OCZ is a company that has over the years developed a well deserved reputation as a top choice for overclockers. When the company decided to add power supplies to their product range, obviously a simple re-badge of a Fortron Source or some other generic PSU with a fat price increase was not going to cut it. The PowerStream series from OCZ are designed to take on the best of the best. I have the 470W version on the bench, read on to see if it succeeds.
As you can see, PowerStream PSUs are offered in three versions, 420, 470, and 520W. “Silent” refers to OCZ’s “PowerWhisper” technology. Many “silent” power supplies use temperature sensing fans. The problem with this is temperature sensing is inefficient, as it means that the electrical components of the PSU have to heat up before the fans will increase in speed. The PowerStream has a chip which measures the load conditions of the PSU and the fans automatically adjust to these conditions, which helps keep the PSU cool and should help with longevity as well.
“Adjustable” refers to what OCZ calls “PowerFlex”, which gives the user the ability to individually adjust each voltage rail. More on that later. The Powerstream is also a universal PSU, with full ATX 2.0 support (ATX, BTX, SATA, P4 and EPS12V).
Inside the box, aside from the PSU itself, is a small manual with some installation instructions (though chances are if you are interested in this class of PSU, you probably already know how to install it), a power cord, and a 24-pin to 20-pin ATX power adapter.
