Short introduction

Nowadays computers draw more and more power. Especially when there is an Intel Pres(c)(h)ott CPU or nVidia's 6800 series videocard inside, to mention a few...

And if you want to spice things up by overclocking, the power usage will grow exponentially... Thus a decent power supply is needed.

For the last two months I've been collecting and testing power supplies. Thanks to the help of many shops and producers, I was able to test 14 PSU's. Including some flashy modded samples, some high power beasts, and even some fanless, passive cooled PSU's.

First of all I want to apologize for the long time it took to finish all the tests, my setup broke down twice. Not due to PSU failures, rather, events better be best described as “end-user errors”; dropping a screw on a running A64 motherboard wasn't advisable, trying to remove it with metal pliers even less.

13 out of 14 PSU's were tested on the following setup:

Piotke's Test Setup
CPU	AMD Athlon 64 3000+ @ 2.4 Ghz 1.7 Vcore
Mainboard	Shuttle AN50R
Cooling	Thermalright SLK948 U
Memory	2* 256 MB Corsair PC3500 @ 200 Mhz 2-2-2-5
Video	Sapphire Radeon 9800 XT
HDD	Seagate Cuda 5 7200.7 120 Gb
Optical	Nec 2500 A DVD R

The last PSU, from Silverstone was tested on a different setup, but this will be explained later on.

And here you have a teaser picture, made somewhere halfway the tests:

FSP FSP300-60PN(PF)

FSP FSP350-60PN(PF)

FSP Aurora - FSP350-60PN(PF)

ZECK ZKS-300WX

ZECK ZKS-350WX

ZECK ZKS-450WX

TASK TK-945TX-DF (450W)

ASPIRE AS500W

Antec TrueControl 550W

Global Win SAF Eleel 380W

Global Win SAF Leleel 450W

Yesico FL-350ATX

SilverStone EFN-300


How I tested the PSU’s
Let me also explain how I tested.

First I hot wired the PSU so I could use it without computer, and I measured the voltages with a multi-meter to check for inconsistencies, I scribbled the values down and will include them in the data comparison graph at the end as a reference only.

Then I hooked up the PSU to the system specified above, again I monitored the voltages with a multi-meter, using the external connectors from the PSU.

Finally I used the computer for a while, stress testing, surfing, gaming.. you know.. PC stuff. MBM registered values from the +3.3 V, +5 V and +12 V lines.

I have more than one model from certain brands. I covered each brand separately and dedicated one page per brand with brief data sheet only to include critical and interesting facts without chit-chat to get to the "meat".

The short introduction became longer then I expected, so let's go directly to the FSP PSU's-->

FSP Power Supplies

First of all I would like to thank Frederick from Cloetens for providing us with these PSU's.

FSP Silent Solution Kit

These two power supplies come with the FSP kit. A full review can be found here.

FSP300-60PN(PF)

Passive PFC(Power Factor Correction) circuit at 230 Vac

High efficiency

Low ripple &Noise

Output over voltage protection

Short circuit protection on all output

With 12cm big fan

350 watt

+ 3.3V - 15.1 A

+ 5V - 30 A

+ 12V - 15 A

+ 5VSB - 2.0 A

FSP350-60PN(PF)

Passive PFC(Power Factor Correction) circuit at 230 Vac

High efficiency

Low ripple &Noise

Output over voltage protection

Short circuit protection on all output

¡ELine input fuse protection

¡EWith 12cm big fan

350 watt

+ 3.3V - 21.2 A

+ 5V - 30 A

+ 12V - 16.0 A

+ 5VSB - 2.0 A

For extra info you can visit the FSP website.

Test results

MBM values

FSP 300 WATT	LOW	HIGH	AVERAGE
+ 3.3 V	3.31	3.33	3.32
+ 5 V	5.07	5.12	5.10
+ 12 V	11.94	12.07	12.00

Multi-meter values

FSP 300 WATT	+3.3 V	+5 V	+12 V
NO PC	3.35	5.23	11.60
PC IDLE	3.38	5.08	12.03
PC LOAD	3.38	5.10	11.95

MBM values

FSP 350 WATT	LOW	HIGH	AVERAGE
+ 3.3 V	3.31	3.34	3.34
+ 5 V	5.07	5.10	5.07
+ 12 V	12.07	12.20	12.17

Multimeter values

FSP 350 WATT	+3.3 V	+5 V	+12 V
NO PC	3.36	5.21	11.70
PC IDLE	3.39	5.06	12.14
PC LOAD	3.39	5.08	12.09

Extra remarks and comments

The molex connectors have a special shaped form. This makes it easier to insert and remove them, but due to the form, they don't fit in a VGA card, such as the Radeon 9800 Pro. Take a closer look at the pictures, to understand better what I mean.

