[guillaume]

Which one would you recommend based on first hand experience?
SPCR give the Seasonic a stellar review, and people in the forum say great things about it and therefore it is my first choice. But I want to do a last call to experts before swinging the credit card

[Bad ConNecTioN]

Um, you can't really compare these two power supplies. Sure, they are both high power units but the similarity ends there. Go with the seasonic if you don't like the gimmicks of the OCZ. However, if you want a little more flash then by all means choose the powerstream.

In a nutshell...

Seasonic:
ATX V2.0 compliant
Very efficient
Exceptionally quiet
More expensive

OCZ Powerstream 520:
Flashier
ATX V1.3 compliant (one large 12v rail instead of two smaller ones)
Not as quiet
Cheaper


Both units have proven capable of driving heavy loads, and both are very stable. Its up to you to weigh the benefits each unit has to offer.
Personally, I would go with the Seasonic.

[clocker2]

I just replaced my NeoPower480 with a Seasonic S12 600w.

Great rails AND extremely quiet.
BUT....

The main ATX cable on the Seasonic is considerably shorter than the Antec's and would not reach the motherboard header in my Silverstone TJ-06 case (pseudo BTX layout).

The wiring in general is a disaster...Seasonic "braids" the bundles (EMI protection?) and they are a rat's nest.
Furthermore, due to the braiding I assume, the connectors on each cable run are not consistent...on the SATA lines each connector faces opposite the one above it (it's hard to describe, but you'll know it when you see it).

My last three PSUs were all modular and I really miss the convenience of that feature.
The Seasonic may be a great unit (I just installed mine two days ago so it's too soon to shout it's praises), but it put me back into the bad ole days of extreme wire management just to deal with the mess.
I haven't any personal experience with the Powerstream, so I can't comment on it.

[Vulcan]

Originally Posted by clocker2

The main ATX cable on the Seasonic is considerably shorter than the Antec's and would not reach the motherboard header in my Silverstone TJ-06 case (pseudo BTX layout).

Its like that for a reason. Any longer and they would have had to go to a thicker gauge wire (would have been very hard to work with) in order to support the rated load.

That said, I'd reccomend the s12-600. Not much else can match its power, efficiency, and (near) silence.

[larva]

While electrical resistance is surely directly porportional to wire length, if it's too short it's too short. Users will have to extend the cables to reach, and the extra connection will impose more resistance than the extra length of wire would.

Not that it would stop me from buying one, as the ATX cable on my Antec is waaaay too long for my case.

[guillaume]

That's good to know. I don' t anticipate any lenght issue in a SLK3000B case with a DFI LP UT4 SLi, so I'll go with the S12. Thanks guys!

[shard]

can any one give us the exact length of the ATX cable on the seasonic?

[Vulcan]

Originally Posted by shard

can any one give us the exact length of the ATX cable on the seasonic?

Originally Posted by SPCR Review

- 16" cable for main 20+4 pin ATX connector.
- 26" cable with two 6-pin PCIe video / SLI connectors
- 18" auxiliary 12V connector
- 19" auxiliary 4x12V connector (for dual CPU boards)
- 33 " cable with three 4-pin IDE drive connectors and one floppy drive power connector
- 27" cable with two 4-pin IDE drive connectors and one floppy drive power connector
- 2 x 24" cables with two SATA drive connectors each
- 21" cable with 3-pin PSU fan speed monitor connector for motherboard

http://www.silentpcreview.com/article247-page1.html