Anyone tried an OCZ PSU?

[Bouncing Zabaglione Bros.]

Anyone tried one of the new OCZ Powerstream PSUs? They are getting extremely good reviews, but my one reservation is that they don't have an intake fan in the bottom, only at the front (and out-take at the back). Anyone had any issues with heat buildup under one of these otherwise excellently specced PSUs?

 

[Guden Oden]

Why is no fan in the bottom a "reservation" in your opinion? With no fan in the bottom the PSU can use taller heatsinks inside, not sure they actually DO, but it's at least a possibility.

Anyway, the information on that website...well...sucked. No mention of any technical specs, just a load of marketing names and fluff and pictures of transparent LED fans.

It also does not auto-adjust according to the input voltage. Not that most people travel between different continents with their PCs, but it's always a convenient feature. One less dangerous switch that can be set in the wrong position by mistake or on purpose.

I REALLY like the Silverstone fanless PSU... It's "only" 300W, but it's a solid unit if ever I saw one. Damn, 2.5 kilos! That's a biiig chunk of metal.

Only caveats I can think of with that one is only 2 native SATA connectors and a bit too many molexes - six. And no PCIe graphics card power connector, but then again it has six molexes so two can always be used with an adaptor... Other than that, it's a bootiful PSU.

 

[Bouncing Zabaglione Bros.]

Why is no fan in the bottom a "reservation" in your opinion? With no fan in the bottom the PSU can use taller heatsinks inside, not sure they actually DO, but it's at least a possibility.

Because the CPU is right underneath, so a hot spot can develop. Yes the hot air will rise up to the top of the case where the front intake fan is, but this ususally has poor air circulation because it is close to the back of the CDROM drive and where all the wires come out of the loom.

In my experience, the PSUs with larger fans in the bottom are slower (and therefore quieter) and do a better job of keeping the case cool. I guess that's why nearly all PSUs sold today have those fans in the bottom, ie directly above the CPU.

It also does not auto-adjust according to the input voltage. Not that most people travel between different continents with their PCs, but it's always a convenient feature. One less dangerous switch that can be set in the wrong position by mistake or on purpose.

That's not really an issue for me. Fan placement and heat extraction is something that I need every moment the PC is on - moving my PC to different countries is not.

I REALLY like the Silverstone fanless PSU... It's "only" 300W, but it's a solid unit if ever I saw one. Damn, 2.5 kilos! That's a biiig chunk of metal.

If I'm looking to buy a 520 watt PSU, no 300 watt is really going to be on my shopping list.

 

[Guden Oden]

I am not sure there would be any kind of "hot spot" around the CPU. For starters, there's pretty much no convection at all to speak of in a cramped PC case unless it's completely fanless; forced airflows play havok with convection currents as they are VERY weak), and second, the CPU fan itself should be strong enough to mix air around sufficiently to prevent formation of hot spots. Third, many, maybe all ATX cases these days have a mounting place for at least one fan located below the PSU too.

Anyway, I just mentioned the Silverstone PSU because it's a beautiful piece of engineering, wether you're interested in buying it or not couldn't be further on my mind! What are you going to use a 520W PSU for anyway? Unless you plan to stick like eight harddrives into your case it's going to be pretty much a TOTAL waste.

 

[Bouncing Zabaglione Bros.]

I am not sure there would be any kind of "hot spot" around the CPU. For starters, there's pretty much no convection at all to speak of in a cramped PC case unless it's completely fanless; forced airflows play havok with convection currents as they are VERY weak), and second, the CPU fan itself should be strong enough to mix air around sufficiently to prevent formation of hot spots. Third, many, maybe all ATX cases these days have a mounting place for at least one fan located below the PSU too.

Been there, done it. You're just guessing where I have practical experience of it happening. Again, why do you think almost every PSU supplier puts a fan on the bottom of their PSUs? It's the most efficient design.

Anyway, I just mentioned the Silverstone PSU because it's a beautiful piece of engineering, wether you're interested in buying it or not couldn't be further on my mind! What are you going to use a 520W PSU for anyway? Unless you plan to stick like eight harddrives into your case it's going to be pretty much a TOTAL waste.

Then that's not a helpful answer, and really shows that you know nothing about the subject. It's just you thread-crapping again. I guess I should know that from the way you recommend electronic components based on how heavy they are.

 

[ricercar]

One of the top five 3Dmark fanatics (¿OPPainter?) is now using an OCZ PSU according to his own posts on one of the extremesystems forums. Was a significant endorsement in my book.

 

[LeStoffer]

Anyone tried one of the new OCZ Powerstream PSUs? They are getting extremely good reviews, but my one reservation is that they don't have an intake fan in the bottom, only at the front (and out-take at the back). Anyone had any issues with heat buildup under one of these otherwise excellently specced PSUs?

I can't help with regard to heat buildup since I'm using watercooling on CPU and GPU, but I can say that my OCZ Powerstream 470W seems very solid. 8)

One thing to note though is that it is deep which doesn't help on airflow inside the case.