OCZ Z Series 1Kw or Seasonic X750?

[douglasb]

I'm in the market for a new PSU, and can get the 1000 watt OCZ Z Series for $110 after rebate. Or, I can get a slightly used Seasonic X series 750w. My other options are an XFX PRO850W or a Kingwin unit.

My system is:
Phenom II x4 970 (probably going to OC)
MSI 870A-G54 AM3 mobo
2 x ATI HD4890 in Crossfire
1 x SSD and 3 x SATA HDD's
2 optical drives (DVD+/-RW)
6 x 120mm case fans (including CPU hsf)
onboard sound/LAN

Which unit would you go with (if any of these), or which unit would you recommend for this setup and also a bit of future-proofing? I'm trying to keep it around $100 or so if possible. Thanks.

 

[theAnimal]

1000W is way more than you need. If you know the history of the Seasonic I'd recommend that one.

 

[BoomerD]

The OCZ Z series are Sirfa/Hipower builds. I've never been impressed with Sirfa, but surprisingly, JonnyGuru gave the 100 watt OCZ ZX a 9.5. That's highly unusual. He rarely rates PSU's above 9.0. This one MUST be a winner for OCZ for a change.

Summary:

I have to say this PSU was so close to getting 10's on every level. An upgrade of the DC to DC VRM's would've improved the non-primary rail's regulation. Maybe if OCZ even "down rated" them to 25A, 25A, 150W would've helped. And it seems that Great Wall hasn't yet figured out what the whining noise is that this platform seems to create at higher loads. Start using Japanese capacitors in this unit as well and I would be very happy. Of course I realize that upgraded VRM's and Japanese capacitors come at a cost and the end result may be a unit that retails $20 more than it does today. That's a jagged pill to swallow in a product category that so many unfortunately see as a commodity item and therefore feel that everyone must compete on price. It's a tough balance. It's like they say: You can't have your cake and eat it to. Of course, that saying's never made sense to me. I mean... what's the point of having a cake if you're not going to eat it. Eventually, it's going to go stale and then you're just going to throw it away. I think the Frogs have a better saying with "vouloir le beurre et l'argent du beurre", which means, "you want the butter and the money for butter." That makes a lot more sense, especially as it pertains to my feelings about this butter.. err.. power supply.

The Good:

Fully modular
Plenty of connectors
Very efficient
Very quiet (except for the high load whine)
Excellent ripple suppression
Compact size
Excellent price
The Bad:

Whining noise at higher loads definitely not cool
The Mediocre:

Teapo caps are ok, but Japanese caps are better
Voltage regulation is pretty good, but by today's standards we know that it can be better

 

[douglasb]

Any thoughts on the XFX unit? or this one?

 

[lehtv]

How future proofed do you want to be, exactly? If you want to be able to handle something like GTX 680 SLI, well, the X750 could in theory do it but you'd be safer on 1000W. But given your budget for the PSU, I would expect your GPU budget to be limited as well, and as such the GPUs you buy would not need more than 750W.

My recommendation: if you do get warranty with the X750, go with that. If you don't, get the XFX 750W XXX.

 

[Big Lar]

I'm running the XFX 850W here,no problems at all with it, plenty of power and rock steady voltages.

Larry