Zalman ZM600-RS Power Supply Review

Conclusions

Zalman ZM600-RS presents high efficiency between 83.7% and 86.3% if you pull up to 80% (480 W) from it. At full load, however, efficiency drops to 80.1%. This power supply is 80 Plus Bronze certified, meaning that it should present 82% efficiency at full load, but as we have exposed on our Can We Trust the 80 Plus Certification? article, Ecos Consulting, the company behind the 80 Plus certification, uses an unrealistic room temperature to test power supplies, and efficiency drops with temperature.

Ripple and noise level at +12 V rails was too high while the power supply was delivering 600 W, at 102 mV, too close to the 120 mV limit, and the -12 V output presented noise level above the 120 mV limit when the unit was delivering 480 W and above (140 mV).

Its cable configuration is definitel
y better than the one from ZM500-RS, presenting one additional video card power cable with two connectors and one extra SATA and peripheral power connector on each SATA and peripheral cable.

The problem with Zalman products these days is pricing. This unit is sold in the US for USD 125, which is a little bit above the level we could give a definite buy recommendation. At this price level we have Nexus RX-6300, which provides higher efficiency, higher wattage, lower ripple and noise level and a modular cabling system. On the other hand it presents higher efficiency than products that are sold for a lower price, like the units from Seventeam (ST-650P-AF and ST-750P-AF) and SilverStone Element ST75EF.

The new Zalman ZM600-RS is a good product if you have USD 125 on your budget to spend on a power supply and can’t find Nexus RX-6300.