Buyin OCZ MODSTREAM 450W. Need ADVICE/HELP

I need a new PSU. Was looking at the Antec "true power" range. Then my friend showed my anotehr australia online shop which stocked OCZ stuff. I know OCZ is known for good memeory and i hear the good name oftern for PSU. So i wanna get one. ANd ive seen it so i wanna get the OCZ Modstream 480w. I got a few questions though:

This has that new techinolgy where u plug in the cables that you need:
1. Is this technology reliable? For overlcoking?

2. Is this quiet? It claims to be the "quiestest on the market"..

Ive currently got a OMNI 400W PSU, and it seems it aint giving the proper voltages.
Like i set VCORE to 1.525 in bios but in CPU-Z/Speedfan/Core Centre/BIOS, it comes up at 1.47v. Then if i increase to 1.6v in bios, in thoses programs it shows up as 1.55v.

Is my PSU not giving enuff power or is the programs reading it all wrong? (even in bios).

I can post a screenshot of all the weird techinacal voltage stuff (VBAT etc) that i think shows PSU info. Would that help?

I own the item you are mentioning. Yes it is very quiet. I can't hear it when I jump it for testing stuff.
You will soon find some drawbacks to the unit. The amount of plugs offered. I thought about making plugs since it is a standard molex on both ends. Another drawback is the stiffness of the cabling. They are quite shiney and I have yet to see the UV reaction(no UV lights). It is nice to only use what lines you need though (I am currently using 3 of 4 supplied). The box includes more lines and other goodies that you may need.

I would assume the OCZ is better than an Omni. So far my voltages are stable with a voltmeter. I don't trust what my motherboard tells me.
I do mild overclocking and the unit works great. If I was to go up in voltages alot, I would probally get the underpowered blues. This is an eyecandy unit not a hardcore overclocker PSU. It does handle my needs though.
I would suggest a beefier unit if your going to hardcore overclock. Like raising the amount of voltage drawn by your storage,fans, CPU and RAM.

Well i am not really a hardcore o/cer. All i plan to O/C is my CPU and RAM.

I currently have this o/c with my PSU. (plz tell me if it will handle with the OCZ). My P4 2.8 (200mhz) o/c to 3.5 (250mhz), with PC3200 at 5:4 @ 200mhz.

Thast all i o/c, will this OCZ fit me? Its very expensive.
And whats this special wareentee thing. I dont think it will help me casue i am in asutralia and ill hav to send it to the USA!!!

Is it taht quiet? How can i adjust the PSU fan casue at night i want it to be silent since i aint even using it but i want the PC to be on. or is it so silent on idle that its just not audiable?

Anyway i dont have a voltmeter....so i cant check to see if my PSU is crap. SHould i stick with ym PSU or get this new one. My current PSU is wokring fine-its just perfect...

Thast all i o/c, will this OCZ fit me? Its very expensive.

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Yes it is a pricey unit. I looked past that for the eyecandy look of it and silence. If you don't raise the vcore alot and don't have an insane aount of fans and opticals. I would assume you would do alright. I had a power hungry XP and alot of crap plugged into it, and the voltage never dropped much. The regulation is ok I guess. Nothing amazing.

And whats this special wareentee thing. I dont think it will help me casue i am in asutralia and ill hav to send it to the USA!!!

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This actually might be a good question for another member. I voided the warrentee a long time ago. So I didn't get this unit for that aspect. Yes the shipping might bite a bit into your wallet. From what I know of OCZ it will be a good deal if you need to RMA. Use this link and this member might be able to answer your OCZ warantee related questions further and in depth. He is an OCZ rep. http://www.ocforums.com/member.php?u=49381

Is it taht quiet? How can i adjust the PSU fan casue at night i want it to be silent since i aint even using it but i want the PC to be on. or is it so silent on idle that its just not audiable?

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It is very quiet actually. I can't hear it. If I strain to listen, it becomes audible. You might even have other things that are louder on your machine. It does as advertised, and quietly. For adjusting the fans speeds. I haven't seen a adjustment for it. It is silent enough for me, were I never had the inkling to look for one.

Anyway i dont have a voltmeter....so i cant check to see if my PSU is crap. SHould i stick with ym PSU or get this new one. My current PSU is wokring fine-its just perfect...

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I would suggest getting a good PSU, even though it appears to be doing fine. The cheaper units tend to go bad in a bad way. I am unsure on suggestions since I am unfamiliar of the brand you are mentioning. If... you can do a check with a voltmeter that would give you the most accurate readings. I know my last 3 motherboards reported very high readings which were infact below the ATX spec. It depends on how you intend to use this unit in the present and future. IF you plan to use this unit in long term and the standard changes this might handle the voltages, but for your current rig I would say this be a good unit if you want silence and looks. If it is a price issue, look at other units. Like I mentioned this is an eyecandy unit. I am not a PSU guru, I am sharing what I have noticed with this unit.