Connectors (both the 300 as 350 watt have the same amount):

	1* and sleeved
	1*
	1*
	No fan headers were present on the PSU
	6* Full size molex and 1 small size (FDD) molex
	1*

Pictures

---

FSP Aurora - FSP350-60PN(PF)

This is actually the same 350 watt PSU that comes included with the kit, only slightly different finishing and sold with a cooler name :-)
So the specifications can be found above..

For extra info you can visit the FSP website.

Test results

MBM values

FSP AURORA 350 WATT	LOW	HIGH	AVERAGE
+ 3.3 V	3.36	3.38	3.37
+ 5 V	5.10	5.12	5.10
+ 12 V	12.20	12.27	12.24

Multi-meter values

FSP AURORA 350 WATT	+3.3 V	+5 V	+12 V
NO PC	3.40	5.23	11.83
PC IDLE	3.43	5.09	12.23
PC LOAD	3.43	5.12	12.12

Extra remarks and comments

The outside has chrome finishing and combined with the 120mm blue LED fan it looks really nice!

Connectors:

	1*
	1*
	1*
	No fan headers were present on the PSU
	5* Full size molex and 2* small size (FDD) molex
	2*

Pictures

Zeck PSU series:

The Zeck PSU’s also came from Cloetens. Since all three PSU's look exactly the same, except for their power rating, I'm going to give overall specifications here.

All the PSU's are cooled by a 120mm fan.

Active PFC : 0.98@115VAC, 0.95@230VAC ;

Passive PFC : 0.80@115VAC, 0.70@230VAC

With +5VSB : 0~3A Max.

AC input 90~135VAC or 180~265VAC

115V / 230V Auto sensing (optional)

Active or Passive PFC function (optional)

Frequency 47~63Hz

Built in EMI filter, low ripple noise

Over voltage / Over load protection / Short circuit protection

Built-in long life Ball-bearing cooling FAN (optional)

Efficiency >70% at full load

Meet FCC part 15 Class B, CISPR-22 Class B

UL, CSA, TUV, CE, N, S, D, FI, CB, FCC, BCIQ certified

Meet Intel EPS 12V, ATX 12V

Connectors:

	1*
	1*
	1*
	No fan headers were present on the PSU
	300 Watt : 6* HDD and 2 FDD molex 350 Watt: 6* HDD and 2 FDD molex 450 Watt: 8* HDD and 3 FDD molex
	None

