OCZ PowerStream 520W PSU

Packaging and Impressions

The OCZ PowerStream came in simple but attractive packaging that does its job.
I would not recommend shipping this power supply with out more packaging as
this box is not designed for it. The box has a nice graphic showing the power
supply and it gives a rundown of the basic features and specifications on the
back.

Once open you can clearly see that the power supply is sheathed in bubble wrap.
The box also contains a short manual with installation information and the warranty,
fat lot of good that will do me. Once the contents are spread out you can see
the normal assortment of power supply items, four mounting case screws, zip
ties, power cord, and a package of silica gel beads. OCZ also ships a 24pin
to 20pin adapter for people who do not have server or BTX motherboards, which
is most of us.

The outside of the PowerStream has a high gloss mirrored finish that looks
fabulous. There is but one caveat, a finish this nice has the propensity to
attract every finger smudge and scratch in existence. I highly recommend installing
this power supply with some gloves or at least a bottle of Windex and some paper
towels because if you have a window in your case you will see every little smudge.
Also if you put this in a plain beige case with no window I will hunt you down
and beat the hell out of you, this power supply needs to have some light. Besides,
just think of what it can do for your sex life, when girls come over you can
just point to your power supply and say “see how big it is.”

When OCZ said the PowerStream had ConnectAll universal connectors, they were
not kidding. Rather than talk about all the standard connectors I want to talk
about what is not standard. First the PowerStream supports BTX which means it
has a 24pin power connector; this connector is also used on most new PCI-Express
motherboards. The PowerStream also comes with a 8pin 12v auxiliary connector
with the P4 connector attached. It also has the outdated, in my mind at least,
ATX auxiliary connector that I have not seen used on any current motherboard.
In what seems to be the new standard OCZ included SATA power connectors as well.
The final pair of connectors I want to point out are the ones using OCZ Power
Shield Technology. What OCZ has done is wrap the cables in a braided wire sheath
and added an inductor to the end of the connector. The objective is to reduce
any AC signals on these two power connectors. Removing any EMI interference
should help the life of your hard drive or video card, though how much I don’t
know. In the end the OCZ PowerStream has more than enough connectors, and length
to meet the needs of just about any case I have ever used. There is some room
for improvement here; OCZ could have sleeved all the cables, and they greatly
increased the installation difficulty with all the connection options as well
as extra cable length.

As they say looks are only skin deep so let’s pull out the screwdriver
and void the warranty — it’s time to get inside this power house.