could want. Today, thanks to the OCZ Technology crew, we have a sample of this 700 watt wonder up on the bench so we can show you what its all about. Let's start things off with the generic specs.

Specifications

Power: 700 watts (also offered in 600w model)
Dimensions: 150 x 140 x 85mm
Construction: Steel with nickel plating
Cooling: Single 120mm internal blue LED fan
Two separate 6-pin PCI-E rails (SLi/CrossFire Ready)
OCZ PowerWhisper Technology
All cables sleeved and mated with EZ-Grip Molex connectors
Active PFC
EMI Isolated Casing
Three year warranty

What you get

As we previously mentioned, the OCZ GameXStream focuses on the main unit rather than extras. Along with the flat black colored power supply, we found a manual and matching flat black mounting screws. Pretty trim as far as a bundle I'd say but who wants to pay the extra bucks for a bundle with a power supply? Not me.

The unit

The GameXStream housing itself if painted a fingerprint hiding flat black. As far as the housing goes, OCZ states that the casing itself helps to isolate any EMI (electrical magnetic interference.) Not that I've ever seen this as a problem but as systems require more and more power for their individual components (a la GeForce 7900 / Radeon X1900XT) it's comforting to see some forward thinking going on here.

Centered on the base of OCZ's GameXStream, is a 120mm cooling fan. This fan is the only one in the PSU but as we all know, 120s move lots of air at a low cost in decibels. The fan itself is blue LED that we'll show you under power shortly.

The power cables themselves are plentiful and show a shift to current day needs. Rather than having a boatload of Molex connectors and one or two SATA, the GameXStream power cables are more varied and balanced. Below is how many, what's on them and the length of each rail.

(1) 20 + 4-pin ATX power connector measuring 21"
(1) 4 + 4-pin 12v AUX power connector measuring 21"
(2) PCI-E rail with single 6-Pin connector measuring 21"
(2) SATA line with three connectors measuring 39"
(2) Molex line with three 4-pin Molex and one FDD connector measuring 42"

With the main power cables being in a 20 + 4-pin and a 4 + 4-pin set up as you can see below, OCZ's newest power supply is equally at home in a current 24-pin / 8-pin ATX powered mainboard or an older 20-pin / 4-pin ATX mainboard with its versatile main ATX power cables.