OCZ Z-series 650w 80+ siliver; efficient but limited

[MonsterSound]

I noted in the HardwareCanucks F@H Team / Energy Meters thread some power comparison measurements I took on my OCZ-Z series 650w 80+ Silver p/s and I thought I'd repost that here with a bit more info as there a definite limitations to this power supply (I should have started a thread rather than hijack in the 1st place ).

Pros: Efficient 80+ Silver (up to 88% advertised), quiet, low cost, 5 year warranty

Limitations: Short Cables, Low number of connectors
Only 1 short cable with 4 SATA connectors which restricts not only the number of devices connected, but also the devices must be close to each other.
Only 2 PCIe connectors (1 x 6 and 1 x 6+2); I kind of understand what might be OCZ's logic here in that if you SLI or Crossfire 2 cards that require more PCIe connectors, you probably should be looking at more than a 650w, but I don't quite buy it. What if I just want to add a physX card, or SLI 2 x 9800gtx's @ 140w each?

Summary: So far, I'm happy with the OCZ-Z 650 mainly because it is quite efficient, quiet, it currently fits my needs.
Low cost $64 (AR).
But, because of its limitations, it may not be suitable for many builders/cases.

Efficiency Comparison___________________________
originally from HardwareCanucks F@H Team / Energy Meters thread
I was curious about how much greater efficiency/savings (if at all) a newer 80+ PS would deliver, so I picked up an OCZ Z-Series 650w 80+ SILVER (advertised as up to 88%) and compared it to my older SilverStone ST60F - 600w (advertised as 75%).

Overall I was impressed and a quite surprised by the degree of difference, especially when idle or folding. I checked the folding results several times as that what the system is usually doing and the difference was dramatic. I expected less and suspect my ST60F may be less efficient than its specified 75%.

P.S. While measurements were repeated in all cases, the results are not scientific, …but interesting. I did make sure that the CPU was locked (stepping was off) and that GPU step down did occur during idle, Prime95 and Folding measurements.
Btw, PF with the ST60F was 98% and the OCZ-Z slightly less at 96%.
cheers

Here is a breakdown of the wall power readings in watts that I measured with a UPM EM130 (borrowed):

[crazyhorsejohnny]

Zero oh Zero where are you !!!!

[Oversized Rooster]

Nice write-up! I've been eyeing those new Z-Series for quite some time but was won over a special price on the Seasonic M12D instead. According to reviews I've seen, aside from the obvious high efficiency, these are truly excellent PSUs. (reminds of the time when OCZ blasted into the PSU market with the Powerstream series)

[sswilson]

How old is your Silverstone? Keep in mind that all PSUs will degrade over time, although those are some interesting results between the two.

[MonsterSound]

Originally Posted by Oversized Rooster

...but was won over a special price on the Seasonic M12D instead. According to reviews I've seen, aside from the obvious high efficiency, these are truly excellent PSUs. (reminds of the time when OCZ blasted into the PSU market with the Powerstream series)

It's funny but the M12D is what got me looking for a more efficient p/s. I bought a M12D on NCIX's boxing day sale and was looking forward to testing it's 80+ Silver rating. Then due some unforeseen expenses (and slow NCIX delivery) I reluctantly chose to sell it and a few other things. But it stuck in my head that an 80+ Silver p/s should conserve energy and end up paying for itself, so for $64, I'd give it a try, even if it was OCZ. Previously I have had to RMA 3 OCZ StealthX and GamerX p/s's, as well as sell a 1000pro (with full loudness disclosure) because it was so loud, so I was hesitant.

Originally Posted by sswilson

How old is your Silverstone? Keep in mind that all PSUs will degrade over time, although those are some interesting results between the two.

My ST60F is ~2½ years old, version 4.

[E}{ile BFG OC 4GHZ]

Efficiency is good for saving money on the electricity bill it does not effect or has to do with the performance of the supply.

When buying a PSU don't only look at the wattage the most important for performance are the number of channels (a powerful one for every voltage is preferred over multiple once)

The number of AMPS for each channel, the wattage delivery for each voltage Eg: 800W PSU /+3.3v 75W / +5v 80w / +12 645W/

The Ripple and distortion which are very important when overclocking to the max( the lower they are the better it is )

Finally the the components mainly the capacitors the best are Japanese once mainly Nippon-chemi con (NCC) OR Rubycon

For brands I recommend Antec,Corsair and Seasonic

[Zero82z]

Originally Posted by crazyhorsejohnny

Zero oh Zero where are you !!!!

Do I hear someone calling my name?

Originally Posted by MonsterSound

Only 2 PCIe connectors (1 x 6 and 1 x 6+2); I kind of understand what might be OCZ's logic here in that if you SLI or Crossfire 2 cards that require more PCIe connectors, you probably should be looking at more than a 650w

Actually, 650W is pretty much the sweet spot for a two-card Crossfire or SLI setup. The lack of PCI-E connector says one of two things to me: either OCZ was trying to save a few bucks by putting fewer cables on their PSUs, or they are not confident in the ability of their PSUs to power more high-end systems.

Originally Posted by Oversized Rooster

According to reviews I've seen, aside from the obvious high efficiency, these are truly excellent PSUs. (reminds of the time when OCZ blasted into the PSU market with the Powerstream series)

None of the Z-series units are what I'd call truly excellent. The 850W and 1000W models are pretty good, but they have disappointing voltage regulation and their DC output quality isn't all that impressive. As for the lower-wattage models, they are based on an improved version of FSP's Epsilon platform. They are efficient, but they are also group-regulated and are overall a pretty cheap design (hence the low price of these units). They're decent enough since FSP seems to have fixed the ripple issue with their original Epsilon platform, but they don't qualify as high-end PSUs.

[Silvgearx]

great results, thanks for sharing!

[Oversized Rooster]

Originally Posted by Zero82z

None of the Z-series units are what I'd call truly excellent. The 850W and 1000W models are pretty good, but they have disappointing voltage regulation and their DC output quality isn't all that impressive. As for the lower-wattage models, they are based on an improved version of FSP's Epsilon platform. They are efficient, but they are also group-regulated and are overall a pretty cheap design (hence the low price of these units). They're decent enough since FSP seems to have fixed the ripple issue with their original Epsilon platform, but they don't qualify as high-end PSUs.

I didn't say the 650W Z-series was a high end bracket PSU. Going to the high-end with PSUs pretty much implies 750W-1200W these days. You just don't get top end builds at the lower wattage ratings; not from the big PSU companies anyway.

So tell me Zero, what else about OCZ's stuff bothers you?

[Zero82z]

Originally Posted by Oversized Rooster

I didn't say the 650W Z-series was a high end bracket PSU. Going to the high-end with PSUs pretty much implies 750W-1200W these days. You just don't get top end builds at the lower wattage ratings; not from the big PSU companies anyway.

There are plenty of lower-wattage PSUs that I'd categorize as being excellent or very good quality. The lower-wattage Z series units are 'okay' at best.

Originally Posted by Oversized Rooster

So tell me Zero, what else about OCZ's stuff bothers you?

The fact that they replaced the EliteXStream line with this crap?