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Fortron/FSP Zen 400

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The Zen 400 from Fortron, with its output of 400 watts, stands out immediately thanks to its blue color. Compared to its 300 watt predecessor, the first thing you notice is a large aluminum cooling element on the underside of the unit, which is reflected in its considerably higher weight.

There is a single 6-pin connection for graphics cards. The ATX connection corresponds to the ATX12V 2.2 standard; it has 24 pins and can be split to accommodate older motherboards.

The unit’s connections are no longer up-to-date. It only has four SATA connections, yet these are becoming more and more important. Oddly, there are still six of the 4-pin Molex connections used by older drives. There are also two floppy connections on the power supply, though these can be used for fan controllers. The +12V CPU connection is only available as 4-pin version, which can lead to problems with some boards that require an 8-pin connection.

The length of the connection cables also leaves a lot to be desired: only 16” (40 cm) to the ATX connection. This may be too short for larger cases, and as a result, it may not be possible to route the cables as neatly as one would like.

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MagicWok 21/08/2008 11:57
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Another great article. But again, please UK Toms - is it difficult to insert UK costs when you copy and paste from the US site that only seems to do any work now a days? UK Toms used to be so good...

Quote :Both models can be purchased for less than $200.

Anonymous 23/08/2008 20:35
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efficiency at 35 watts?
why would one buy a 400 watt psu for a low power system?
how about testing a 100 or 200 watt unit???

hermanshermit 25/08/2008 12:40
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Agree with Josh. If you build a HTPC with the current HDTV IGPs then why would you use one of these as opposed to a 120W picopsu which is $50 - a quater the price, will fit in the tiniest case and is more efficient at very low loads?

jumpa777 02/09/2008 17:19
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Hold on, the Silverstone is more expensive, does a poor job at regulating the supply at high loads (3.15V on a 3.3V line is not good, it's bloody awful), is less efficient and is a gas guzzler in standby compared to the other supply on test and yet the Silverstone wins??????? Is it me or is the only thing going for the Silverstone that it is truly silent (especially when it turns off due to overheating). How the hell does the Silverstone come out on top?

Anonymous 26/12/2008 12:17
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I have zen300 and I must say I wish I never bought it, that high pitch noise it a nightmare, it is times more annoying then average speed 120mm fan in ordinary PSU

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