OCZ ModStream OCZ-520 12U Power Supply

CABLES AND CONNECTORS

There are a total of six cable sets. As mentioned above, the ATX connector and the 4-pin +12V cable are not detachable.

• 15" sleeved cable for main 20/24-pin ATX connector(more on this in a moment)
• 18" auxiliary 12V connector for processors that require it
• 25" cable with two 4-pin IDE drive connectors and one floppy drive power connector
• 2 x 25" cable with three 4-pin IDE drive connectors
• 25" cable with two SATA drive connectors
• 16" 6-pin auxiliary power connector for PCI Express

The cable lengths are pretty standard.

The 4-pin Auxiliary 12V connector on left.
The 20-pin motherboard header in center, and a 4-pin adapter that slides on to the 20-pin header...

...to produce a 24-pin header.

The detachable cables for the OCZ-520 may well be the primary reason for the existence of this power supply. Unlike the recently reviewed Ultra X-Connect 500, only the peripheral power cables are detachable; the motherboard header, its 20/24-pin adapter, and the 4-pin auxiliary 12V power cable are not removable. In this regard, it more resembles the Antec NeoPower PSU. This should not be an issue for most systems (unless you plan on running a case without a motherboard!).

As noted in the pictures above, the 20/24-pin motherboard adapter is unique in that it is simply an extra 4-pin header (with its own separate cable) that clips on to ordinary 20-pin header. Very neat. But as most current motherboards do not require a 24-pin header, this cable / connector will have to be tucked away somewhere instead of removed.

All cables are EMI shielded and should not cause or receive much significant interference. OCZ says that the shielding is copper, but its distinctly silver color suggests that it is some other material, perhaps a copper alloy. The cables are also insulated with sleeves made of 1/8" clear plastic. Unfortunately, this makes them extremely stiff and difficult to bend, makes routing cables quite difficult.

The main attached cables are also quite short for a power supply in this price range. The motherboard and 12V cables in particular are only 15 inches long, and you may have difficulty reaching the motherboard header in larger cases or cases where the motherboard is mounted upside down. Because of the unique setup of our PSU testing system, we had to use a cable extension for the 12V cable in order to reach the PSU tester. However, most systems should be fine.

All in all, the features of the supplied cables are somewhat of a mixed bag. The detachable cables and the unique 20/24-pin adapter are well thought out improvements, and EMI shielding is nice to have. However, the combination of the inflexibility and the short length of the main cables may nullify some of the advantages that detachability provides.