When OCZ accquired PC Power and Cooling over 2 years ago, many people including myself, thought that OCZ cease PSU production and let their newly accquired PC Power & Cooling produce all the power supplies ... leaving OCZ to concentrate on other products such as memory and coolers. Well now it seems, that they want to "top-up" their power supply range to cater for the enthusiasts. OCZ now introduces the 1000W EliteXStream PSU. It's their flagship power supply aimed at the enthusiast market.

When the word "extreme" gets mentioned, you generally have an idea what it will entail. Extreme doesn't come close in describing what OCZ have produced (or should I say PC Power & Cooling). They have gone one step further with their new power supply ... and we'll see what it can do later.

Most of the power supplies in OCZ's product range are now more than likely, produced by PC Power & Cooling ... if not, at least a number of their higher-end and enthusiast PSUs are. If you look at the 1000W EliteXStream PSU ... it looks and feels very similar to a power supply made by PC Power & Cooling. No problem here, as both companies are under the same umbrella.

So what's so special about this power supply? Well, for starters, it features one single +12V rail at a massive 80A, it's certified 80 Plus and SLI-Ready. Even the +3.3V is at 28A, while the +5V is at 30A. It's definitely more than enough to satify any power requirements, even for the most hardcore of enthusiasts. What's more, OCZ are so confident with this product, that they've included an exceptional 5 years warranty on their 1000W EliteXStream power supply. Now that really tells you something, doesn't it.

OCZ and PC Power and Cooling have always believed in a single powerful +12V rail system. In fact, their were among the first to produce power supplies with this feature on their 750W Silencer PSUs, which can be found on their other company ... PC Power & Cooling. A single +12V rail has its benefits, with many users experiencing more reliabiliy and stability. I for one, have been using their PC Power & Cooling Turbo Cool 860W power supply in ALL of our reviews ... they really are that GOOD.

The OCZ 1000W EliteXStream PSU does not come with a modular cable management system ... and in fact, all of the enthusiast power supplies from OCZ and PC Power & Cooling do not feature this system. Why? Because they believe that a modular cable management system could cause less reliability and stabilty. Is there any truth in it ... well, I just believe in the experts who's been producing PSUs for 23 years!

In terms of performance, reliability and stability ... we're expecting only the best and nothing less from the OCZ 1000W EliteXStream PSU. It's aimed and targeted at the enthusiast market, so this is what we expect anyway. We'll be putting this power supply through our 240W "Peltier Test" and see how well it will perform under heavy load.

We'll be testing the OCZ 1000W EliteXStream PSU with our very toasty and power hungry Intel Quad Core Q6600 @ default 2.4Ghz, Radeon HD 4870x2 (overclocked version), Kingston HyperX DDR2 PC2-9200 2Gb Kit and a 24" Samsung SyncMaster 245B LCD monitor. Other components include 2 x Pioneer DVD R/W drives and a pair of Western Digital Caviar 250Gb hard drives. All of which will increase the total power consumption. Windows Vista with native DX10 was used as our OS.

Ok, let's not waste any more time and take a closer look at the specifications of the OCZ 1000W EliteXStream PSU.