Without a rock solid PSU your computer could quickly turn into an unstable beast of burden that at best restarts the computer in the middle of your frag fest and at its worst, dies completely damaging your motherboard and CPU with it.

The OCZ GameXStream 850W PSU provides your system with clean solid power helping you to achieve those massive overclocks or simply to keep your gear working for many years.

Here are a few of the technical specifications for the GameXStream 850W PSU:

• Street price: $179.99 approx.
• SLI ready
• Over 80% efficiency
• 160GB hard drive (x2)
• Connectors: 1x 20+4Pin ATX, 1x 4-pin/8-pin CPU, 2x PCI-E, 6x 4-pin peripheral, 2x 4-pin floppy, 6x S-ATA
• Overvoltage/Overcurrent/Short-Circuit protection

Things I like
I have been using this PSU for the past couple of weeks and I absolutely love it. I don’t know what I like most about it because there are too many things to like. This PSU is very quiet. Even when it was performing at load it was barely noticeable. If you have any case fans running they’ll drown out the noise made by the GameXStream.

I also like how efficient this power supply is. Running at over 80% efficiency means you’ll save a few extra dollars a month on your electricity bill. The OCZ GameXStream 850W PSU also runs fairly cool. While the exhaust does reach temperatures of around 33 degrees Celsius this is much cooler than a lot of other PSU’s.

Things I don’t like
The cables that come out of the GameXStream are very long! The longest cable reaches 44″ so if you have a small case, make sure you route the cables efficiently so you don’t cut off air flow. While this is a negative for smaller cases (and the Antec 900) its great for a full-tower case where you need to reach something far away.

The included blue LED can also be annoying if you’re case has a different color scheme. While this isn’t a technical thing I would have liked if you could choose between different colors.

If you’re wanting to run two Nvidia 8800GTX cards in SLI you’ll have to find a work around. The 2 6pin PCI-e connectors will not natively support the dual graphics cards. Anything less however, won’t be a problem.

Pros:

• Very Quiet and cool
• Efficient
• Fully sleeved cables

Cons:

• Very long cables (could cut off air flow)
• Doesn’t natively support two 8800GTX cards running in SLI

Final Thoughts
If you’re running a gaming rig or just a computer that needs a lot of power than this PSU is for you. The OCZ GameXStream 850W power supply features a number of connectors, quiet operation and is very efficient. Ranking: 4.5/5

Coolermaster Real Power 450W specifications :

• ATX Form Factor
• Input Voltage: 90V~264V
• Input Current: 8A @ 115 AC / 4A @ 230 AC
• Input frequency range: 47~63 Hz
• Power good signal : 100~500ms
• Hold up time: >.17 ms
• Efficiency >75% typically
• Output capacity : 450W continually
• Dimensions : 150 x 140 x 86

Coolermaster Real Power 450W is a product of the premium range of power supplies from Coolermaster.You will get cheap 450W PSUs in the market but how many of them manage to provide 450W power all the time? Not even one.But this one is capable of providing 450W of real power to your PC day in and day out.That what makes this PSU or rather I should say this series special.

The PSU comes packaged in a heavy packing which is just an indication of more things to come. In the packaging bundle is included the 450W PSU,a manual,a power cable,a 24-20 pin ATX adapter,analogue wattage mater and the installation screws.The PSU comes painted in black which helps in dissipating the heat faster.

The PSU provides a total of 191W on the  +3.3V and the +5V rails,264W on the +12V rail and the remaining 22W on the negative rails totaling it upto 450W.The PSU has dual +12V rails with peaks of 18A and 16A respectively.This is a boon as you can separate high power consuming devices from low consuming ones giving the PC more stability.

The PSU is cooled by a huge 120mm fan which has a fan speed of 2400 rpm at full load.The fan is super quiet and has a noise of only 30db which is great for a big fan of its caliber. Other cooling technique used by coolermaster is the honey com structure at the back of the PSU to let the warm air out.

Coolermaster has bundled a whole bunch of different types of connectors and you would hardly run short of any. Seven four-pin molex connectors,two SATA connectors,one 24-pin ATX connection, one four-pin ATX12V connection, two floppy connections and a connection for analogue wattage meter.

The analogue wattage meter is an accessory that is provided with the PSU which can be used to measure the amount of power that is being drawn from the system at a particular instant.It can be installed by sliding it into the bay and connect it to the power supply with the provided screws.It is a good way to gauge the power usage of your PC at various loads and also if you are running short of power.

The performance of this PSU is exceptional and it manages to stay within the specifications that have been given by Coolermaster.This PSU is good even for intensive tasks such as overclocking.

Pros:

• Excellent performance
• Dual +12 V rails
• Real 450W power
• Quiet
• Wattage meter
• Good bundle

Cons:

• Bit expensive

Final Thoughts

The Coolermaster Real Power 450W lives up the task perfectly and give excellent performance.The PSU super quiet and the illumination provided is cool.The PSU is even compatible with older P4 / AMD motherboards.The packaging bundle is great.The Coolermaster PSU has everything going about it and the price tag is absolutely justified for the product though general users will find it expensive.A big thumbs up from me to buy this PSU if your power requirements are less than 450W.

The Solio Hybrid 1000 is a very neat device. According to the manufacturer, the Hybrid 1000 will store power for up to one year. The charger is ‘hybrid’ because it can receive power from a regular socket or from the sun.

A full Solio H1000 will charge a typical mobile phone once or give 10 hours of MP3 music – just 1 hour of sunshine = 15 minutes talk time or 40 minutes of MP3 music.