Test results - ZKS-300WX

300 watt

+3.3 V - 20 A

+5 V - 30 A

+12 V - 12 A

+5 VSB - 1.5 A

MBM values

ZKS-300WX	LOW	HIGH	AVERAGE
+ 3.3 V	3.31	3.34	3.32
+ 5 V	5.10	5.12	5.10
+ 12 V	12.14	12.27	12.21

Multi-meter values

ZKS-300WX	+3.3 V	+5 V	+12 V
NO PC	3.36	5.17	11.86
PC IDLE	3.36	5.08	12.19
PC LOAD	3.36	5.08	12.11

---

Test results - ZKS-350WX

350 watt

+3.3 V - 28 A

+5 V - 30 A

+12 V - 15 A

+5 VSB - 2 A

MBM values

ZKS-350WX	LOW	HIGH	AVERAGE
+ 3.3 V	3.34	3.38	3.36
+ 5 V	5.07	5.12	5.09
+ 12 V	12.07	12.27	12.15

Multi-meter values

ZKS-350WX	+3.3 V	+5 V	+12 V
NO PC	3.40	5.16	11.84
PC IDLE	3.41	5.09	12.17
PC LOAD	3.41	5.09	12.09

---

Test results - ZKS-450SX

450 watt

+3.3 V - 30 A

+5 V - 45 A

+12 V - 15 A

+5 VSB - 3 A

MBM values

ZKS-450SX	LOW	HIGH	AVERAGE
+ 3.3 V	3.42	3.44	3.44
+ 5 V	5.07	5.10	5.10
+ 12 V	12.07	12.14	12.11

Multi-meter values

ZKS-450SX	+3.3 V	+5 V	+12 V
NO PC	3.36	5.15	11.83
PC IDLE	3.38	5.12	11.80
PC LOAD	3.38	5.13	11.78

TK-945TX-DF

Cloetens once again provided these PSU’s :)

Over current protection: All outputs are protected by short circuit protection.

Over voltage protection

Over power protection

450 watt

+ 3.3V - 28 A

+ 5V - 32 A

+ 12V - 24 A

+ 5VSB - 2.5 A



You know where you can find more info... on the TASK website.

Test results

MBM values

TASK 450 WATT	LOW	HIGH	AVERAGE
+ 3.3 V	3.42	3.44	3.44
+ 5 V	5.07	5.10	5.10
+ 12 V	12.07	12.14	12.11

Multi-meter values

TASK 450 WATT	+3.3 V	+5 V	+12 V
NO PC	2.78	5.05	12.36
PC IDLE	3.48	5.09	12.10
PC LOAD	3.48	5.10	12.06

Extra remarks & comments

The blue paintjob on these PSU’s looks really nice and finishing is of high quality. I noticed that the cables are about 20cm longer then the other PSU’s I’ve tested here, which makes it suited inside the biggest of Maxi towers!

Connectors:

	1* (sleeved)
	1*
	1*
	No fan headers were present on the PSU
	8* HDD and 2 FDD molex
	1* (pass-trough cable)

Pictures

ATX-AS500W 12V

The guys from Color Cases let me test out this flashy looking PSU

ATX 500 Safety P4 Aluminum Power Supply

w/See-Through Clear Acrylic Cover (Fire Resistant Material)

w/2 x 8cm UV Blue Fan w/4 Blue Led Lights

Multi-Color Coated Components & PC Board

Green UV Sensitive Wire sleeve & Connectors

w/Fan Speed Adjuster

w/ I/O Switch

Cable-Tube-Tied Wires for Neatness

w/Power Cord w/Gift Box

500 watt

+ 3.3V - 28 A

+ 5V - 50 A

+ 12V - 34 A

+ 5VSB - 2 A

Official website

Test results

MBM values

ASPIRE 500 WATT	LOW	HIGH	AVERAGE
+ 3.3 V	3.33	3.38	3.36
+ 5 V	5.15	5.18	5.16
+ 12 V	12.46	12.65	12.62

Multi-meter values

ASPIRE 500 WATT	+3.3 V	+5 V	+12 V
NO PC	3.41	5.23	12.00
PC IDLE	3.38	5.04	12.54
PC LOAD	3.37	5.02	12.39

Extra comments & remarks

Aspire really went all out on the design for this one with UV reactive sleeving and nicely colored windows, which show of the heatsinks inside who have been given a layer of paint also. To top it of the fans have LEDs in them so they light up the surrounding.

An added extra I found in the box were a set of thumbscrews which make installation tool free!

Connectors:

	1* (green sleeved)
	1*
	1*
	No fan headers were present on the PSU
	8* HDD and 2 FDD molex
	none

Pictures

Antec TrueControl 550W

This high output PSU was provided by Antec themselves. We did a full review of this unit here.

550 watt

+ 3.3V - 32 A

+ 5V - 40 A

+ 12V - 24 A

+ 5VSB - 2 A

Test results

MBM values

Antec True 550P	LOW	HIGH	AVERAGE
+ 3.3 V	3.28	3.31	3.30
+ 5 V	4.99	5.02	5.00
+ 12 V	12.01	12.07	12.06

Multi-meter values

Antec True 550P	+3.3 V	+5 V	+12 V
NO PC	3.35	5.01	12.03
PC IDLE	3.33	4.99	12.00
PC LOAD	3.33	4.99	11.99

Extra comments & remarks

This PSU has a 5.25" front bay, with which you can regulate the +3.3 V, +5 V and +12 V rails a very useful extra as you’ve noticed in the results above.