Thnkyou. I feel now i must buy one. WHY? Casue uve just checked the site where i bought my case from. and they also sell the PSU that came with this case. and guess what. My PSU is worth 49$ Australian dollars! WHOA GENERIC CRAP ive got, using for 2 years. Though i only started to o/c last NOV. ON the otehr hand the OCZ MODSTREAM is 170$ Australian Dollars. LOL

Ive got no probs with my PSU though i feel its kinda shakey. Should i feel or get a performace boost if i get a new 170$ psu (as opposed to using my 40$ junk)?. Or will anything noticable chnage? besdies the noise..

Anyway at full load/gaming is it loud or still quiet silent?
Sorry for all the questions but this PSU will cost me quiet alot whil i was saving for a new video card. Though i rather hav a better PSU!

Uh its only 450W. Its got PCI-E and SATA. I dont use PCI-E yet, ut will in my next upgrade. WIll this PSU live long enough or be strong enough to bring along in my new rig? I'll probaly get a new rig end of this year. By the end of this year will a 450w still be enough? WIll it still perform as well? Casue if i am able to bring it with ym new rig in an upgrade, then buying a new PSU now means not needing to buy one later . Or for long term wise, should i get the 520W?

I would assume this unit isn't a good choice for what you intend to upgrade to. I was poking around and noticed the name Ernemax. This is a quiet unit with the features you may need. Not as pretty though. It is mucher more inexpensive also.

This is the unit I was looking at:
http://www.directron.com/eg495psfma20.html
This may not be the best option, but a good start to look at.

Like I mentioned on the noise, I can't hear it. Even under load. It sure does look purdy huh?
I am unsure if they offer PCI-e connections. I can't find the box right now.
The upgradability is good, but for long term it is a toss up. So this might force you to look elsewere for a modular unit. The MS450 suites my current needs, past this rig I would upgrade the PSU. I am far from a PSU guru.
Later on as the more knowlegable come onto the forums and see this you might get stronger input. In this hemesphere it is the middle of the night. So everyone is alseep right now. I will try to accuratly help you as best I can though.

How I would approch getting a new PSU:
If I am upgrading later or in the near future. Does it have the power to push the componets? Does it have the power leads I need? Will the amprage be good? Waht will my next upgrade be?

To answer my own questions:
I upgraded from a 2400+ to a A64, 9200AIW to a 6600GT. It does have the umph to handle the load. It had the amount of connections I needed, and the voltage seems fine using a voltmeter. If I go much higher it may not go as good. the voltmeter would tell.
If I do overload the PSU I know it won't take out my new parts with it. I will have to get a new PSU.

My Current rig: P4 2.8 @ 3.5. MSI 865PE NEo2. MSI 128 FX5600. 512 PC3200 GENERIC RAM. 2x DVD DRIVES/RW. 1x120g HD.

There are more than enough molex supplied and yeah they supply PCI-E and SATA connectors, though they will be useless for my current rig.

I plan to upgrade to 1GIG Corsair, Add another 200HD and a new vid card (X800 or 6800 of some sort).

You belive that if i upgrade to the following new hardware this 450W PSU wont take it? How can that be?? Its 450W- isnt that strong enough? What is your concern? Is it the not enough power or, over time this PSU will not oftern as well? I am new to computers and dont exactly know the ups adn downs and the tricks and tips.

How much power do you reckon i should get? Should i get teh 520W version? I recon 450W should be enough..shoundlt it? Casue on the market they are still selling 380-400W strong.

EDIT: i dont understand when u say the voltage is good. by this do u mean that u measure every hardware's voltage? or you mean the actual PSU voltage? The psu has a voltage? i thought i gives out power..wait..wtf..i am confused! :S. What do you mean by checking adn voltages are good.

Your current rig should not bog down the 450. Now the parts you intend to use later will suck the life out of the pretty little PSU.
A breif explaination on how the thing works(PC vs. power draw). I am going by what I know, not facts. I am weak on this subject.
Every thing you add to your pc takes a little bit of voltage/amprage to operate, some draw alot more than the minimum specs intend. As you use more devices and power hungry additions, it will want more power. For a bare pc the minimum rated should be fine. Now that you add more draw into the picture your power needs then multiply. Simple enough? Yes the 450 might operate your rig using a bare stock confugured PC, once you add alot of goodies and overclock you are putting alot of strain on the PSU that isn't intended. That is why most folks have pc's that run like poop. They sag on the voltage lines. Stuttering games random lockups.. You get the idea( I hope), but it can be much worse with a cheapo unit. Don't rely on the sticker on cheap units, some are blantant lies.
Have you by chance read the stickies? They will offer alot of pertinant information on how this works. You might even see brands that are perfered over others - i.e. Fortron PCP&C Sparkle Zippy. These may not attain the sound levels you desire, but will perforn under stress with flying colors. They are more for function over looks.

