Page 2 | OCZ EliteXStream 800W PSU

Cracking the PSU open, we get some ideas where all the weight comes from. All the major heat sources have a large anodized heatsinks lining them.

All of the cabling is braided. While this does not do anything for performance, it does make the cables more presentable and actually cleaner and easier to route as loose wiring will not snag inside the case. The flip side to this though is some people complain it actually causes more of a mess since you now have to deal with more individual cables.

There are a plethora of connections which should cover any setup found in a desktop PC. In total, we have 8 SATA, 8 peripheral molex, one floppy and four PCIE.

The PSU has a 24-pin ATX connection but includes an adapter for anyone with an older motherboard.

Testing

We put together a couple systems to test the PSU. Both are Intel based, but built completely differently. The first is an E6750 based HTPC that I designed to be power efficient. The total power draw is 294W under full load. The second system I cobbled together borrowing as much hardware as I could from Hubert. This is a Quad SLI system running an Intel 840 Extreme Edition. Why an older CPU? The older Pentiums were notorious for not being power efficient. The total draw for this setup is 712W under load. We needed to use some splitters to get all this running, but it worked.

These are the exact systems I've used in previous PSU reviews. I wasn't able to put together anything that could max out the full load of the OCZ EliteXStream, which is rated at 8000W. On that note, the internal system temperature of the E6750 was a cool 32C while the 840 EE was a very balmy 46C.

The comparison PSU will be a Cooler Master iGreen 600W and a PCPC Silencer 750W. Voltages were monitored with ABRA DM-9700 multimeter. System was loaded up by running a batch 3DMark benchmark, along with a system defrag, virus scan and spyware scan using MS Defender. I also taped a coffee filter over the rear exhaust for the case and PSU. This won't block airflow but it will increase the temperatures. For the actual cooling of the CPU, we setup a Asetek WaterChill at high speed.

E6750, Gigabyte X48, ATI X2600, 2GB Corsair XMS2, Seagate Barracuda 7200.9 400GB.

840EE, Nvidia 790i, MSI/Asus/Gigabyte 8800 GTX, 2GB Crucial DDR3, 2x Barracuda 7200.10 500GB, 2x Barracuda 7200.9 400GB.

There's no real surprise that the power levels dip a bit when we move to a low load HTPC to a full blown, yet dated, gaming rig. The two standouts are the PC Power & Cooling Silencer and OCZ EliteXStream.

Noise and heat were something we also examined. Of the three PSUs, the EliteXStream was quietest of the bunch. The PCPC Silencer, despite the name, was the loudest of the three under load. At idle, the Silencer was the quietest. The EliteXStream matched the Cooler Master in operating temperatures, holding firm at 52C.

Final Words

To say we were happy with the OCZ EliteXStream would be an understatement to say the least. The performance and build quality were very impressive. The operating temperatures were among the lowest we've tested under load. Pricing is competitive retailing as low as which is about what we feel a PSU of this quality should cost.

The big question many will have is do you need this much power. Also, some may be worried about energy costs, even if the PSU is rated at 82% (which holds true as we saw this rating with the MSI GreenPower software when we did a quick test there). The latter question is easy to answer. The PSU will not run at a constant 800W+ if your system does not need it. Bringing us to the first question, the need for that much power really depends on the type of computer you use. OCZ isn't marketing this at eMachines, so anyone even considering this PSU probably has a PC outside the "norm".

Hit us up in the Forums if you have any questions.