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Review: 400-500Watt PSU shootout

by Steve Kerrison on 15 August 2006, 08:32

Tags: NorthQ, FSP Group (TPE:3015), be-quiet

Quick Link: HEXUS.net/qagee

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FSP Zen 400W examination


Finally, find inner peace as we introduce you to the FSP Zen 400W PSU.

FSP Zen 400W

The unit we tested is a production sample, so there's no retail box yet and some aspects of the design may yet be tweaked.

Zen is certainly a clever name with which to market this PSU, seeing as it really is peaceful, completely passively cooled. Blue's quite a calming colour too, but it does run the risk of clashing with some cases... those with windows, at least.

The cables are quite short, which may be a problem in larger cases. Perhaps FSP will be able to rectify this prior to launching the product? It's quite possible, seeing as the final version will have a PCI-Express graphics power connector; not present on this version. The cables were sleeved along their full lengths, which is good for neatness and protection.

The cooling solution is more substantial than the lower power Zen 300W, which makes sense, of course. The design is different to allow enough heat to be dissipated at its higher rating.

The power switch has an LED to show when it's on, which is a nice little touch.

Overall, then, the biggest thing going for it is the fanless design, making it a great media centre PC candidate, provided it can produce the power FSP states.