Connectors:

	1* (sleeved)
	1* (sleeved)
	1* (sleeved)
	2*
	6* HDD and 2 FDD molex
	2*

Pictures

GW SAF - Eleel 380 & GW SAF - Leleel 450

A lot of info about both PSU's can be found on the Global Win website of course, I will recap the most important features here.

These PSU’s were provided by Amal from Eurobizz, thank you!

Eleel GW SAF - Eleel 380

ATX 12V Version 1.3

Intel Pentium 4 & AMD K7/K8 CPU

Black Titanium Plated Metal Case

120 mm Fan On Top

Ventilation opening on the rear for better heat dissipation

Only 18 Dba

Test results

MBM values

GW SAF - Eleel 380	LOW	HIGH	AVERAGE
+ 3.3 V	3.34	3.38	3.36
+ 5 V	5.07	5.12	5.09
+ 12 V	12.14	12.27	12.21

Multi-meter values

GW SAF - Eleel 380	+3.3 V	+5 V	+12 V
NO PC	3.38	5.24	11.79
PC IDLE	3.42	5.02	12.19
PC LOAD	3.42	5.03	12.13

Connectors:

	1*
	1*
	1*
	none
	6* HDD and 1 FDD molex
	1*

Pictures




It's amazing how this PSU looks like the units from FSP, almost identical looks, with a different paintjob.

---

Leleel GW SAF - Leleel 450

ATX 12V Version 1.3

Intel Pentium 4 & AMD K7/K8 CPU

Black Titanium Plated Metal Case

Two 80 mm transparent Fans On The Front & Rear

Only 18 Dba

Test results

MBM values

GW SAF - Leleel 450	LOW	HIGH	AVERAGE
+ 3.3 V	3.33	3.36	3.34
+ 5 V	5.18	5.21	5.18
+ 12 V	12.01	12.07	12.05

Multi-meter values

GW SAF - Leleel 450	+3.3 V	+5 V	+12 V
NO PC	3.388	5.19	11.99
PC IDLE	/	5.12	11.99
PC LOAD	/	5.09	11.95

Extra comments & remarks

This PSU has ATP ( Asynchronous Thermal Protection ) After system is turned off , all the fans ( PSU fans , case fans , CPU cooling fan ) keep working until system temperature drops under 45 °C. Prolong the life circle of your computer, prevent your PC from suffering the invisible damage caused by overheating.

This one had a very nice design. The status LEDs are very bright, so no extra case lightning is needed. Unless you're very hardcore! :-)

Provides 3 fan connectors to control case fans and CPU cooling fan speed to achieve optimum balance between fan noise and necessary cooling. Keep noise level below 18dBA ( under 70% load of power supply ).

LED indicators on the rear panel shows fan working status. The LED indicators show in green at the normal supply. When the temperature risks high, FAN 1 & FAN 2 LED indicators turn to orange . While the temperature reaches maximum supply limit , the FAN 1 & FAN 2 LED indicators stay in orange color accompany with buzzer warning . If FAN 1 or FAN 2 stops rotating and affect temperature too high , The FAN 1 or FAN 2 LED indicator turns to red with buzzer warning .

Power Consumption Color Display

1. When PSU is power on , at stand by mode; all the colors have a run in 20 seconds by the order of : red color blinks 3 times -> blue color stills -> violet color stills -> red color stills -> red color blinks 3 times

2. When PSU is working , LED color assists in indicating your PSU working load :

0 W : Red flashing
1-300W : Blue still
301-400W : Violet still
401-450W : Red still
450W above : Red with buzzer

Connectors:

	1*
	1*
	none (!!)
	3*
	6* HDD and 2 FDD molex
	2*

Pictures

Yesico FL-350ATX

Ideal for those seeking a totally silent solution, this PSU was delivered by our friends at ITC Multimedia.

