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Zalman ZM400A-APF 400watt PSU |
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Written by Mikhail Ivanenkov
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Monday, 18 June 2007 |
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Page 3 of 3
What you see on the left is most likely the active PFC components. You'll also notice (in both pictures) a pair of extra circuit boards being utilized. On the right you'll find a very large single capacitor. In front of that is a plastic sheet which keeps it from coming into contact with the side of the power supply. The other side (left picture) is insulated in the same fashion, though in this case the plastic shield is glued to the removable PSU cover. Many props to Zalman for being able to squeeze everything together into a tightly packed yet highly effective package. The remainder of the parts (like the transformer) rest between the heatsinks. And that just about covers the basics, so without further adieu here's the test setup:
- AXP 1700+ JIUHB DLT3C 1.5v (11x133 = 1466mhz) @ 11x166 (1833mhz) 1.5v
- Biostar M7NCG nForce2 motherboard
- 2x256mb PC3200 Crucial DDR400 @ DDR333
- Gainward GeForce3 Ti200
- Onboard sound, LAN
- Western Digital 1000JB SE 100GB HDD
- 16x Lite-On DVD drive
- 12x10x32 Plextor CD-RW drive
- Mitsumi FDD
- 2x 12" blue CCFLs
- 2x 80mm fans
- 1x 60mm fan
Motherboard Monitor 5 recorded the results in five second intervals, averaging the last 1000 readouts. Here are the results:
I've come to the conclusion that my motherboard is a crappy overclocker and for that reason I couldn't bump up speeds to a 200mhz FSB (and consequently synchronized DDR400). For testing I played CS (Fusion Pack mod) for a little over an hour; I also took some readings on the 12v and 5v lines with a $20 digital multimeter from RadioShack. A good power supply's lines won't fluctuate more than 5% either way; the range should therefore be under 10%. So, a recap of MBM5's results:
3.3v line - average was 3.31v (less than 1% difference). Low was 3.18v (3.6% difference). High was 3.46v (4.8% difference). Total variance range was 8.4%. Could be smaller (this is active PFC after all), but still acceptable.
5v line - average was 4.90v (2% undervolted). Low was 4.76v (4.8% difference). High was 5.05v (1% difference). Total variance range was 5.8%. Pretty impressive, but seeing as how the average was undervolted some adjustments need to be made. More manufacturers, Zalman included, should follow in Antec's steps with their TrueControl 550 model.
12v line - average was 11.80v (2% undervolted). Low was 11.25v (6.3% difference). High was 11.92v (less than 1% difference). Total variance range was about 7%. Same story here as with the 5v line: it's generally undervolted and needs to be raised a notch (which would automatically reduce the variance as well).
After my adventure with MBM I hooked up my multimeter to an empty molex to check out the 12v and 5v lines. Though supposedly more accurate, the 12v and 5v readings won't be the same through all wires, so it's not an entirely scientific way of confirming previous results. At idle the general readings I got from the 12v line was 11.88v. Running Windows Media Player bumped things up a notch to the 11.94-11.96v range. I was able to get slightly above 12v every now and then (12.04-12.06v), but for the most part it was undervolted. At idle (with the 12v showing 11.88v on the multimeter) MBM reported 11.61v, so you can already see the discrepancy.
The 5v line was a slightly different story. The multimeter reported 5.11v at idle (while MBM showed 5.05v), and a varying 5.09-5.10v using Windows Media Player. So according to the multimeter the variances were even lower than previously witnessed. On the one hand I trust the multimeter readings more (because it doesn't require software), but on the other hand MBM5 has a say as well since those 12v, 5v, and 3.3v lines are actually being used. You decide. Overall this is a high quality PSU. Though heavy, it's completely inaudible, runs cool to the touch, has enough connectors and extras, and is pretty stable with sub-10% ranges across the board.
Pros
- Black paint job
- Great packaging
- Complete kit with extras (manual, ZM-MC1 fan connector, velcro straps)
- Ideal cable length
- Heavy = high quality components
- Silent temperature controlled fan
- Unrestrictive intake grill
- Additional mounting bracket with holes
- Active PFC (full range, less EMI, higher PF)
- Massive heatsinks and good insulation
- Very tight rails with small variances (especially on the multimeter readings)
Cons
- Lines (according to MBM anyway) could be a bit tighter given the use of active PFC
- Expensive ($80-100+ at various retailers)
Zalman has a ton going for them with the introduction of the ZM400A-APF. It comes with some nifty extras, has quality written all over it the second you see the package and performs pretty well thanks to the use of active PFC. Unfortunately there's a downside to all this: at $80-100 or more (depending on who you buy it from), it's more expensive than some decked-out 550watt PSUs. But once again, you get what you pay for, so choose wisely. Once again I'd like to thank Zalman for sending over this power supply and if interested you can get yours from one of their worldwide carriers. Thanks for reading and enjoy the site!
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Last Updated ( Monday, 18 June 2007 )
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