Power supplies may not be one of the more exciting upgrades you can purchase for your PC, but nevertheless they are an essential part. Responsible not only for keeping your PC running, it is also important that the power supply you choose has built in circuitry to handle OVP (Over Voltage Protection), OCP (Over Current Protection), SCP (Short-Circuit Protection) and a lot of other acronyms too.
Today’s review features an OCZ ModXtreme 780Watt power supply. OCZ have released some very nice power supplies in the past, one of the most notable being the old PowerStream range which were a big hit with the overclocking community because of the solid stability and adjustable rails.
The OCZ ModXtreme does not feature adjustable rails, but it does have modular cables and a quieter (than the 2x80mm fans of the PowerStream) 120mm fan with fancy blue LEDs.
Product: OCZ ModXStream 780W PSU
Author: Paul Mercer
Category: Enthusiast/ Gamer
Reviewed on: July 15th 2007
Product cost: MSRP $179.99
Manufacturer: OCZ Technology
Spelling and Grammatical Editors: Jason Hambly & Sean Kalinich
{mospagebreak title=Specifications}
Specifications:
780W & 900W Configurations
OCZ PowerWhisper™ Technology
Internal 120mm fan
Blue LEDs
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 (see product sheets)
High efficiency
> 80% @ 115V (Typical load)
> 80% @ 230V (Typical load)
Overvoltage/Overcurrent/Short-Circuit protection
Active PFC
MTBF: 100,000 hours @ 25C
100~240Vac 10-5A 50/60Hz
+3.3V(30A), +5V(30A), +12V1(20A), +12V2(20A), +12V3(20A), +12V4(20A) Maximum ratings are shown.
Part Numbers
780W – OCZ780MXS
900W – OCZ900MXS
{mospagebreak title=Packaging and Contents}
Packaging & Contents
The retail packaging of the OCZ ModXtreme stands out quite well when compared to some other manufacturers and is quite eye-catching.
The features of the OCZ ModXStream are clearly listed on the packaging along with the fact that this power supply comes with a 36 month “PowerSwap” warranty and a US. power cord.
Opening the box, shows the supply neatly packaged and protected with the main unit covered in bubble wrap.
Packaging 4.25/5.0
The unit itself is no bigger than a standard power supply, and because of the single (temperature controlled) 120mm LED fan rather than the 80mm variants found on some other units such as PC Power & Cooling, should remain fairly quiet during use.
Included with the 780W version of the OCZ ModXStream were the following modular cables:
Main 20+4pin ATX connector (hardwired)
2x 4+4pin 12V CPU (1x hardwired, 1x modular)
2x 6pin PCI-E Connectors (1x hardwired, 1x modular)
2x 3xSATA connectors (1x hardwired, 1x modular)
2x 2xMolex+Floppy (1x hardwired, 1x modular)
While the provided cables may be adequate for an average system, there are no 8 pin PCI-e cables and few Molex/SATA connectors. If (like me) you have a need for more than 6 SATA or 4 Molex plugs, you will need to use splitters. After connecting a fan controller (2xmolex), a hard drive and an optical drive, I found I had to resort to using a splitter to connect my pump. 8-Pin PCI-e connectors may not have been important a couple of months ago, but times have changed and so have the power requirements of some of today’s modern graphics cards… unfortunately this also counts against the OCZ unit.
Cabling 4.0/5.0
The OCZ ModXStream is not as heavy as most other power supplies of over 700W, this can probably be attributed to the smaller heatsinks used inside.
The cover on this particular unit also seemed slightly loose, as I tapped lightly with my finger on the label side of the OCZ ModXStream, the casing rattled.
Opening up the OCZ ModXStream 780W and taking a closer look at the printed circuit board shows that this power supply is yet another that is actually designed and manufactured by FSP.
It was quite difficult to get clear pictures of all of the text on the PCB, but from the markings shown, it would appear that this same circuit board is used in a number of different models of varying power (albeit with a few changes to the components) from 400W all the way up to 1010W.
The Fan used in the OCZ ModXStream is a Protechnic Electric MGA12012HB-O25 rated at approximately 2500rpm @ 38dba.
The eagle-eyed out there may have also noticed that there are not enough connectors on the PSU for the cables supplied…
If you choose to use this power supply for a dual CPU (not dual core) and need to use both 12V CPU cables, this will only leave room for one PCI-e cable. This counts out the possibility of running an 8800GTX or Ultra card in such a system without having to resort to adaptors and/or splitters.
Lastly, it’s not really an issue at all, but I would have preferred the 20+4 pin main ATX connector to have clipped together rather than having to hold them together as I inserted the plug, the current method works, but there is room for error.
