OCZ ModXstream Pro 500w
Introduction
PSU’s are a real case of you get what you pay for. The cheaper, non branded PSU’s are often incredibly unstable, in-efficient and can fail within a few months of purchase. Installing such PSU’s in a high-end PC is akin to having a death wish, but only for your hardware. Not only can low or poorly filtered voltages cause damage to devices that don’t employ their own filtering circuits, but surges that often occur when a PSU fails have the ability to decimate every single component inside your precious PC system.
A few months ago we reviewed OCZ’s 780w ModXstream model, whilst it certainly scored well in our testing and managed to bag our Recommended award, there was still room for improvement. This undoubtedly spurred the release of the ModXstream Pro series announced back in August. Equipped with a larger fan, new internals and a refreshing new look, the ‘Pro’ is aimed at bringing down noise and improving on the performance of it’s predecessor. It should certainly come as no surprise then, that when OCZ asked us if we would like to take a look, we couldn’t resist.
Here are the full specifications:
ATX12V v2.2 and EPS12V
Typical load 86% Efficiency
80+ Certified
Overvoltage/OverPower/Short-Circuit protection
(.99)Active PFC
MTBF: 100,000 hours @ 25C
Connectors:
1 x 20/24-pin ATX
1 x 8-pin CPU
1 x 4-pin CPU
Modular Connectors:
1 x 6-pin PCI-E
1 x 6+2-pin PCI-E
4 x Peripheral
2 x Floppy
6 x SATA
As we can see, the ModXstream has a fairly average spec for a modern PSU, with 86% efficiency and 100,000hr MTBF at 25c. The PCI-e connectors are also noteworthy, with OCZ opting for 1x 6-pin and 1x 8-pin plugs allowing for the unit to be used with a wide range of modern graphics cards such as the GTX280, 4870×2 and GTX295. Of course, whether the 500w unit has enough gusto to power such cards in addition to a full PC system is yet to be determined.
