OCZ ZT Series 650W Power Supply Review @ [H]

FrgMstr

FrgMstr

Just Plain Mean
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OCZ ZT Series 650W Power Supply Review - OCZ comes to us with a new "High-Performance" computer power supply that sports 650 watts along with fully modular cable management. OCZ tells us "this power supply remains rock solid and stable" under typical load environments. Will this new OCZ offering come in looking worth its $90 price tag and Bronze efficiency rating?
 
Sad to see OCZ middle range psu's to suck again, i really like fully modular design. It looks almost like OCZ mistakenly rated it at 650w instead of 500w. As 500w unit this psu would look much better.
 
BadmAu5 said:
It looks almost like OCZ mistakenly rated it at 650w instead of 500w. As 500w unit this psu would look much better.
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Those kinds things are NEVER a mistake. It happens frequently, in fact, there's probably more power supplies rated more than they can deliver than ones that are rated properly. Its just that [H] more often tests the better PSU's and they are usually rated properly in the amount of power they can deliver.
 
Sorry to see this unit did not hold up as well as I had hoped. Still, I like a good [H] fail.
 
I could be mistaken, but I've yet to see a single Chinese-OEM PSU pass, let alone get recommended. I stopped reading as soon as I started the second paragraph, said to myself, "That's another fail," jumped to the end, and saw I was right. That needs to change.
 
Looks like ZT is good at room temperature, but fails to deliver even 80% of its capacity at the temperature it has promised. It's nice to see that [H] gives a different result than other sites, since [H]'s testing methodology is indeed [H]arder.
 
"However, it is what it is and while this unit is supposed to be rated for 45C operation, neither sample we had would do so for us as the OTP seems to be set far too low."

How then did it complete all tests in Hardware Secrets' test?

Or would TravisCHEN whip up another "they're not using [H]arder methodologies" justification again?
 
entropy13 said:
"However, it is what it is and while this unit is supposed to be rated for 45C operation, neither sample we had would do so for us as the OTP seems to be set far too low."

How then did it complete all tests in Hardware Secrets' test?

Or would TravisCHEN whip up another "they're not using [H]arder methodologies" justification again?
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Well I didn't test Gabe's samples and I push them harder (and since Gabe doesn't say how long he tests them probably longer) during testing. Both samples would turn on at 100% load at 120v 45C but neither would complete the full warm up and 30 minute run. The same goes for the Torture Test, neither unit would finish the entire 8 hours without shutting down, cooling off, and then restarting.
 
entropy13 said:
"However, it is what it is and while this unit is supposed to be rated for 45C operation, neither sample we had would do so for us as the OTP seems to be set far too low."

How then did it complete all tests in Hardware Secrets' test?

Or would TravisCHEN whip up another "they're not using [H]arder methodologies" justification again?
Click to expand...

Having compared so many "hot box tests" with [H]'s incubator environment I get to feel that [H]'s 45C incubator IS [H]arder than JG's and HWS's home-made hot box. The different results is normal because of the different condition.

I do believe this unit can get at best get a borderline pass in GreatWall's own heat chamber @45C.

However given its build quality and component grade I think this failure is related to a small design issue and with some effort OCZ & GreatWall can fix it.
 
But how long will it run rock solid and stable?
My OCZ ModStream failed just minutes after the 36 month warranty expired... :)
 
If they raised the OTP setting it would probably pass and still look good. Great Wall isn't a bad OEM.
 
tomv said:
But how long will it run rock solid and stable?
My OCZ ModStream failed just minutes after the 36 month warranty expired... :)
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I don't see a reason why this PSU wouldn't run fine for years.
 
Looks like a mostly decent unit with some problems meeting its advertised wattage at high temperatures. This is a constructive review, and it's very helpful to your readers. Based on the unit's performance before it hits the 100% load failures, I won't completely write off OCZ's power supplies as boxes of explosions, and I'll be looking forward to seeing their followup units which improve on this design's failings.

That being said, with manufacturers placing good review awards on their boxes, I'd find it highly amusing to see the [H] FAIL graphic used in such a manner.
 
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