Looks 4.25/5.0
{mospagebreak title=Testing}
Test Setup:
• Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 @ 3.6GHz w/1.525V
• Asus P5N32-E SLi Motherboard
• Asus EN8800GTX @ 650/1602/2030 w/HR-03 Plus & Sharkoon 120mm Fan
• 4096MB (4x1GB) DDR2 @ DDR-1000 4-4-4-8 w/2.2V
• Creative SoundBlaster X-Fi XtremeMusic
• Fan Controller
• 5x120mm Fans
• 3x80mm Fan
• 1x70mm fan
• Laing D5 Pump
• 3x 80GB Hitachi DeskStar 7200RPM SATA2 HDD
• 1x 160GB Hitachi DeskStar 7200RPM SATA2 HDD
• 2 x 250GB Seagate 7200.10 SATA2 HDD
• 1 x Panasonic DVD-RW drive
To check the stability of the rails I connected a UNI-T UT60E multimeter to the relevant voltage rail and booted up the PC at stock speeds and settings. After a couple of minutes idling, a base reading was taken. The system was then overclocked and put under as much load as possible. Turning all fans up to high speed while simultaneously running Prime95 (Blend), RTHDRIBL, burning a DVD and running IOMeter. While under load, I used the logging capability of the multimeter to check the high and low peaks during the time tested. The procedure was then repeated for each individual rail.
| +3.3V | +5V | +12V1 | +12V2 | +12V3 | +12V4 | |
| Idle | 3.355V | 4.95V | 12.62V | 12.65V | 12.65V | 12.65V |
| Load (Min) | 3.356V | 4.92V | 12.57V | 12.58V | 12.62V | 12.59V |
| Load (Max) | 3.357V | 4.93V | 12.60V | 12.62V | 12.62V | 12.63V |
As can be seen by the results gathered, the voltage rails of the OCZ ModXStream 780W are fairly stable with minimal fluctuations under load.
Without specialised testing equipment I was unable to stress the 780W OCZ ModXStream to its limits, including checking cross-loading, efficiency and seeing if the voltage ripple stays within ATX specs. However, the tests shown should be decent representation of an average-to-high end system with a bit of overclocking thrown in to boot.
Noise Levels:
During bootup and when idle, the 120mm fan of the OCZ ModXstream remained well behaved and was quite quiet. When load was applied, the fan would spin up accordingly, increasing noise levels slightly, but not as far as to become annoying or loud.
Unfortunately what did annoy me was the high-pitched whine/hiss that would come from the unit when the 8800GTX was loaded. As soon as RTHDRIBL or any other 3D app began stressing the GFX card, the noise would begin, and would cease the moment the software was stopped. This problem also seemed to be isolated to the OCZ unit, since the Enermax Galaxy that I had removed to do this testing did not exhibit similar symptoms.
Performance 4.0/5.0
{mospagebreak title=Price and Warranty}
Price & Warranty
The OCZ ModXStream is retailing for $179.99 at newegg.com or just under £95 in the UK. Compared to other PSU’s in its class, the price is fairly reasonable.
“All OCZ ModXStream power supplies come backed with an industry-leading three year OCZ PowerSwap Warranty for the ultimate peace of mind.”
The small catch is that you need to provide proof of purchase (don’t throw away those receipts) and have access to a credit card.
The PowerSwap warranty basically means that if your PSU develops a fault within the first 36 months, you can call OCZ and they will send you a brand new unit out the same day (if you are willing to supply your credit card details) rather than you having to return the PSU then have it tested, repaired etc. – all of which add to the total length of time it would take to get your PC working again. You are then given a reasonable time limit to return your broken power supply. If the old power supply is returned in the allotted time, there is no charge made.
{mospagebreak title=Conclusion}
Conclusion
The ModXStream joins the “Stream” of other power supplies produced by OCZ, but unfortunately the particular unit I received fail to impress.
I’m hoping the problems I witnessed are only representative of the sample I have for testing, and that the quality of current retail units is better. But it is still disappointing that a PSU at this pricing level should have trivial problems like these, and as it is, I cannot award points for something that “might be”.
Promising plenty of power for the average system, and modular connections; this unit could be a decent addition to most home computer systems. And with a rated efficiency of over 80%, it might even save you a few pennies on the next electric bill.
Unfortunately with short cables, squealing under load, no support for the latest specifications and limited connectivity, the usefulness and lifetime of the product is questionable when it comes to frequent upgraders and hardcore users.
OCZ have said that they are listening to the comments of reviewers and users and have now stated:
"after taking into consideration the concerns raised about the lack of modular connectors, OCZ is planning a redesign for future productions of this model"
Scores
Packaging: 4.25/5.0
Looks: 4.25/5.0
Cabling: 4.0/5.0
Performance: 4.0/5.0
Final Score: 16.50/20
Pros
• Modular cables
• Looks good
• +80% rated efficiency
Cons
• Not enough cables
• Flimsy Case/questionable build quality
• Squealing/Whining when GFX under load
We would like to take this oppourtunity to thank OCZ for supplying us with the sample for testing.