OCZ Z-Series Z1000M 1000W ATX PSU
Packaging & Appearance
Gold and Black are the two primary colours on the front and rear of the Z1000M’s outer packaging. And why not. When you achieve something as respectable as 80PLUS Gold certification on your new PSU range you certainly want it to be known. Of course it does also have the added advantage of standing out more than a Big Mac at a Slim Fast event when placed on retailers shelves.
While the front of the box is fairly void of any specifications other than the output rating and a few certification stickers, every other side of the box has a story to tell. Starting at the back of the box we get a breakdown of all the main specifications along with a thumbnail sized image of the PSU. This is repeated once again in abbreviated form on the bottom of the box along with a slightly larger image of the unit. At the top of the box is the “True to our roots…” speech seen back on page #1 along with the rail layout chart.
Inside the box we can see the Z1000M encapsulated between two moulded styrofoam slabs. This, combined with the drawstring fabric bag that the PSU is placed inside should ensure that the PSU arrives at your door in the same condition that it left the factory. Also included in the package is a nylon bag that holds all of the modular cables, four silver thumbscrews, a pack of velcro cable ties and of course a manual and mains power cord.
Removing the Z-Series from its drawstring bag brings on instant salivation (for me at least). OCZ has decided against the usual powdercoated finish and has instead gone for a gunmetal coloured brushed aluminium. This simply oozes quality and would be right at home inside a case such as the Osiris Gunmetal or indeed any brushed aluminium chassis. The appearance of the unit is further improved by the gold and black Z-Series label that spans the length of one side. Unfortunately the other stickers (Hi-Pot Tested / ROHS…etc) and bland specification sticker on the other side do spoil the look a bit, and would have probably been better placed on top of the PSU. But then maybe I’m far to fussy 😉
As promised in the specifications we get a 135mm fan that consumes pretty much the entire under-side of the unit. This should keep ‘dead spots’ inside the unit to a minimum ensuring that all components receive adequate cooling. The wire fan grill has also been finished in a similar gun metal colour to the rest of the unit, finishing the appearance off nicely.
At the front of the unit are a total of six modular connectors inset into the PSU’s casing. As you may have already guessed the four orange ones are explicitly for use with the PCI-E modular cables, while the remaining four black connectors are for use with the SATA/Molex cables.
Now that we’ve established OCZ’s latest PSU gets the juices flowing in the appearance department, let’s take a closer look at the cables and internal layout over on the next page…
