![[H]ardOCP](/images/blank.gif){kind=small}
- Date:
- Monday , April 07, 2008
- Author:
- Paul Johnson
- Editor:
- Kyle Bennett
- Google +1
OCZ EliteXStream 1000w
OCZ pulls its namesake into the spotlight again by today launching a newly branded "EliteXStream" power supply. It claims the full 1000 watts of power is available to the enthusiast up to 40 degrees c, so let's push it the limits and beyond and see if it proves to be worthy of the most demanding enthusiast conditions.
Overview
The first thing we are going to look at with the EliteXStream 1000w is its packaging, accessories, and documentation. While normally none of these items is a real make or break item for a power supply the packaging quite often contains a lot of information about the product we are purchasing. The inclusion of an owner’s manual that provides actual information about our product is also of great help. Accessories are almost unnecessary with a power supply as the unit is self contained, unless it is modular, but there cases where a manufacturer can include useful accessories to make installation, routing, and use more efficient.
The packaging for the OCZ EliteXStream 1000w is rather subdued in its blue/black wash but it does contain some information on the unit, but not as much as many boxes we have seen. The EliteXStream packaging just lists the power table (reproduced below), some warranty claims, and a few marketing points (including that the unit is rated at 40c). One disappointing fact about this unit right off the bat is that while the unit advertises a 5 year warranty the packaging informs users to call the warranty line. This is all fine but if users are going to be instructed to call the warranty line for warranty claims and information it would seem pertinent to include the phone number so people know where to call as it’s not in the contents of the packaging as we will discuss shortly. Barring that it would be nice to, at the very least, find some mention of the warranty on the warranty page of OCZ's website that indicates the length of the warranty (and warranty terms on the power supply). With that said, the OCZ support line phone number, which appears nowhere with the product is (800) 459-1816, for those users who may need it.
Moving on, while the packaging does not claim that the unit is 80Plus certified it does claim that the unit has an “ultra-high 82% efficiency rating.” Given the revised standards of the 80Plus system 82% no longer appears to be “ultra-high” according to 80Plus and indeed a check of the 80Plus website does not (at the time of writing) find the OCZ EliteXStream 80Plus rated for any level of “Climate Savers.” It does however, find the Impervio IPS-P1000TNM (which this unit is based on) rated for just Climate Savers 1, indicating that the base unit only meets the 80%-80%-80% rating not the 82%-85%-82% of Climate Savers 2. Today we will certainly see how the EliteXStream fairs in our testing and whether or not OCZ was able to get these units tweaked above their base models performance.
Since we also find the unit advertised as being capable of supporting multi-GPU configurations we checked the SLIZone and CrossFire webpages. However, at the time of writing the unit was not certified for any level of either SLI or CrossFire but given the information below I would see no reason why this unit should not be capable of running even the most demanding of SLI or CrossFire configurations with ease.
Unlike previous OCZ power supply labels we find the EliteXStream is devoid of most information regarding its electrical properties. Beyond that generalization though we do find that the unit has 80A available on the 12v rails which gives it a healthy 96% of its total possible output capacity available on the single 12v rail should users need it. Those 80A feed four modified 8-pin PCI-Express, eight SATA connectors, and eight Molex connectors to support most any hard drive and peripheral combination found in typical high end systems. We also see that the OCZ EliteXStream has 4A available on the +5VSB which is a bit unusual.
Once we open the EliteXStream 1000w packaging it immediately becomes apparent that OCZ has picked up at least one thing from PC Power & Cooling since their acquisition, how not to present a retail product. All that is included with this unit is a power cord, mounting screws, and test report. Previous OCZ power supplies we have reviewed were not the best presented, nor did they have the best documentation, but at least with those units OCZ tried. With the EliteXStream 1000w there is no documentation at all, just like with the PC Power & Cooling units we have reviewed to date, and the overall feel of the packaging is that it was juts slapped in there by a shipping drone. These things coupled with the wonderful call for support with no support phone number on the box is certainly a serious drop in the care we have seen and expect from OCZ with their products.