Here are a few of the technical specifications for the Hybrid 1000:

• Street price: $69.95
• 4.6 oz
• 3.7V Li-Io battery
• 3 different connectors included

Things I like
The Solio is good at what it does, charge things. It’ll give you’re iPod an extra 10 hours of play and for every 1 hour of (strong) sunlight you’ll get an extra 15 minutes of talk time or 40 minutes of music time. The device charges via sunlight or a USB port so this is good but I honestly don’t see the need for this device unless you’re out camping and need to have your music.

The device looks really neat though, with it’s bright orange casing (or grey) and it’s large solar panel. You’ll definitely catch people’s eyes when you have it strapped to your bag. Other than the ability to charge via a USB port and the nice design there really isn’t that much more I can say about the Hybrid 1000.

Things I don’t like
I really don’t think the Hybrid 1000 is all that practical. If you’re out in the woods away from civilization most likely you’re not going to want your iPod playing in the background drowning out all of natures sounds. The 1 hour of sunlight for 15minutes of talk just isn’t enough to make it worth while carrying. When they say 1 hour of sunlight they also mean it needs to be a perfect blue and clear sky without a cloud in sight. I found charging by sunlight to be rather annoying since I live in Canada and the number of days where the sun is actually bright enough to charge this device is low. All in all I think the Solio hybrid 1000 is a little useless.

Pros:

• Charge via USB port
• Nice design

Cons:

• Rather useless
• 1 hour of sunlight for 15 minutes of talk time

Final Thoughts
Honestly I don’t really see a point in buying the Solio Hybrid 1000. Most cell phones already get 5-10 hours of talk time on a full charge and iPods get more than that so unless you’re going to be away from a outlet and in absolute need of your gadgets there really isn’t any need for this device. Coming in at $80 it isn’t exactly cheap either. I don’t recommend buying the Solio Hybrid 1000

If you were to stack all of these products together you would need a number of power bars just to be able to plug them all in. That’s where todays review comes in handy. The Ultra Stackable Power Center is perfect if you’re going to have more than one or two of these stackable devices. The Power Center allows you to plug in all of your other stackable products instead of taking up precious outlet space else where.

Here are a few of the technical specifications for the Power Center:

• Street Price: $69.99
• 180W supply
• Provide 6 DC 12V outlets
• Short Circuit, Voltage and Power protection
• Works great with Ultra Stackable Series Products

Things I like
If you have any other of the Stackable devices, the Power Center is a must have. When Ultra realized the potential of their Stackable devices they realized that people were going to want more than one. Unfortunately since each of the devices needs its own power source your outlets would quickly be used up. The Power Center provides a place to plug in all of your other devices.

The other thing I like about this is that it keeps your desk neat and tidy. Normally all of the power cables get all tied up and are really messy but the Power Center keeps everything neat and makes your desk look much nicer.

Things I don’t like
If you don’t have any Stackable devices the Power Center is essentially useless. While a couple power supplies can get plugged in there aren’t many devices that will work. Because of this the Power Center is really only useful if you have any of the other Stackable devices. Ultra should have made the device more universal so it had more usefulness.

Pros:

• Keeps your desk clean
• Provides power to all of your other Stackable devices

Cons:

• Doesn’t really work with anything else other than the Stackable devices

Final Thoughts
If you have any of the other Stackable devices the Power Center is basically essential. It keeps your desk neat and tidy from those unwanted power cords and it keeps your outlets free. If you don’t have any of the other Stackable devices than I would suggest you buy the Power Center.

The Ultra X3 1000 watt power supply will guarantee that your computer will have enough power to run even the most demanding hardware. The X3 comes with a complete collection of cables to cover a broad range of scenarios. There is a standard 24-Pin ATX power connector as well as 4-Pin and 8-Pin +12v power connectors for powering the motherboard. The package also includes four 6-Pin PCI Express power connectors and two 8-Pin PCI Express connectors as well, for PCI-Express graphics cards.

Technical specifications for the x3:

• Street Price: $299.99
• Supports AMD and Intel Motherboards
• 135mm Fan
• Short Circuit Protection, In-Rush Current Protection, Thermal Overload Cutoff Protection
• Modular Design

Things I like
Ultra definitely knows how to make a solid PSU. The X3 is a computer modders dream come true. The first thing I like about the X3 is the fact that it’s competitively priced. For 1000W PSU’s $250 is pretty much average. This is good because it means you won’t be paying a lot. The next thing I like is the fact that the X3 is extremely quiet. Normally 135mm fans run fairly loud even when the computer isn’t running at its peak performance but the X3′s fan isn’t loud at all.

The innovative thing about the X3 is it’s modular design. The people over at Ultra realized that when you’re making your own computer, space is at a premium. Most PSU’s give you all of the power cables you could ever imagine needing and this clutters up your case and prevents air flow. The X3 allows you to plug in any and all of the cables you need. This means that you’ll only use what you need and this will prevent clutter. This is a genius idea and I can see it catching on with all PSU’s.

Things I don’t like
The only thing I don’t like about the X3 is the fact that it doesn’t run at the 1000W load (as the manufactures say). When the PSU was tested it seemed to run approximately 1.5% less than the 1000W. While this isn’t a big deal at all if you’ve built your machine knowing you need exactly 1000W this could be a problem. Other than that small detail I really can’t find anything wrong with this product.

Pros:

• Competitive Pricing
• Quiet
• Modular Design
• Ultra Flexible Cables

Cons:

• Voltages Slightly Lower than spec.

Final Thoughts
The Ultra X3 is an amazing power supply. It has a number of great features such as its modular design, flexible cables and it’s quietness all at a very competitive price. If you’re building a new computer soon I would recommend that you pick up this power supply, you won’t regret it.