350 watt

+3.3 V - 20 A

+5 V - 30 A

+12 V - 16 A

+5 VSB - 3 A

Website

Test results

MBM values

Yesico FL-350ATX	LOW	HIGH	AVERAGE
+ 3.3 V	3.30	3.36	3.32
+ 5 V	5.12	5.21	5.17
+ 12 V	12.20	12.33	12.28

Multi-meter values

Yesico FL-350ATX	+3.3 V	+5 V	+12 V
NO PC	3.31	5.14	12.15
PC IDLE	3.36	5.13	12.22
PC LOAD	3.37	5.14	12.20

Extra Comments & remarks

An extra cable for grounding is provided on this PSU.

Connectors:

	1* (sleeved)
	1*
	1*
	No fan headers were present on the PSU
	9* HDD and 3* FDD molex
	2*

Pictures



A more in detail review is in the making where the Yesico is compared to the PSU on the next page ->

EFN-300

A review of this passive beauty has been in the making for quite some time here at Madshrimps. Due to several set backs with the test setup we had unexpected delays. So here I present my first test results with the Silverstone EFN-300. An in-depth review including temperature readouts and a wide variety of test setups will soon appear at the site. We would like to thank Jurek from SilverStone for his patience.

The test setup used for this PSU was identical to the one mentioned on the first page, except for the mainboard: this time around we used a Soltek nForce3 (150) board. To verify that the results we got with MBM5 were correct we hooked up 2 PSU’s we’ve previously tested and got results which were almost identical. So I chose to include the values from the EFN-300 into the final graph.

High efficiency power solution.

Optimum quality standard.

Classic design in style and tasteful shape of

Aluminum casing.

Supports two serial ATA Connector

Without fan

Background noise around 0 dBA.

Heat pipe with heat sink in Aluminum case.

assumes PC stability

Indicator light to show state of PSU

Active PFC

300 watt

+3.3 V - 23 A

+5 V - 25 A

+12 V - 18 A

+5 VSB - 1.5 A



More info on the website.

Test results

MBM values

EFN-300	LOW	HIGH	AVERAGE
+ 3.3 V	3.31	3.36	3.32
+ 5 V	4.99	5.04	5.02
+ 12 V	11.91	11.98	11.96

Multi-meter values

EFN-300	+3.3 V	+5 V	+12 V
NO PC	3.36	5.02	12.14
PC IDLE	3.38	5.02	12.23
PC LOAD	3.38	5.01	12.17

Connectors:

	1* (sleeved)
	1* (sleeved)
	1* (sleeved)
	No fan headers were present on the PSU
	6* HDD and 2* FDD molex
	2*

Pictures

AEROPOWER II+ - Titanium 350 watt

Aerocool is a company well known for its flashy cases, heatsinks and fans. But did you know that it also produces power supplies? I didn't. Thanks to David from ITC Multimedia I was able to test the AEROPOWER II+ - Titanium, the 350 watt version to be exact.

First impression: flashy!

Let’s take a look first at the specifications:

Titanium coated surface finish with blue acrylic windows

Temperature speed controlled fans

Blue UV active cable sleeve

Blue UV active connectors

2 x Blue UV active SATA

Compatible with P4 and AMD

P5 Certified

2 x LED fans (quad blue)

So far for the outside...

350 watt

+ 3.3V - 15 A

+ 5V - 25 A

+ 12V - 15 A

+ 5VSB - 2.0 A

More info can be found at the Product page at the Aerocool site.

Test results

MBM values

AeroPower II+ ATX 350 Watt	LOW	HIGH	AVERAGE
+ 3.3 V	3.38	3.41	3.37
+ 5 V	5.18	5.23	5.20
+ 12 V	12.27	12.40	12.35

Multi-meter values

AeroPower II+ ATX 350 Watt	+3.3 V	+5 V	+12 V
NO PC	3.38	5.26	12.03
PC IDLE	3.39	5.16	12.30
PC LOAD	3.38	5.17	12.27

Extra remarks and comments

One of the most remarkable things about this PSU is the sleeving of every cabling coming out the unit. This will make your case interior look very clean and give airflow a boost!

Connectors:

	1*
	1*
	1*
	No fan headers were present on the PSU
	6* Full size molex and 2 small size (FDD) molex
	2*, but not directly connected to the PSU. There are 2 converter cables added in the package.

Pictures

Reviewing a PSU with "fashion statement" written all over it, without any pictures is kind of worthless, don't you think ?

