OCZ ModXStream Pro 500W Power Supply
Jun 2nd, 2010 | By AnthonyThe ModXstream comes packaged in typical OCZ styling.
Covering all surfaces of the box are specifications, features, and artwork.
Inside, we get a handy bag for cables, screws and accessories along with a manual and the unit itself.
The power supply is finished in an attractive matte gun metal finish with a matching titanium chrome grill, black sleeving and heatshrink. Simple and elegant.
The ModXStream Pro is cooled by a single large 135mm fan which pushes air into the unit and out through the perforated back plate.
Having a look at the connectors, we have a few leads attached to the unit itself- these are not modular. Of course, these typically do not need to be detached. We have a 20+4 pin ATX motherboard connector, then a 4 and 8 pin motherboard connector.
As mentioned earlier, we only have two PCI Express connectors: one standard 6 pin and one 6+2 pin. Unless one chooses to run a rather high end dual card solution where individual cards require two connectors, our two PCI express connectors here will be sufficient.
For hard drives, we have six SATA connectors, and again for a 500W power supply, plenty.
Lastly, we have four 4 pin peripheral connectors and two floppy drives for those unfortunate enough to require it, or for supplementary motherboard power.
Opening up the unit, the ModXStream Pro 500W is a Sirtec built unit.
Besides being a 500W unit, another thing we don’t see too often is metal slabs used as heatsinks. Actually, they only resemble heatsinks by definition. They are without fins of any sort. This does set off at least a few red flags, a major one being an indicator of reduced quality of components. Heatsinks do not cost all too much and convention tells us that with a single fan type power supply, a manufacturer should choose to maximize the heatsink surface area in front of the fan. Though, perhaps it wasn’t necessary – we’ll have a look at performance and heat output later on.
Digging in a little bit further, the capacitors are TRec, a little known company based out of China. Being unknown little can be definitively said about their quality and longevity, but it tends to be the case that if one puts manufacturer’s name into Google, and comes up denouncing it, we aren’t looking at Nippon Chemi-Con grade capacitors. Though, time can only tell.