Are OCZ reliable?

[Dijeangenie]

I bought a OCZ-CXS500W-UK CoreXStream Series 500W Power Supply which was dead on arrival.

Has anyone else had bad experience with their PSUs? (I realise that they are not top of the range but I thought they were decent)

 

[slayernine]

In my experience OCZ delivers good preforming products but has horrendous quality issues which results in many products that spontaneously implode.

I can speak to their power supplies, RAM and solid state drives as I have seen quality issues with them. As a general rule I now avoid all their products, even if they seem like a good deal.

 

[el-Capitan]

OP, your DOA is running well in my HTPC for abt 11mos now. No issues so far and inaudible. Unfort barely 80% efficiency. I wish I had picked a Seasonic then, but I was too cheap.

 

[lehtv]

Any power supply can be DOA, it doesn't discriminate brand or model.

Whether a PSU that is working as intended is actually reliable is a whole other thing.

I can't find any reviews of the CoreXStream units. Looks to be a new budget range from OCZ with no efficiency ratings and manufactured by HEC. I would stay away, HEC doesn't have the reputation of a reliable manufacturer. Of course, this doesn't mean that any HEC unit will instantly explode... No, it means that the unit may be more prone to errors when heavily stressed and/or when used for several years.

The only units I'd buy from OCZ are the ZS (made by Sirtec) ZT and ZX series (made by Great Wall), they have garnered positive reviews.

Try to get your money back from the retailer for your DOA unit and buy something that is known to be good quality. Where did you buy from, locally or online?

 

[blastingcap]

OCZ doesn't make their own PSUs. You'd have to look at who actually made the PSU and gave it to OCZ to rebadge as their own. Also try to look for online reviews.

 

[Ketchup]

OCZ doesn't make their own PSUs. You'd have to look at who actually made the PSU and gave it to OCZ to rebadge as their own.

I believe that should still reflect badly on OCZ, for picking a low quality/reliability item to slap their name on.

Historically, OCZ has re-badged everything they sell, but I am not sure if this is still the case.

I also know when looking at OCZ parts for my current build, there were far to many DOA customer reviews for me to even consider them.

 

[blastingcap]

I believe that should still reflect badly on OCZ, for picking a low quality/reliability item to slap their name on.

Historically, OCZ has re-badged everything they sell, but I am not sure if this is still the case.

I also know when looking at OCZ parts for my current build, there were far to many DOA customer reviews for me to even consider them.

Whoa there. I am not defending OCZ, I'm saying that "OCZ PSU" can mean a lot of things depending on who the OEM is and to what build quality they were supposed to build to. As a general rule, I won't touch anything made by OCZ... maybe PC Power and Cooling if they subcontracted out to Seasonic or something. But even then, OCZ (and its subsidiary PCP&C) is about to go bankrupt anyway so if you bought today, you might not have warranty coverage down the road. It depends if someone will buy the PSU business before OCZ liquidates or not.

 

[Kuschelweich]

Depends upon who actually made it, if it was made before or after a certain date, wattage rating, etc...

There's a tiered power supply list on eggxpert, let me see if I can find it.

 

[Kuschelweich]

Found it:

http://www.eggxpert.com/forums/thread/323050.aspx


OCZ can be found anywhere from Tier 2(Good), to Tier 4(Not so good).

 

[Ketchup]

Whoa there. I am not defending OCZ,

I was not saying you were. No harm meant, toward you.

 

[tweakboy]

NO NO NO!!!!!!! heck no OCZ is horrible and will die. They will RMA which is good.

But soon OCZ might go out of business. So oin 2 years if your PSU or OCZ product dies, nothing you can do about it. gl

 

[Dijeangenie]

Try to get your money back from the retailer for your DOA unit and buy something that is known to be good quality. Where did you buy from, locally or online?

I bought it off amazon (partially because there was only one negative review and that was from some guy who just didn't read the specs properly and no reviews saying that they had had problems).

I have sent it off and will try and get my money back, but at the very least they will give me a replacement PSU of the same type which does have a 3 year warranty, so if it breaks again I can go through the same process I presume!

In hindsight I should have spent £10 more on a corsair or other more recognised brand.

