OCZ GameXstream 700W Power Supply Review

A Closer Look

The GameXstream 700W power supply enclosure is painted matte black and uses a single 120mm fan on the bottom-side for cooling.  The fan incorporates Blue LEDs, which produce a very nice lighting affect inside and out.  The power supply uses all hard-wired cables (not modular).

The 120mm cooling fan is made by Protechnic Electric (MGA12012HB-025) and has four blue LEDs mounted in the corners of the clear plastic frame.  It incorporates dual ball bearings and is rated for up to 2,500 rpm at 12V.  To help minimize noise, the fan speed is automatically controlled by the internal component temperature (speeds up as the combined load and temperature increases). As we will see later on, the fan proved to be very effective and relatively quiet, especially at mid to lower power levels.  

The open honey comb grill on the back allows the exhaust air to exit the power supply with minimal resistance.  The GameXstream 700W PSU incorporates universal input (automatically adjusts the AC line voltage) and active PFC that adds to the units environmental friendliness.

The GameXstream 700W supports ATX12V v2.2/EPS12V and is rated for a combined, maximum output power of 700 watts at up to 50°C ambient air temperature (internal case air temperature).  This is an important feature and one many generic power supplies don’t have.  Many less expensive power supplies rate their output capacity based on 25°C, which is not realistic.    

Specifications for the OCZ GameXstream 700W

Notice that the majority of the rated output capacity is supplied by the +12V section.

This is typical of most newer power supplies and a result of changes in the PC industry that more and more rely on +12V instead of +5V and +3.3V.  With almost the entire 700 watts of power available on the +12V rails, this PSU should be capable of powering most any new system you want to build unless you’re planning to use dual CPU’s with a pair of next generation video cards.

Quad +12V outputs

The GameXstream 700W PSU incorporates four 12V outputs (+12V1, +12V2, +12V3, and +12V4).  As is the case in most PC power supplies, the four +12V outputs are all derived from a common +12V source and differentiated with individual current limiting circuits.  The following table shows the maximum rated current and what connectors are supplied by each output.

Note 1: The maximum combined load for all four +12V outputs is 56.6A (680 watts).