And here, finally, we come to the fruit of my hard labour, the results page. Using the system setup outlined above I ran several stress tests with each PSU and you'll find the results below. Do note that the Silverstone was tested on a system with another motherboard, but I verified that the results were accurate before deciding to include it here.

Piotke's Test Setup
CPU	AMD Athlon 64 3000+ @ 2.4 Ghz 1.7 Vcore
Mainboard	Shuttle AN50R
Cooling	Thermalright SLK948 U
Memory	2* 256 MB Corsair PC3500 @ 200 Mhz 2-2-2-5
Video	Sapphire Radeon 9800 XT
HDD	Seagate Cuda 5 7200.7 120 Gb
Optical	Nec 2500 A DVD R

3.3 V rail




5 V rail




12 V rail




As you can see from the results above, every one of the PSU delivered excellent performance, never going below their rated value of 3.3 / 5v / 12v, or at least not by much.

The Antec TrueControl stands out by its near perfect results, I did not have to adjust the rails constantly to achieve these results, it's just that good :)

Some values recorded are quite high, so I decided to so make another graph comparing the % increase over the default value using the "average" results I got from MBM5.



All within specs! Onto our conclusion ->

After several weeks of testing and swapping Power Supplies from a large range of manufactures it is safe to say that all these models will be able to supply enough juice to power high-end gaming PC’s.

They all provide stable volt lines and even when I overclocked my setup to the limit it was never the PSU which caused instabilities when working “on the edge”.

Some units stood up from the crowd though:

Looks

This is of course a very subjective decision, as something I find pretty may be ugly to others. The Aerocool AeroPower II+ scored very high in my book, closely followed by the Global Win Leleel. Although the Aspire AS500 has great looks, it is a bit over the top for me. Overall none of the PSU’s reviewed fit into the “dull grey box” category, with great finishing and high quality components.


Performance

The Antec stood head and shoulders above the rest when it comes down to stable volt lines. Even without having to adjust the rails every other minute the recorded values were spot on! Does this mean the others were bad? Far from actually, every PSU tested gave excellent performance and you can not make a “wrong” choice.


Noise

Of course the 2 passive PSU’s run away with the Gold medal here. Luckily none of the actively cooled units sounded like a jet taking off. After some subjective listening I have to say that the Aerocool’s fans are most effective! The Antec with its speed regulated fans is also very silent, while all the units equipped with a 120mm never produced annoying noises, although when these spin faster you’ll notice them.

Overall

If I were able to choose 2 PSU’s I would put the Antec in my most powerful and overclocked system, although the price is a bit higher the advantage of having 550W of juice with controllable volt lines is really worth it.

The second one for a more modest system would be more difficult to pick, although the idea of having a passive PSU is quite attractive due to the absence of noise, the higher price combined with possible increase in case temperature might set me off though. In a badly ventilated case it would be best to put in an active PSU, the 120m powered units would do great here. The Global Win and Aerocool PSU’s provide a good mix of the above two choices.

As you can see from the list below, you will be able to find a power supply which will fit nicely into your system and in your budget!

FSP FSP300-60PN(PF) €28

FSP FSP350-60PN(PF) €40

FSP Aurora - FSP350-60PN(PF) €40

ZECK ZKS-300WX €40

ZECK ZKS-350WX €??

ZECK ZKS-450WX €??

TASK TK-945TX-DF (450W) €130

ASPIRE AS500W €60

Antec TrueControl 550W €130

Global Win SAF Eleel 380W €80

Global Win SAF Leleel 450W €150

Yesico FL-350ATX €170

SilverStone EFN-300 €170

Aerocool AeroPower II+ 350W €70


Thank you all for reading, I hope this round-up will help you find a PSU that fits your needs! I also would like to thank a bunch of people for helping me out with this review, in no particular order:

David from ITC Multimedia for the Aerocool & Yesico.

Frederick from Cloetens for the FSP, Zeck, Task.

The guys at Color Cases for the Aspire.

David from Antec for the TrueControl.

Amal from Eurobizz for the Global Win.

Jurek from SilverStone for the EFN-300

JMke from [M]adshrimps for his great help writing this article.

Mysterious Weirdoke from School for her help carrying the PSU's :)

Questions/Comments: forum thread