Zalman ZM460B-APS (460W)

I described the Zalman ZM460-APS in one of my earlier reviews, but then the model with the B suffix appeared and I have been asked to check out the difference.

This PSU is made by FSP Group. There can’t be any mistaking it although there is Zalman’s marking even on the PCB. This is the characteristic design of the FSPxxx-60GLN series. Moreover, there are markings on the PCB for wattages ranging from 250W to 500W, which can be assembled on the same platform, whereas Zalman is offering only one 460W model.

I have already described the circuit design of the new power supplies from FSP, also in this article, so I will only say that it is used in the ZM460B-APS, too. The only noticeable difference from the original PSUs is the considerably larger heatsink with diode packs (the leftmost in the photograph) and the slightly larger group regulation choke (the large coil to the right of the mentioned heatsink). The other two heatsinks have remained just plain aluminum bars.

The PSU complies with the ATX12V 2.2 standard and this seems to be its main difference from the ZM460-APS – the previous model was designed in compliance with the ATX12V 2.0 standard. The load capacity of the +12V rail has been increased, so it now can carry a current of 34A as opposed to the previous model’s 30A. The +12V rail is divided into two lines in the “virtual” way, of course.

The PSU is equipped with the following cables and connectors:

• Mainboard cable with a 20+4 connector (55cm long)
• CPU cable with a 4+4 connector (55cm)
• Graphics card cable with two 6-pin connectors (55cm+14cm)
• Two cables with two PATA connectors and one floppy mini-plug on each (54cm+14cm+14cm)
• Two cables with two SATA power connectors on each (56cm+15cm)