OCZ ZT 650W Power Supply Review

[Tazz]

http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php...Story&reid=295

Today's power supply is from OCZ's ZT Series. A fully modular 650W. We actually looked at the 750W version of this power supply some time ago. That unit had great +12V regulation, mediocre non-primary rail regulation, fair build quality and an excellent price. Back then, that unit sold for under $100 before rebate. Today, at Newegg, the price of that unit is actually up to $109.99 and is $89.99 with a mail in rebate. The price of this unit is $99.99 before rebate and $79.99 after mail in rebate. You would think that would seriously hurt the unit's value score, but how does that price stack up against what else is out there? You'll have to read the review through to the end to find out.

[Stefan Payne]

The usual 0.7A Yate Loon D14BH turbine...
It would be really nice if you guys could test the idle noise of a PSU or the rpm of the fan.

Just two PCIe connectors on a 650W unit...

But the NCC caps are on the secondary side where they're more useful than on the primary side and it has a working OTP protection in place. So that's the good news...

[rafal_iB_PL]

Seriously hampered by only 2x PCI-E. If you don't want to SLI/CF, 550W version will do just fine as well.

[Tator Tot]

The biggest downfall with this unit is that silly limitation of 2 PCIe connectors.

[allikat]

Originally Posted by Tator Tot

The biggest downfall with this unit is that silly limitation of 2 PCIe connectors.

Exactly the reason I swapped from my Corsair TX650, only 2 pci-e connectors.

[Tator Tot]

Originally Posted by allikat

Exactly the reason I swapped from my Corsair TX650, only 2 pci-e connectors.

Unfortunately, very few companies understand this.

Silverstone has the Strider Plus 600w, which is also fully modular with 4 PCIe cables and Bronze efficiency. It's also a solid performer & well built, but it's only price competitive aftrer MIR ($115 normal, $100 after MIR) which makes the OCZ unit considerably cheaper.
Like wise, it dosen't have as much 12v power (504w vs 648w)
Though, Silverstone also has the Strider Essentials 600w, unfortunately it has mediocre build quality, very bland performance, it's a very early 80+ design (so not all that efficient or quiet) and it's not modular.

Though, there are the Capstone 650 & 650M which are priced very competitively ($100 & $115 respectively) against OCZ' units. Just not fully modular. Considerably more quiet and perform much better though.

The only real competition in terms of market category & price is the NZXT Hale82 650M which is only $89 normally, but $59 w/ MIR. The only downside to this unit, is it's not fully modular.

[Stefan Payne]

And there are 'The Germans', wo also have 2 PCIe Connectors - on their 4x0W and some 500W Models...

The newer 6x0W Units all have 4 PCIe Connectors.

[ehume]

I really like the photography in this article. Jonny -- any tips on making such good shots?

[jonnyGURU]

No. I think my photos suck.

[ssshjp]

A photostudio with pure background and shadowless lamp.

But it's not so important to a reviewer.