Written By:
Date Posted: October 7, 2002

It's not exactly the easiest thing to review a PSU, but what I found was that for a 300 watt PSU, it had a supreme advantage to my "stock" 300 Watt PSU.

What's included with the PSU

The PSU comes with a Multi-Connector (to connect your Zalman fans to,) as well as a power cable, and naitive voltage recognition - there's no switch on the back to change from 120V to 230V.

The plethora (7 Molex) of connectors was more than sufficient for all of my devices and then some. I found that with my old 300 Watt PSU, there was a + or - 1.5V on each line, which varied higher and lower - in an unstable fashion, as well as only 5 molex connectors.

This stock 300 Watt PSU leaves something to be desired, especially with only 5 molex connectors

On the other hand, this PSU has been very good in its stability - I have not noticed a very large change in voltage on any of the lines - only noticing that there was a 0.5V difference on the 5V line under extreme stress.

The ZM300A-APF is compatible with both Athlons and Pentium 4 motherboards, as it has the necessary auxiliary connectors needed.

The noise generated at high load was approximately 40 dBs.

The Zalman ZM300A-APF 300Watt PSU is quiet and stable

Final Words

The power supply may be borderline for most power users, but it is a quality PSU. Enthusiasts should probably opt for a 400W model though, as multiple hard drives, high end CPUs and blazing video cards will put a strain on lesser PSUs.

As for the coolers, they work well enough, though the CNPS3100-Plus may not be the best choice for overclockers. Both heatsinks are remarkably quiet, and this is something that is gaining popularity for a lot of users tired of the noise. To see how they stack up, here's a chart summary of the two coolers compared with the Vantec...

Overall, I have found Zalman to be an extremely high quality company. Their products show thought in their design - and innovation.

CNPS3100-Plus:
Pros: Exotic design, very quiet
Cons: It won't keep your processor all that cool

CNPS5100-Cu:
Pros: This bad-boy stacks up with the Vantec, and is more secure with its motherboard mounts
Cons: The extra 44 grams of weight might just be enough for the novice to crack their die.

ZM300A-APF:
Pros: For 300 Watts, this PSU is a sure-buy
Cons: None

I would like to thank for their support and supply of these products

Agree? Disagree? Discuss it in our forums

Previous Page - Zalman ZM300A-APF