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The OCZ GameXStream PSU comes in a pretty nice box. Most power supplies I've bought or seen come in plain brown cardboard wrapping. When we opened the box, this is what we found...

• OCZ GameXStream 700W PSU
• 4 Mounting screws
• User Manual
• Power Cord

Pretty standard fare for a power supply. The user manual is a bit of a welcome bonus. It instructs the user as to proper installation procedures. A simple process. It also details the electrical features of the unit. Here's the host of connectors that this PSU has, even with a picture from OCZ of each and every plug.

• 1 cable with a 20/4 pin ATX power connector
• 1 cable with 2x 4 pin CPU power connectors
• 2 cables each with 1x 6 pin PCI-E power connector
• 2 cables each with 3x 4 pin Molex connectors and 1x 4 pin floppy power connector
• 2 cables each with 3x SATA power connectors

That's a lot of juice. You could hook up 6 SATA drives, 6 optical drives, 2 floppy drives, dual PCI-E graphics cards, and have the 2 CPU power connectors to help drive some very hungry chips. All of the collective wires are kept at bay with woven wire loom, something a lot of manufacturers are using nowadays. One thing I might like to have seen was a quick connect panel. You know, a panel full of connectors so a user can plug in the cables they need and leave those they don't need in the back of a closet somewhere.

There is some consideration for this approach though. By placing extra connectors in any electrical circuit, resistance will be increased. The drop in voltage however, it's so minor, so insignificant, it's not going to cause any problems. But, curiosity got the better if us and we measured the +12v rail on another PSU with quick cable connectors. A MasterCraft 52-0060-2 Digital Multi-Meter was used for the reading. Some voltage difference was measured. On the quick connect panel of a AeroCool Zero dba 620W PSU the Molex connectors on the side housing measured a clean 12.14 volts and occasionally fluctuated, dipping down to 12.13 volts. When a cable was hooked up and voltage was measured at the last Molex connector on the chain, the current read a stable 12.13 volts without any wavering up or down. This may frighten some people, but it's really nothing to worry about. The differences are in the milliamp range and won't affect anything. All of your drives will work, all of your fans too. Just don't go overboard with the Molex extension cables.

Thankfully, OCZ has built a solid piece of elegant electrical engineering. Here's a few more stats on this PSU, straight from the included manual.

Product Features

• Intel ATX 2.0: It supports up-to-date ATX 2.0 specification with enhanced compatibility.
• ATI and Nvidia support: Independent double +12V design especially for ATI CrossFire and Nvidia graphics cards.
• AMD support: It supports the newest 64 bit CPUs by AMD.
• 4 Channel 12V output: It provides a stable electric output.
• 2 Channel PCI-e connector: It supports double ATI and Nvidia graphics cards.
• Dual CPU support: It provides 8-pin 12V dual CPU support with stable voltage.
• WEEE & RoHS environmental protection specifications: It accords with WEEE and RoHS by EUROPA.
• High efficiency: Power-save and high efficiency(>85%) design.
• Blue baked shell: It's worthy for your collection.
• 12cm light blue fan: 12cm fan design, enhancing the cooling with lower noise output.
• Active FPC: Environment protected active PFC, enhancing the utilization of energy.
• Full range: AC full range input.
• Low noise: It provides a quiet working environment for you.
• Safety: It has been certified in many countries. The safety is ensured.
• Over voltage and current protection: A complete protection circuit is implemented, protecting every component in you system.
• 20+4 pin: Compatible to all main boards available on the market.
• 4+4 pin: Accords with the requirements of the CPU in ATX or EPS systems.
• S-ATA: It provides a stable power supply for high-speed SATA products.
• High power: 600W & 700W
• Nylon cover: Making the installation easy.
• Smart housing: Easy pluggable D-connector.
• Cellular air intake: Lowers the noise while enhancing the cooling and air flow.

One nice feature is the PFC protection. PFC stands for 'Power Factor Correction', and though not entirely new, it is a more efficient method of power regulation. There is a lot of technical reading to be found, but it is simply a method of regulating electrical flow. PFC uses integrated circuitry to filter, clean and augment the incoming AC current from your wall outlet and turn it into the DC current your computer needs. Because PFC uses integrated electronic circuits, rather than large solid state components, the resulting current flow is very clean. Another function of PFC power supplies involves reduced harmonics. When passing electrons though electrical components, noise can be created. This is usually in the form of a high pitched whine. These harmonics can wear out parts. So, an Active PFC power supply will last longer than an Inactive PFC supply, and last even longer than a PSU without any form of PFC.

In essence, a PFC compliant power supply acts like a resistor in some sense. If the current from the electric company rises, the power supply will start to close the gates. If that same current were to diminish, the power supply would open the doors to let more juice in. And if the power supply doesn't need all of that current being fed to it, the PFC will scale back its consumption. It is simply a method of controlling power consumption. Where it does make a difference is in the collective electric bill of an entire nation. Since the beginning of 2002, all PC power supplies shipped to and sold in Europe must be PFC compliant. It saves in electricity, reducing pollution and waste, making everyone happier. There aren't a lot of PFC compliant power supplies in North America right now, perhaps only 1 in five PSUs is built with PFC in mind. But, give it a couple more years and probably every power supply sold will be PFC compliant. It makes sense. Let's take a look at the numbers now.

And here's a few more specs on the specs, straight from the user manual OCZ included.

And here's some safety features.

Pretty nice. This unit seems to encompass everything a power supply should be. Now, let's get onto the testing.