Home : Hardware : Reviews : OCZ ModXStream 780W Power Supply
OCZ adds modular connections to their high-end power supply and creates a winner!
I may be flattering myself a bit, but I’d like to think the engineers at OCZ heard my complaints about their GameXStream power supplies and decided to do something about it. Let me explain: I’ve reviewed two OCZ power supplies in the past (the GameXStream 600W and GameXStream 1010W) and found them to be universally well-constructed…except for their lack of modular technology, forcing me to stuff a whole host of extra cables inside my computer case. OCZ’s response to these criticisms (if I may be so bold as to call it that) is the ModXStream, a new power supply that, for all intents and purposes, mixes modular connections with the larger wattage capacity of OCZ’s higher-end XStream power supplies. Sporting a whole host of optional connections, noise-damping technology to keep things quiet and 780W and 900W versions, (full specifications here), the ModXStream certainly has the pedigree to be a killer power supply, but will the hybrid be a winning new breed or a mutated Frankenstein? Today we’ll be taking a look to find out.
Installation
Mounting the ModXStream was a pretty standard affair: fit the box into the upper corner of the case, attach the screws and plug in the required (pre-attached) ATX power connectors. The ModXStream comes with two sets of ATA connectors, two sets of three SATA connectors and (depending on the model) either two or four PCI-E connectors for modern video cards. The optional plugs click into the rear of the power supply (facing towards the front of the case) giving you the shortest possible arrangement of cables into the rest of the case. OCZ arranged the cable connections in a row by size, so you’ll need to plug in PCI-E connections first, SATA connections second and ATA connections third and arrange the cables as you go.
Overall the installation went smoothly, although it helps to think for a few minutes about how you’re going to plug in your cables before you do so. I have a case with a lot of fans and only one SATA drive, so I would have preferred to have even more customization than OCZ offers, but with some daisy chaining and a little creative storage I hooked up everything I needed to get started. The difference in the number of PCI-E connectors was also interesting, but on more of a what-if level: the 8800 Ultra handling my computer’s graphics required two PCI-E connectors for power, which means an SLI configuration using this model of the ModXStream and an upper end 8800 series graphics card wouldn’t be possible. Not a problem here, but something to keep in mind as you plan out a system.