 

[billbobaggins87]

OCZ has a terrible rep for shit qaulity.. ive got a 120gig ssd that could implode any second now.. not sure what i was thinking when i had purchased this.. ohwell

 

[TemjinGold]

OCZ has a terrible rep for shit qaulity.. ive got a 120gig ssd that could implode any second now.. not sure what i was thinking when i had purchased this.. ohwell

I'm pretty sure you were thinking, "Man, that's cheap!"

 

[lehtv]

I have sent it off and will try and get my money back, but at the very least they will give me a replacement PSU of the same type which does have a 3 year warranty, so if it breaks again I can go through the same process I presume.

They can't refuse to give you your money back. If they send you a replacement PSU, you can decide that you want your money back for that unit instead. Since it's an unopened package, there should be absolutely no problem with returning it for a full refund

 

[VirtualLarry]

They can't refuse to give you your money back.

Sure they can. Newegg does that all the time. Look up their return policies some time. "Return for refund: No" "Return for replacement: 30 days"

 

[Dijeangenie]

They can't refuse to give you your money back. If they send you a replacement PSU, you can decide that you want your money back for that unit instead. Since it's an unopened package, there should be absolutely no problem with returning it for a full refund

Is there any danger for other components of a PSU dieing? - I mean it has a 3 year warranty so it isn't the end of the world if it breaks after 1 or 2 years unless it could take other components with it.

 

[thelastjuju]

I had an OCZ power supply, it lasted literally a month after the 3 year warranty expired.

3 years out of a power supply is pretty disappointing, when I've got an Antec power supply approaching its 10 year anniversary from my very first build.

 

[Mir96TA]

I have used two of them; with no problem.
One I am using is 650 Watts (80 plus Bronze) one with 24/7 on with full load.
It is super quiet, and pulling the load of 3 HDD one SSD, 2 Optical Drive, AMD 1055T 125Watt version, 7970 reference.
I say they make good enougn P/S

 

[ATF678]

You can count me as one of the unlucky ones. I had a MODXStream running an overclocked E8400 on a 650i mobo with GTX260 for a year and half with no problems. As soon as I upgraded to a 2500K with P67 mobo, it killed that CPU and mobo, then killed the replacement CPU, before finally dying. Warranty was still good. OCZ has great customer service and quick RMA process. Been running the replaced MODXStream for a year now with no problems. Only time will tell if it will die disastrously again.

 

[Dijeangenie]

You can count me as one of the unlucky ones. I had a MODXStream running an overclocked E8400 on a 650i mobo with GTX260 for a year and half with no problems. As soon as I upgraded to a 2500K with P67 mobo, it killed that CPU and mobo, then killed the replacement CPU, before finally dying. Warranty was still good. OCZ has great customer service and quick RMA process. Been running the replaced MODXStream for a year now with no problems. Only time will tell if it will die disastrously again.

How did it kill them?

 

[Batmeat]

Bought 8 of these just about 1 year for a small network build. All 8 computers run 24/7 and haven't had issues.

 

[Dijeangenie]

Bought 8 of these just about 1 year for a small network build. All 8 computers run 24/7 and haven't had issues.

Dont think that link works (maybe just me?)

 

[lehtv]

Sure they can. Newegg does that all the time. Look up their return policies some time. "Return for refund: No" "Return for replacement: 30 days"

Huh? He ordered from Amazon, not Newegg. And that's the UK shop.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/help/customer/display.html/ref=hp_502480_faq_ret?nodeId=1161002

Anything but Marketplace items can be returned for a full refund. For Marketplace, the policy is seller dependent but probably pretty similar to Amazon's own policy. Most items don't even have to be unopened. THe bottom line is - if you don't like what you bought, you can return it within 30 days.

 

[Dijeangenie]

Huh? He ordered from Amazon, not Newegg. And that's the UK shop.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/help/customer/display.html/ref=hp_502480_faq_ret?nodeId=1161002

Anything but Marketplace items can be returned for a full refund. For Marketplace, the policy is seller dependent but probably pretty similar to Amazon's own policy. Most items don't even have to be unopened. THe bottom line is - if you don't like what you bought, you can return it within 30 days.

It was through the marketplace (Fierce PC) so I am not sure on their policy, but I will see how it plays out.