Introduction

With all the rage on SLI-capable graphics cards and dual-core processors, a power supply that's capable of handling all these power hungry components while being able to provide reliable and continuous power is greatly needed.

Many power supplies now come with a power output of at least 500W to cater to today's power-hungry systems. But even that's not enough. More powerful graphics cards and processors that are just around the corner will require even more power.

With such a juicy opportunity staring them in the face, many companies that specialize in other fields are now jumping into the PSU game. From memory manufacturers like OCZ and Corsair, to chassis makers like Silverstone. It's just the "in" thing these days to have your own branded PSU.

So, it's great news when Zalman, famous for their silent computing products, introduced their very own 600W power supply unit - the Zalman ZM600-HP.

The Zalman HP-series is actually a new series. Unlike their APS and APF series, the Zalman HP series makes use of heatpipe technology for better cooling! And the ZM600-HP is the first power supply in this series.

With so many power supplies around, what makes this power supply so special?

Let's take a look at the new Zalman ZM-600 HP and see what it has to offer!

Packaging

The color black is often used to convey elegance, sophistication, or perhaps a touch of mystery. Here, we have the Zalman ZM600-HP in an all-black box.

Although the box is the usual cardboard box used for power supplies, its black motif gives us the impression that the product inside the box is classy and of high quality. We wished though they could have included a handle with the box as well. It would have made it a lot easier to carry this rather heavy box.

The box design was very well done. The front and back of the box have very nice pictures with details on they power supply's key features.

But the most important specifications are actually listed on the side. If you take a look at the picture on the right, you will be able to check out its key electrical specifications.

Since the power supply's main job is to supply electrical power to the PC components, it's important to find out just how much power it can produce for each voltage rail.

Take a look at this Tech Myth if you are not sure why it's important to know what the maximum load on each rail is. Don't get duped into buying any power supply simply because it has a higher total wattage.

Contents

As we flip open the box, we can see the power supply unit nicely bubble-wrapped and placed snugly inside it.

In the box, we found the following items :-

• One Zalman ZM600-HP power supply unit
• One manual
• One Zalman multi-connector (ZM-DC1)
• One PCI-Express2 modular cable
• One CPU2 modular cable
• Two SATA modular cables
• Two (2-Molex + FDD) modular cables
• One 3-Molex modular cable