To present our ZM 600-HP with as much of a load as possible we will be running the system in SLI configuration
Processor:
AMD 3500
Motherboard:
DFI NF4 Ultra SLI
Memory:
Mushkin 2 GB PC-3200 Redline
Video Cards:
2 - Gigabyte 6600GT SLI
Hard Drives:
1 - Western Digital WD5000AAKS 3 GB/s 500GB
Cooling:
CoolIt FreeZone TEC Cooler
Case:
Zalman Fatal1ty FC-ZE-1 Chassis
Fans:
2 - 120mm Fans
To test the Zalman ZM 600-HP power supply we used the French stress-testing program OCCT (Ocbase et OCCT - L'union des overclockers - OCCT Official Website) which works in conjunction with Motherboard Monitor 5 to record the minimum and maximum voltages recorded over a 30-minute time period while continually subjecting the system to a constant load.
We also ran a copy of Hot CPU tester in tandem with OCCT insuring that the processor was running at its maximum load.
Maximum
Minimum
∆
VCore +VID
1.47V
1.46V
0.01V
+3.3 Volts
3.25V
3.28V
0.03V
+5.0 Volts
4.97V
4.97V
0.00V
+12.0 Volts
12.47V
12.54V
0.07V
The voltages are about what we would expect with the exception of the 12-volt rail, this particular rail ran slightly slightly high during our test perhaps for the simple reason we didn't have a great many devices using the 12-volt rails other than a pair of 120mm fans and the DVD which we use to run the test software with. Yet if you figure the average power supply allows for a 10% percent fluctuation in voltage that had to be noticeable. 10% of 12-volts equals 1.2 volts which is far from the 1/2 volt we saw in our power supply.
The 120mm fan used on the Zalman ZM-600 HP is made by ADDA a very common name in the in power supply business due the the fans ability to push high-volumes of air at a very low noise level. You must remember just because you have a low-noise power supply that does not necessarily mean your entire system is going to be quite.
Overall the Zalman power supply is a very good first step at high Output quiet operating power supply in our opinion. It has enough honest power to handle most modern system configuration including those that feature SLI or CrossFire. The only concern we had was heat inside the power supply case. That was quickly alleviated by placing a temperature probe inside the power supply compartment during our stress-test to record the temperature while the test was run using our Series 80 Fluke Multimeter. The maximum recorded temperature inside the power supply enclosure was 111 degrees F.
