OCZ Z Series is the 80 Plus Gold-certified power supply family from OCZ, and so far they released an 850 W and a 1,000 W model. We have already reviewed the 1,000 W model, and let’s see now if the 850 W model will live up to the expectation.

Besides OCZ Z Series 1000 W, so far we’ve already reviewed two other 80 Plus Gold power supplies: Enermax MODU87+ 700 W and Seasonic X-Series 650 W.

If you read our review of the 1,000 W model you already know that both are basically the same power supply, with some components (rectifying bridges, primary capacitors and the addition of a third transistor on the active PFC circuit) upgraded on the 1,000 W model. Both models are manufactured by Highpower.

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Figure 1: OCZ Z Series 850 W power supply.

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Figure 2: OCZ Z Series 850 W power supply.

OCZ Z Series 850 W is relatively a short unit, being 6 ¼” (160 mm) deep, using a 135 mm fan on its bottom and active PFC circuit, of course.

Initially OCZ was going to offer two version of this power supply: with a modular cabling system and without. While some places may still have some models without the modular cabling system, OCZ won’t sell these anymore; they will be focusing exclusively on the modular cabling version.

The modular cabling system has eight connectors, with four cables permanently attached to the power supply. The cables included are:

• Main motherboard cable with a 24-pin connector (no 20-pin option), 21 ½” (55 cm) long (permanently attached to the power supply).
• One cable with two ATX12V connectors that together form one EPS12V connector, 24 3/8” (62 cm) long (permanently attached to the power supply).
• One cable with one EPS12V connector, 24 3/8” (62 cm) long (permanently attached to the power supply).
• Four cables with one six/eight-pin connector for video cards each, 23” (58.5 cm) long (modular cabling system).
• One cable with three SATA power connectors, 24 3/8” (62 cm) to the first connector, 7 ¼” (18.5 cm) between connectors (permanently attached to the power supply).
• Three cables with three SATA power connectors each, 18 7/8” (48 cm) to the first connector, 7 ½” (19 cm) between connectors (modular cabling system).
• One cable with three standard peripheral power connectors and one floppy disk drive power connector, 20 7/8” (53 cm) to the first connector, 7 ¼” (18.5 cm) between connectors (modular cabling system).

The difference between the 850 W and the 1,000 W here is the presence of two extra video card power cables (the ones permanently attached to the unit) on the 1,000 W model; the rest is identical.  This configuration is very good for an 850 W product, providing four connectors for video cards, allowing you to connect two video cards that require two power connectors each, and twelve SATA power connectors. But we think a it could have two more video power cables for users willing to walk the extra mile and build a three-way SLI system, just like the 1,000 W unit.

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Figure 3: Cables.

All cables use 18 AWG wires, which is the minimum recommended, with the main motherboard cable using thicker 16 AWG wires, which is great.

Now let’s take an in-depth look inside this power supply.