Today for review I have a product from a company that needs no introduction, OCZ Technology, pretty much everyone knows the name, from beginners to hardcore enthusiasts. When you think OCZ you think, speed, quality and power. I have the 700Watt GameXStream power supply for review today, and I've found that it lives up to the excellent reputation of OCZ, and of course it handles my SLI system with ease. So continue one to learn more about this great product…
OCZ GameXStream 700Watt Power Supply
Reviewed by: Kristofer Brozio AkA Dracos
Sponsor: OCZ Technology
Tech Specs,Features or the Basic Info:
OCZ GameXStream 700Watt Power Supply (NVIDIA SLI-Ready)
Model: 700W – OCZ700GXSSLI
Description:
OCZ GameXStream / 600W~700W~850W~1010W / SLI Ready / Active PFC
The SLI-Ready GameXStream 600/700/850/1010 Watt power supplies are designed specifically for the demanding computing environments of PC Enthusiasts, Power Users, and Gamers.
As more and more gamers take advantage of the gaming benefits offered by multi-GPU technology the need for improved power supply solutions increases greatly. The GameXStream features high-quality components to ensure your PC’s vital hardware is supplied with clean, stable and reliable power without compromising effectiveness.
Kept ultra-cool with a large 120mm fan, the GameXStream remains virtually silent and supremely cool even at peak loads. The highly efficient GameXStream core is sheltered in a standard dimension chassis, resulting in a smaller footprint and more legroom for system-cooling modifications. GameXStream PSUs provide Active PFC to effectively regulate input voltage to deliver superior operation in a wider range of environments and countries with varying voltages.
Second to no other gaming PSU, the GameXStream’s unprecedented quality and performance is the ultimate solution for serious gamers.
Specs:
600W, 700W, 850W & 1010W Configurations
-NVIDIA SLI Certified
-OCZ PowerWhisper Technology
-Internal 120mm fan
-3 year warranty backed by OCZ’s exclusive PowerSwap replacement program. No more endless
return-for-repair loops!
Technical specifications:
-150 x 140 x 86mm
-ATX12V v2.2 and EPS12V
OCZ ConnectAll universal connectors:
-1 x 20+4Pin ATX
-1 x 4-pin/8-pin CPU
(supports double CPUs/supplies stable voltage)
-2 x PCI-E
-6 x 4-pin peripheral
-2 x 4-pin floppy
-6 x S-ATA
High efficiency:
80% @ 115V (Typical load)
83% @ 230V (Typical load)
-Overvoltage/Overcurrent/Short-Circuit protection
-Active PFC
-MTBF:100,000 hours
-100~240Vac 10-5A 50/60Hz
-+3.3V(36A), +5V(30A), +12V1(18A), +12V2(18A), +12V3(18A), +12V4(18A)
A Better Look at Things
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Like OCZ products the packaging for the GameXStream is pretty cool looking. The front of the box features a nice picture of the power supply, lit up so you can get an idea of what it looks like working. There is also a list of features here as well, along with the warranty info and the wattage of the PSU inside the box.
The back of the box has a more in-depth look at the features, and again a picture of the PSU itself.
Opening the box we find the user manual on the top, and under it is the GameXStream PSU all wrapped in bubble wrap for protection.
Included with the PSU is the power cord and black colored screws for mounting your new OCZ power supply in your case.
The OCZ GameXStream features a 120mm cooling fan on the bottom, it is semi-transparent, and has blue LEDs in it, which will see lit up in the next section.
A Better Look at Things
Continued:
The OCZ GameXStream power supply is a stylish black color, that will match any system nicely, after all black goes with just about everything. The cables are wrapped with a reusable velcro strap during shipping, you can reuse the strap later on for some wire management if need be.
On the front section of the PSU, where the wires come out, we can see that OCZ included a plastic grommet to protect the wires as they come out of the PSU. It's nice to see this attention to detail, if you are constantly upgrading your system or moving things around, you wouldn't want your wires rubbing against bare metal…
I mentioned earlier about the fan, but here is a close up shot of it. We can see the OCZ logo on the fan itself as well, according to the specs and features this fan is supposed to be virtually silent even under load.
The rear of the OCZ GameXStream Power Supply has the now standard honeycomb style ventilation, and a blue colored I/O switch.
On one side of the PSU, of course we find all the identifying labels that tell us quite a bit more about the PSU itself. Above the main label is a few small ventilation holes as well.
A Better Look at Things
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The cables of the OCZ GameXStream PSU are nicely sleeved, and long enough for most any case size.
The main ATX connector is the 20+4 pin type, allowing it to be used even on older systems. The 12v CPU connector is split also, to be used on AMD or Intel based systems.
Since this is an SLI Ready PSU, there are two PCIE connectors provided.
The OCZ GameXStream comes equipped with six SATA connectors, this should be more than enough for the average system and even the above average systems.
