Final Words & Conclusion

The Verdict

Yep we start our conclusion as always with this note: our testing method is trivial at best and can be considered subjective. To test modern age power supplies you need advanced load equipment and monitoring devices easily worth thousands and thousands of dollars. We do not have it at hand and therefore test the real-world way. We chuck the PC full with energy hungry hardware, stress it and put that load on the PSU to see how it behaves. During stress we monitor the several voltage rails and look for fluctuations. Now, in the past we have seen some PSUs show a little bit of an offset here and there, this however was not the case with the OCZ StealthXstream 2 600W we tested.

The 600 Watts needed is something we can fairly easily throw at a PSU, which we did. And the OCZ StealthXstream 2 was just not bothered by it. We did not spot any noticeable voltage fluctuations or instability. At best, when highly stressed the PSU got slightly lukewarm, but that was the only physical oddity we could see, feel or measure.

Efficiency then. During our test session we compared a little to similar PSUs we tested with a similar setup and the numbers do not lie, the OCZ StealthXstream 2 series is quite efficient, a recent Enermax 80+ GOLD certified PSU did show better results though but the differences remain very acceptable.

I do have to say though that for an 600W power supply, the cabling was a bit of a concern. On average I found cabling too short and especially for graphics cards to have only one 6-pin and one 6/8-pin PEG power connector ... that's just shy. To be able to connect our cards we had to use all kinds of converter cables. And especially with cards like a GeForce GTX 460, which you could setup in SLI with a PSU like shown today, we really feel the need for more PCIe GFX PEG headers.

Energy efficiency was quite okay for a product with this price tag. Remember, you are not only a little greener with a highly efficient PSU, you will also save money on your power bill in the long term. Highly efficient product also boils down to the fact that good components have been used. And that on it's end translates itself to a extended warranty of 3 years on the OCZ StealthXstream 2 series.

Unfortunately we did kind of miss the modular design, we like cable management and connectors for all kinds of compatibility and peripheral requirements. Silence - I Kill you - the PSU is silent under normal usage. Under hefty load the ventilator RPM will go up and you can hear the product at an audible level, nothing extreme though, it's just there in the background noise.

So what's the big deal with the OCZ StealthXstream 2 series you might wonder ? Well, it's all about price really. You guys should keep in mind that a 600W GOLD 80+ certified (90% efficient) PSU will cost you something to the extend of 125 EUR/USD. And we just check on-line, this 80+ certified model with 85% efficiency will cost you 69 EUR/USD and that's including VAT. So for that money you receive a decent PSU that is fairly quiet, has impressive efficiency levels (in this segment) and comes with a three year warranty.

So while we say thing could be improved on the cabling side of the unit, the overall quality was quite good. We did not spot any irregularities or a-typical behavior under hefty stress. So for 69 EUR you can purchase a 85% efficient PSU, and that's where value lures around the corner and stares you in the eyes. In the end this really is a run of the mill PSU but if this PSU meets your requirements we can definitely recommend it for the sake of it's 85% efficiency alone.

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