Athena Power AP-MFATX40P8 400 W Power Supply Review

Introduction

The Athena Power AP-MFATX40P8 400 W is a tiny FlexATX power supply measuring 3.2 x 1.7 x 6 inches (80 x 40 x 150 mm), targeted to small form factor (SFF) computers with Mini-ITX motherboards, coming with the 80 Plus Bronze certification. We tested the 350 W version of this power supply, which didn’t pass our tests. Let’s see if the 400 W version is a better product.

At least externally, some improvements were made. The box was redesigned and comes with a QR Code that you can scan with your smartphone, which opens a compatibility table where you can see whether the power supply is compatible with your SFF computer or not. The power supply housing was upgraded to a more appealing nickel look.

Figure 1: Athena Power AP-MFATX40P8 power supply

Figure 2: Athena Power AP-MFATX40P8 power supply

Because of its reduced size, it uses a tiny 40 mm ball bearing fan, a Yate Loon D40BM-12C.

This unit doesn’t have a modular cabling system, and only the main motherboard cable and the EPS12V/ATX12V use nylon sleeves, which don’t come from inside the unit. This power supply comes with the following cables:

• Main motherboard cable with a 20/24-pin connector, 9.8” (25 cm) long
• One cable with one EPS12V connector and two ATX12V connectors that together form an EPS12V connector, 9.8” (25 cm) long to the first connector, 5.9” (15 cm) between connectors
• One cable with two six-pin connectors for video cards, 9.8” (25 cm) long to the first connector, 5.9” (15 cm) between connectors
• One cable with three SATA power connectors, 10.2” (26 cm) to the first connector, 9.8” (25 cm) between connectors
• One cable with two standard peripheral power connectors and one floppy disk drive power connector, 10.2” (26 cm) to the first connector, 5.9” (15 cm) between connectors

All wires are 18 AWG wires, which is the minimum recommended gauge.

The cables are extremely short, but this should not be a problem, as this power supply is targeted to small form factor (SFF) systems. Interesting enough, the cable configuration is similar to the one used on the 350 W model; however, the 350 W model uses longer cables.

Figure 3: Cables

Let’s now take an in-depth look inside this power supply.