Zalman ZM850-HP Plus Power Supply Review
Conclusions
Contents
The new Zalman ZM850-HP Plus disappointed us. It failed our tests by presenting a voltage below the minimum allowed on its +3.3 V output. On the other hand, noise and ripple levels were always low.
Efficiency was between 82.6% and 86.9%, which is the second problem with this power supply: at full load it can’t deliver its promised efficiency (85%) at real-world temperatures (it achieved 82.6% at 46.1° C during our 850 W test). This shouldn’t be taken so seriously we’ve seen this happening all the time.
But what really kills this power supply is its price. At USD 210 it is more expensive than products that are better, such as the XFX 850 W Black Edition (USD 150, 80 Plus Silver), the Corsair HX850W (USD 170, 80 Plus Silver), and the Seasonic X-Series 850 W (USD 200, 80 Plus Gold). So, even if the Zalman ZM850-HP Plus had passed our tests we wouldn’t be able to recommend it.