OCZ Technology Group has been making a lot of headlines for its innovative Solid State Drives, but the firm also sells a lot of other products. OCZ is also known for its power supplies, and has been working on its new Z-Series for close to two years.

One of the most important criteria when evaluating a power supply is its efficiency. A cheap power supply might seem like a good deal, but PSUs with efficiencies as low as 30% have been reported. The lower the efficiency of a power supply, the more waste heat is generated. This translates into greater cooling requirements and higher electricity costs.

Many enthusiasts look for 80 PLUS certification when buying their PSUs. 80 PLUS is an innovative, electric utility-funded incentive program to integrate more energy-efficient power supplies into desktop computers and servers. Different levels of certification are offered, with Gold, Silver, and Bronze reflecting higher levels of efficiency than the plain 80 PLUS level.

There aren't too many power supplies at the Gold level. Out of 1,356 PSUs certified by 80 PLUS, only 27 meet the Gold standard requirements of over 90% efficiency at 50% load.

When choosing a power supply, the basic engineering principle of providing double the requirements may apply. Not only does this provide a safety margin, but also a performance margin as well to mitigate possible manufacturing variations or performance degradation over time. However, the safety margin required may be lessened as wattages increase.

Most desktop computer powers supplies use less than 300 watts at full load, while enthusiast systems often use up to 500 watts. Only the most extreme systems with Quad-SLI or CrossFireX will use more than 600 watts.

The Z1000 1000 watt PSU is OCZ's first to meet the strict requirements of the 80 PLUS Gold efficiency standard of 90%, and is available is modular and non-modular configurations. There are also two new 80 PLUS Silver rated power supplies- the Z550 and Z650. The Z650 in particular supplies power at 89% efficiency at a typical 50% load.

The Z-series is expected to ship later this spring with a 5-year warranty. Pricing has not yet been announced.