I would get the higher rated unit if you are set on OCZ, they are a good brand and they are truthful on their ratings. The powerstream 520 is a better unit if you want later on use, or as a quote "future proofing". I would assume the 450 would not handle the load as well, since it is for looks not raw power. The Amperage on the 12V is not bad but low, I would suggest a unit in the area of 30+ amps. I can't read the side of my PSU, it shows the rating for the 520.

Agian, I suggest you hit the stickies and do some reading. Then make your decision.
This is a good sticky for this:
http://www.ocforums.com/showthread.php?t=232592

Thnks i most most bit execpt the bits on "The Amperage on the 12V is not bad but low, I would suggest a unit in the area of 30+ amps". lol, anyway, lets say i plug a spliiter to my HD's molex so i can add 2 more fans. Will this leech and reduce the power supplied to my HD? As it is using the same source of power that is giving power to my HD.

Althought i know that , as you said, plugging 2 fans will take more power out of the PSU. It wont affect how much power givern to me HD or performace when it is plugged into a splitter on the HD molex cable right...?

Ill probaly go and get the 520W though ill wait till u guys wake up and giv me more advice. I am usless at PSU and have absoluely no knowledge on how a PSU works or the ampages whatever. Yes the OCZ Modstream is for looks, but the 520W cant really be only looks can it? Yes it looks good but man its 520W. 520W is like the strongest power (not going crazy, is what i mean) that is on the market... or are you saying the OCZ is made for looks and even though its 520W wont perfom as well as a PSU which is 520W but is made for power.?

I would advise agianst plugging fans into the same line as your HD. I can't remeber were I read it, and I can't find the sticky. I myself refuse to have a fan on the same line as my opticals. IF the fan goes 'kablewie' it may take out the drive. Please don't quote me on that though.
Read this post and it kind of describes how a PSU effect itself and componants.
http://www.ocforums.com/showpost.php?p=489549&postcount=3
If your 12 volt line sags, or goes to 11. 54 volts(as an example) everything dependant on 12 volts will suffer. Not just one part. The load is distributed equally. It goes for the 3.3 and 5 volts lines as well.
The Powerstream line from OCZ is the workhorses, the Modstreams are the purdy ones. The features they offer are for different applications. The 520 should meet your needs though, don't get me wrong, but the 450 is(may) not going to handle what you plan to throw at it. The draw of the parts you are going to hook up to it are very power hungry. If you overclock it, that will pull more off the power supply.
They have higher rated PSU's out there. Think along the lines of 600+ watts are not uncommon now. OCZ has a 600 watt Powerstream that while not top of the line is not shabby at all. Forton is a cheaper better choice for that. the voltage lines are very stable.
Generally higher amperes gives you more room to work with. There is electrical laws that apply to this, but I am not one to give accurate advice on this. I would get a 520 over the 450, just for the fact the parts you plan on getting will draw alot of juice and the lines may sag a bit. Better safe than sorry.
The PSU is actually the most important part of your PC. If it sucks so does everything else. If the PSU is not up to the task when you add alot of hungry parts into the mix your pc will suffer and your investment will be not so great.

ok thnks. Then should i rethink the PSU i want? Or go get the 520W one? Though it is expensive, i know it will be worth it. How do i know if my PSU is holding me back adn giving my a crap perfomance and making everything eles crap? Is there some sort of test thing?

If you want a good PSU try and locate a Fortron. That is a fine unit. Much less costly. It will handle, just about anything you might throw at it. That would be my first pick actually, if I didn't want eyecandy and silence.
Unless you are intent on OCZ, that should handle the load fine. They are both good units(450/520). The draw you might put on the smaller one(450) would give you lowered results on the rails. The better unit gives you room to expand later without worrying about the lines sagging.
For testing, like I mentioned a voltmeter is the way to go.
If your pc lags in games for unkown reasons, strange reboots and crazy errors. This might be a symptom of low rails. I have never gone the cheapo PSU route with a modern pc, so I am not really one to help with this information.
My budget always was around 10% for PSU.
I am relaying information I have absorbed reading about PSU's. I am far from an expert on this matter.