OCZ 700W GameXStream and Enermax 620W Liberty PSUs

While OCZ is known more for its memory products and is a relative newcomer to the PSU scene, Enermax has been creating power supplies for quite some time. Enermax was established in 1990 and released its first AT switching power supply in 1991. OCZ delivered with its GameXStream; now, let's see if veteran Enermax can do the same with the 620W Liberty.

Unlike the OCZ GameXStream, the Enermax Liberty is a modular PSU. For those of you who are unaware, a modular PSU is one that allows you to connect only the cables you need for your system configuration. This often reduces the number of cables that you have to deal with inside your case and hopefully reduces clutter, which can lead to improved airflow.

The popularity of modular PSUs is quite evident as almost every major PSU manufacturer has introduced at least one modular model. The convenience of the modular design has to take a back seat to the stability and overall quality of the unit, though, so let's take a look at the Liberty's features and then get to the test results.

Enermax 620W Liberty Power Supply Specifications & Features

TECHNICAL SPECS ATX12V v2.2 Available connectors:       1 x 20+4Pin ATX       1 x 4-pin/8-pin CPU (supports double CPUs)       2 x PCI-E       10 x 4-pin peripheral       2 x 4-pin floppy       10 x S-ATA High efficiency - 80% Overvoltage & overload protection Active PFC MTBF:100,000 hours Input voltage: 90V~265V (Auto Adjusted) Input frequency range: 47 - 63Hz +3.3V@28A, +5V@32A, +12V1@22A, +12V2@22A,   -12V@0.6A, +5VSB@3A 3 year warranty

FEATURES Full compliance with the highest standard to desktop power requirements. Split 12V rails provide most stable current to CPU, GPU, MB and drives. Full support of Dual Core systems (incl. Pentium D EE and Athlon 64 X2) & Dual CPU systems. Convertible design to power up ATX/BTX systems and support dual CPU entry-level server/workstation. PF value up to 0.99 to provide stable and clean power under 100-240VAC by auto switching. High efficiency of about 80% under wide load range (30-100%) minimizes your electricity bill. Special design 12cm fan combines silence and cooling by intelligent speed control. Protected by OCP, OVP, UVP, OLP, SCP, OTP for maximum safety. Smarter cable choice and better cable routing for a neat and tidy case. Unique 4-pin Molex + SATA connectors in pairs give you free choice on using either PATA or SATA devices. Support of Dual PCI-E graphics cards, enjoying extreme 3D gaming graphics. NVIDIA(R) SLITM-Ready Certified. Toughest EMI shielding protects your system and near-by appliances.

The Liberty packaging is simple and straightforward. The box emphasizes the unit's features and specifications. Inside the box, Enermax includes four screws, an Enermax sticker, an Enermax lanyard, a User's Manual, the modular cables, a pouch for storing the cables and of course the PSU itself.

As you can see from the first picture above, not all of the cables can be disconnected. The power connectors and the fan monitoring cable are not modular. Like the GameXStream, the Liberty features a 120mm fan to keep its internals cool. The rest of the cables, which you can see in the second and third pictures, are of course modular. Enermax even went the extra mile and included a pouch for the cables. As expected, the cables include two PCI Express connectors and two floppy drive connectors. What wasn't expected was finding ten 4-pin peripheral (Molex) and ten SATA connectors. This is what Enermax calls its Eternity cabling system. For each pair of Molex connectors, you get a pair of SATA connectors. The goal of this configuration is to provide the user with maximum flexibility. The downside is that Enermax recommends that you only use three of the four connectors on each cable. Another nice little touch is the inclusion of the EASY PLUG design on the Molex connectors, which makes them easier to detach from peripheral devices.

Here you can see the Liberty's modular connectors. The two dark red connectors are for PCI Express. Once we turn the unit around, you can see the AC power connector and the honeycomb grill that allows hot air to flow out of your system.