Testing the OCZ Powerstream

While the 420, 470, and 520 versions used a single +12V rail (30A for the 420, 33A for the 470 and 520), The 600 uses a twin rail, 20A+18A design for a combined 38A. Additionally, the +5V rail climbs to 46A, while the +3.3V rail remains at 28A. Compared to some of the latest quad +12V rail PSUs, the 600W does not have the most raw power you can get in its price range (around $200). However, the Powerstream 600 is near silent, and I assure you that those quad rail, 45A+ PSUs are not. Raw power also does not necessarily mean that a PSU is immune to voltage sags.

 

That's still the area where the Powerstream trumps the competition, as how much power it actually delivers on each rail is completely up to you.

 

My system consists of three Seagate Baracuda 7200.7s, an NEC-3540A DVD burner, a BFG 6800GT overclocked to 400\1100, and a socket 754 Athlon 3400+ overclocked to 2.5Ghz. While certainly not the most power hungry system in the world, it's no lightweight either when under full load conditions.

 

As a comparison, here are the results of essentially the same test system (though the CPU was a 3000+ at 1.6V) under full load with the Powerstream 470. 

 

 

 

Until testing the Powerstream 600, those were the best results I had seen from any PSU. Here are the results for the Powerstream 600.

 

 

 

Simply amazing results. Keep in mind this is under full load conditions. While the 470 was able to keep fluxes under 0.1V, there was quite a bit of fluctuation, particularly in the +5V rail. The Powerstream 600, on the other hand, gripped the power output like the jaws of a Crocodile. Fluctuations on the +12V rail were less than 0.05V, and less than 0.025V on the +3.3V rail. This time the +5V rail did not move by even 0.001V. Like trying to punch solid concrete with your bare hand, my system couldn't even make a dent in the Powerstream 600's ability to deliver power at 100%.