OCZ Fatal1ty 700w ATX PSU
Conclusion
Published: 25th February 2009 | Source: OCZ | Price: £108.09 |
Starting with what matters the most, performance, the OCZ Fatal1ty 700w scores some pretty good marks. In the room temperature tests, efficiency levels at medium/high loads sat at around 85% and only waivered from this under low load levels or when a heavy crossload was applied to the +3.3v and +5v rails. Voltage regulation was also reasonable, with no rails falling outside of spec no matter what kind of wonky crossload we threw at the unit.
Hot box testing at 50°C also failed to faze the Fatal1ty (try saying that fast!), and the unit continued to deliver results almost identical to the room temperature tests. This, combined with the ripple and noise results that stayed under 40mV on the +12v rail and around 15mV on the +3.3v/5.0v rails, indicates that the Fatal1ty isn't all show and no go like most other blinged out PSU's we've had the misfortune of testing.
Moving on to the subjective matter of physical appearance, it's obvious that not everyone will appreciate the Fatal1ty logo being projected on to a nearby wall through the windowed side panel of their PC case. However, if your PC is based around a red theme or maybe you're a member of the Sir Johnathan Wendel fan club, then the Fatal1ty will obviously go a long way to ticking all the right boxes.
The only real beef I've got with the unit is probably the lack of PCI-E connectors - 700w should be more than enough to warrant OCZ including 4 of them for SLI/Crossfire configurations, but unfortunately we only got 2. As a sideline remark, the mesh sleeving is also rather poor and does nothing to hide the cables beneath. If the sleeving had been a darker red and more densely weaved, it would have improved the look of the unit significantly.
As many members of the OC3D forums will know (and some even share), the Fatal1ty franchise is actually a pet hate of mine. But in the case of the OCZ Fatal1ty 700w, at least I'm going to swallow my pride and accept that this is one solid unit. Anyone looking to purchase a PSU that combines a little 'bling' with some good performance should definitely add it to their short list.
The Good
- Around 85% efficiency at most load levels
- Stable voltages. Around 2-3% droop from light to heavy loads.
- Low noise and ripple results.
- Red lights and Fatal1ty logo (if you dig, baby?)
The Mediocre
- Poor quality sleeving.
- Massive drop in efficiency in +3.3/5.0v crossload tests.
The Bad
- Only two PCI-E connectors. A single +12v rail 700w PSU should easily be able to power Crossfire/SLI.
Thanks to OCZ for providing the Fatal1ty 700w for review. Discuss this review in our forums.
Most Recent Comments
Nice review Jim.. good to see the new kit at work.
Some of the images of the internals i noticed they have been a bit haphazard with the glue gun. seems like its plastered all over the place.
Also the link to the forums at the end of the article seems to be broken??
Kind regards
Lasher
Some of the images of the internals i noticed they have been a bit haphazard with the glue gun. seems like its plastered all over the place.
Also the link to the forums at the end of the article seems to be broken??
Kind regards
Lasher
Also the link to the forums at the end of the article seems to be broken??
Cheers - fixed. For some reason it unlinked itself (maybe my old mental age)
Sexy time? I've no idea what that is after almost 8 years in a relationship.
*wonders where the kids came from*..
Nice review matey, I really don't like the way companies use the fatality branding on stuff to make it appeal, but the PSU seems pretty good so I can forgive.
Awesome review :) Seems that SunMoon was well worth it.
I can't help but feel that this Fatal1ty stuff is being strung out way too long now though. The red LED's are sexy and all, but what could he honestly have helped with during the development of this PSU, besides pointing out where his logo should go? It's all marketing fluff tbh. It is decently priced though.
Another small typo btw:
I can't help but feel that this Fatal1ty stuff is being strung out way too long now though. The red LED's are sexy and all, but what could he honestly have helped with during the development of this PSU, besides pointing out where his logo should go? It's all marketing fluff tbh. It is decently priced though.
Another small typo btw:
Should be either "with the potential to" or "which can potentially".Obviously there's a certain irony here in that the only part of a PC system with the potentially cause serious injury or death
Why does it carry the SLI-Certified tag when it doesn't have sufficient cables?
-HypoG
-HypoG
It has 2 X 6+2-pin (8-pin) PCI-E cables so it is SLI capable,but not with high end cards
You mean like you Jimbo?? Blowing yourself up the other night :D:p
Do my eyes deceive me...Is that three adjustable pots sitting around looking sexy on that daughterboard there? Yes, yes it is. I'm not 100% sure if these are for fine tuning rail voltages, or just for making adjustment to the fan speed - as the board does actually double-up as the fan controller, but if you're into poking around inside PSU's with a screwdriver only milimetres away from the mains EMI filter, why not let me know!
You mean like you Jimbo?? Blowing yourself up the other night :D:p
*AHEM* Shhhhhhh....
Being a PSU reviewer I always take the necessary precautions to ensure my safety :p
Oh yeah of course!
I'm just waiting for the review that says "I don't know what happened.. I was testing away and suddenly it just blew up for no apparent reason, must be a manufacturing problem" with a picture of you with a full sooty face and charred clothes poking a fork in the plug socket to try and lever the plug out.
I'm just waiting for the review that says "I don't know what happened.. I was testing away and suddenly it just blew up for no apparent reason, must be a manufacturing problem" with a picture of you with a full sooty face and charred clothes poking a fork in the plug socket to try and lever the plug out.
*AHEM* Shhhhhhh....
Being a PSU reviewer I always take the necessary precautions to ensure my safety :p
CSS Valid
Yeah totally agreed. To an extent I can accept it on a ~600w PSU that might have 2-3 +12v rails, messing up any chance of SLI/Crossfire...but for a 700w unit with a single +12v rail, two PCi-E connectors is just taking the p155 a bit.