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Performance:::...

Oscilloscope traces and fancy figures are great, but my concern is stability, and one of the best ways to test stability is to load it up to the gills and see if it falls over.

I started by running a fairly well loaded PC with the PowerStream installed and adjusted the pots slightly to bring the voltages into line. There's a rule of thumb that suggests you should set the correct voltages when running at about 60% load but I don't run my PC at 60% load, I run it at 100% load, so that's how I set it.

Here's the monitored voltage from Windows:

Voltages

This was the test candidate used to check stability. In addition to a Corsair Hydrocool, the power supply also had to feed two optical drives, six hard drives, a Prescott 3.2GHz, a Connect3D Radeon XT Platinum Edition, case lighting, six fans and, for testing purposes, I connected an 80watt Pelt and strapped it to my central heating radiator.

Eerie Glow

I left Sandra running the burn-in wizard on normal priority and then set 3DMark 2001 looping then went to bed. Imagine my amazement when I woke up next morning and it was still running, not just my amazement at the power supply, also my amazement that XP could remain stable for that long!

In Use:::...

Performance from the PowerStream was faultless throughout. Just about it's only weaknesses are down to the cabling, either finding a tidy way to route the sheer mass of it or struggling to make six Molex connector's power a PC with multiple case fans and lighting. I was lucky in having adapters handy, not everyone is so lucky.

The fans under just about all operating conditions were inaudible. The fan speeds react to load rather than temperatures so they increase in speed before the heat has had a chance to accumulate rather than after when it's more difficult to control.

Conclusion

The 3DVelocity 'Dual Conclusions Concept' Explained: After discussing this concept with users as well as companies and vendors we work with, 3DVelocity have decided that where necessary we shall aim to introduce our 'Dual Conclusions Concept' to sum up our thoughts and impressions on the hardware we review. As the needs of the more experienced users and enthusiasts have increased, it has become more difficult to factor in all the aspects that such a user would find important, while also being fair to products that may lack these high end "bonus" capabilities but which still represent a very good buy for the more traditional and more prevalent mainstream user. The two catergories we've used are:

The Mainstream User ~ The mainstream user is likely to put price, stock performance, value for money, reliability and/or warranty terms ahead of the need for hardware that operates beyond its design specifications. The mainstream user may be a PC novice or may be an experienced user, however their needs are clearly very different to those of the enthusiast, in that they want to buy products that operate efficiently and reliably within their advertised parameters.

The Enthusiast ~ The enthusiast cares about all the things that the mainstream user cares about but is more likely to accept a weakness in one or more of these things in exchange for some measure of performance or functionality beyond its design brief. For example, a high priced motherboard may be tolerated in exchange for unusually high levels of overclocking ability or alternatively an unusually large heat sink with a very poor fixing mechanism may be considered acceptable if it offers significantly superior cooling in return.

The Mainstream User ~

Regardless what you use your PC for a cheap power supply is a false economy. If you bought your PC ready built there's a good chance that the power supply is no more powerful than it need be for the system it's running, and if you built the system yourself and are using a power supply that came supplied with a case that didn't cost a fortune to begin with, you can be reasonably sure that it's not the greatest in terms of quality.

Most power supplies, cheap or not, will power up your PC and let you use, it's when the demands get heavy or the input voltage gets a little flakey that things tend to go awry, and unless you're running a quality power supply there's no way to know whether those random freezes or reboots are down to the quality of the power feeds or not.

Then there are the hidden dangers. Even if your PC doesn't misbehave there's no way to know if wildly fluctuating voltages are slowly weakening sensitive components that either dislike the changes in voltage or possibly dislike the changes in heat resulting from those changes in voltage.

All told this is a very high quality power supply with great looks (if you can see inside your case). It's probably overkill for your average user but if your budget will stretch to one there's a reassurance from having a quality PSU like this one driving you machine. A little luxury never hurt anyone.

	NA

The Enthusiast ~

The ability to load up your PC then fine tune the rails to keep pace is certainly a useful one, though it comes at the expense of other useful attributes like a high efficiency power factor rating and a full range voltage input. In that respect this isn't the most refined unit on the market but don't let that take away from its merits overall which show it to be a very classy performer with the flexibility to tailor its output to your needs, within reason. I'd have been far happier about things if I'd been able to find more detailed specifications on it though.

Having only six four-pin Molex plugs may also limit those with RAID arrays or multiple case fan arrangements in place, though it's nothing a few tactically placed "Y" connectors wouldn't rectify.

With a total sustained output of 520 watts and a sixty second peak rating of 620 watts the PowerStream should have all the grunt you'll need to keep your hardware supplied with ample, stable power for at least the next few generations, if not longer.

The way modern hardware demands seem to be escalating there are only really two rules you need to follow when it comes to buying a power supply, buy big and buy quality. The PowerStream puts a large, shiny, nickel-plated tick in both boxes.

	NA

We're always looking for ways to make our reviews fairer. A Right To Reply gives the manufacturer or supplier of the product being reviewed a chance to make public comments on what we've said. They can explain perhaps why they've done the things we were unhappy with or blow their own trumpet over the things we loved. It's easy for us to pick a product apart but sometimes things are done a certain way for very specific reasons.

Should OCZ decide to exercise their "Right To Reply", we'll publish their comments below:

+++

We would like to thank 3DVelocity for a very fair review. We are extremely proud of the OCZ Powerstream PSU Line. The 3 year Power Swap program will allow for a direct fast shipped replacement with a new PSU in case of failure. An additional limited 2 year warranty brings the total coverage to 5 years. You can buy with confidence.