The GameXStream is also equipped with six standard Molex connectors as well, and even two floppy power connectors.
A Better Look at Things
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It wouldn't be a power supply review if we didn't take it apart, now mind you though, this does void any warranty so don't try this at home!
I was curious to see how they fit everything into such a small housing, I recently reviewed the Ultra X-Finity 800Watt PSU, and it is quite large, but the OCZ GameXStream is the same size as any other standard PSU.
Looking at this PSU, it just sort of seems bare compared to others, there seems to be lots of space between all the components, which is a good thing, this permits good airflow and excellent cooling.
There are a total of four aluminum heatsinks inside the OCZ GameXStream, and I can see some fairly large capacitors and other components, nice heavy duty parts to insure the stability and reliability of this PSU and your system.
The OCZ GameXStream PSU is actually fairly lightweight surprisingly. The sleeving on the cables is done very professionally, making for a nice neat appearance. This PSU does have four separate 12v rails, two of them are just for your main CPU and one PCIE connection, while another rail splits for the second CPU, and PCIE card. The 4th 12v rail is just for the motherboard, and accessories.
Installation, Testing and Comparison
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My main system consists of:
AMD Athlon X2 4200+
2 gigs OCZ Spec Ops ram
EVGA Motherboard
2 BFG 7900GT OC video cards in SLI while gaming (powering dual 17” Samsung LCDs)
3 SATA hard drives
(one HDD is inside an IcyDock Modiflash powered enclosure, review HERE)
2 dvd/rw drives
Aerocool Infinite drive (combo 2.5” hdd and card reader front panel) (review HERE)
SilverStone Tundra liquid cooling system (dual pumps in there) (review HERE)
Antec Nine Hundred Gaming Case (review HERE)
-3 120mm case fans
-1 200mm case fan
To test stability I got out my handy multimeter and check the 12V and 5V rails while idle and while under SLI load and recorded any changes to them.
To get load under SLI I ran the Hardware OC benchmark for Prey that features a BOOST mode where it will set everything to max, it is made for high end system and video card that have at least 512mb of ram, so it really does a good job of giving the cards a nice workout. The other settings were maxed as well, Antialiasing at 4X, Anisotropic Filtering at 16X and of Resolution of 1280×1024 (max for my LCD monitor).
Idle Voltages:
12v = 12.27v – 12.28v
5v = 5.00v
Load Voltages:
12v = 12.21v – 12.22v
5v = 5.01v
I ran the benchmark a few times actually because I've never seen a power supply with a rail that actually went up under load as the 5v rail did, yes it was only .01v, but it still went up. I ran the benchmark 4 times, and had the same reading each time, so it's not a mistake, very interesting…
As for the 12v rails, yes they did drop under load but that is to be expected, it's still providing more than enough power for the system, and within specs/tolerances. All the rails were very stable, seeing only the common fluctuations in the 12v rail under load, we only see a variance of .01v fluctuation. In the two weeks I've had the OCZ GameXStream in my system everything has run fine and smooth.
As for the noise level of the GameXStream, I have to say it is a couple decibels louder than other power supplies but not overly so, I did notice it when I first installed it but after a couple days of use it faded into the background. When gaming of course the entire system was drowned out by the sound of the 7900GTs fans, rather annoying they are… I prefer my system to be totally silent, or as close to it as possible, so I am a bit more sensitive to sounds than other people, so I think the OCZ GameXStreams noise level will not bother anyone, other than someone like me. Let's face it, it's not sold as a silent PSU for an HTPC system either, the name itself says gaming to the extreme essentially. I can say that I did not notice any difference in the sound level under loads or at idle, it seemed the exact same, and I usually sit and play BF2142 for 2-3 hours at a clip so the system gets a nice load going and should heat up the PSU, I noticed no difference in the noise level of the OCZ GameXStream fan.
The OCZ GameXStream, with its 700Watts of power should be more than enough to handle pretty much any system out there today, it delivers stable, quality power, is SLI ready/Nvidia certified and features active PFC to make sure everything is running smoothly.
Summary:
The OCZ GameXStream 700Watt power supply is one of those things that you just have to have in your gaming rig. If you are serious about your gaming, you'll need to have a serious power supply in your system, the GameXStream fits the bill nicely, with its stable power, lots of connectors, this power supply is an excellent choice for a gaming rig or any other system. Everyone knows who OCZ is, and we all know the quality of their products, the GameXStream PSU holds up the tradition of OCZ for making excellent and reliable products.
DragonSteelMods gives the OCZ GameXStream 700Watt Power Supply a 5 out of 5 score and our Recommended Award as well.
Pros:
-Small size – large wattage
-Fairly quiet, even under load
-Lots of connections
-Stable power under load
-Cool blue glow from fan
Cons:
-Adds a bit of noise to the system
I would like to thank OCZ Technology for the chance to review the GameXStream 700Watt Power Supply and for their support of DSM.