OCZ GameXstream - Good or bad?

Hi, I'm planning a new build, and I've heard some mixed, but mostly good reviews of the OCZ GameXstream 600W and 700W power supplies. I've been pondering getting one (though I'm not a fan of the glowing :\), but I'm not sure which to get, or to get any at all. Here's my planned rig for reference:

-EVGA E-GEFORCE 8800 Gts 500MHZ 640MB 1.6GHZ GDDR3 Dual DVI-I HDTV Out HDCP DIRECTX10 Video Card
-Creative Sound Blaster X-FI Xtreme Music 24BIT
- Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 Dual Core Processor LGA775 Conroe 2.40GHZ 1066FSB 4MB Retail
-ASUS P5B ATX LGA775 Conroe 965P DDR2 PCI-E16 3PCI-E1 3PCI 6 SATA2 Sound Motherboard
-OCZ GameXStream 600W ATX12V 24PIN SLI Ready Active PFC ATX Power Supply 120MM Fan Black
-Corsair XMS2 TWIN2X2048-6400 2GB 2X1GB PC6400 DDR2-800 CL 5-5-5-12 240PIN DIMM Dual Channel Memory
-Pioneer DVR-111D Black DVD-RW 16X6X16 DVD+RW 16X8X16 DL 8X IDE OEM DVD Burner
-LG 16X Black DVD-ROM 48X CD-ROM IDE UDMA33
-Hard Western Digital Caviar SE16 250GB SATA2 7200RPM 16MB
-CRT Monitor

I've also heard that CRT monitors draw a lot more power than LCD, so is this something I should consider? Is there a reason I should go to 700W (the price is only about 20 dollars more if I find a sale).

Also, does anyone have any experience with either/both of these, and could give some first hand accounts? (please include reliability, sound, temperature etc. I really don't want something excessively loud).

Thanks

 

CRT's don't run off the power supply, so you don't even need to factor them into the power draw of the system.

OCZ is an excellent choice for power supplies. I don't know how these compare to the Modstream or Powerstream units, but if they are, they're not going to have any excessive noise output. Those two product lines I mentioned never had an issue with reliability, and so far, I've yet to hear of any complaints over their GameXtreme units.

The only brand that would be better is PC Power & Cooling, the Rolls Royce of power supplies. They are priced accordingly, so do expect to spend a bit of cash. Also, they have a tendency to be louder units. The good news is that they have a Silencer line, but I don't know how that compares.

Speaking of...if noise is a concern, then Seasonic S12/M12 units would be something to consider, and around the same price as the OCZ's your looking at.

 

I had at pne point looked at PC Power and Cooling, until I saw the price tag...Just a bit too steep.

I'll definately take a look at these Seasonic ones...Do they have the same reliability and power as the ones I had listed?

Obviously reliability is the major concern here, but I do also value it being quiet.

Could a case help me dampen some of the noise? Is there one you could recommend that doesn't already come with a PSU, is heavy duty (durability rather than mobility is the aim), is good to work with and dampens sound? I know I'm sort of off-topic here...

 

i bought the 700watt OCZ gamextreme and i love it very silent if not totally silent the cable houseing and the fact that its not modular means you will have to tuck away some extra chords the cable sleeving can catch abit easy on the innards of the case so moving freely may be abit of a hassle but you should only have to do it once right? as for the modular they say its more efficient to not be modular so i wont count that against them all in all great product great price. I'd definately buy another one

 

Seasonic is very reliable, they just take the quiet approach.

 

yeah from what i hear and read, the OCZ gamerstream units are really solid units, its a good buy for sure