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Silverstone Zeus 1200W Power Supply Review

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SKYMTL

HardwareCanuck Review Editor
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Efficiency / Voltage Regulation Testing

Efficiency Testing

ZM1200-1.jpg

At lower wattages the ZM1200 struggled a bit but it kept its power consumption at more than acceptable levels; the power consumption of 12W when the system was turned off was also extremely good. However, as load increased it seems like this power supply got a second wind by posting some very good numbers. You will also notice that Silverstone’s new flagship power supply was able to complete our Extreme Load Test by pulling a whooping 1058W from the wall. Since the other power supplies have not been put through this test, there are no results for them here.


Voltage Regulation Testing


+3.3V Regulation

ZM1200-2.jpg

Here we go again with next to no variance on the +3.3V rail since modern computer systems do not use this rail much at all. The results are an almost foregone conclusion.


+5V Regulation

ZM1200-5.jpg

+5V regulation was a bit more interesting but the Zeus held things together quite nicely all the way into out most stressful test. While there was a bit more movement than we have seen with some of the past power supplies, a 0.05V change from idle to high load is a great result.


+12V Regulation

ZM1200-4.jpg

Once again like in past reviews we see a small difference in the voltages going from CPU LOAD to GPU Load and this is probably due to minor variations between the PCI-E and EPS12V connector. Nonetheless, this is the most important of the voltage regulation tests and it shows the Silverstone Zeus performing admirably well through even the most stressful situations. One thing that we were a bit surprised to see was seemingly sudden voltage drop between the Idle and CPU Load but it was not anywhere near enough to get concerned about. When looking at these results, it is more than obvious that this power supply is ready to play with the Big Boys.
 

SKYMTL

HardwareCanuck Review Editor
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Messages
12,840
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+12V Ripple Testing / Noise & Heat

+12V Ripple Testing

ZM1200-3.jpg


The ripple suppression exhibited by the ZM1200 was absolutely stunning. Without a doubt, this is a test which really allows the well-appointed +12V filtering components to shine. Considering the server-nature of this power supply, it is only natural to expect results like this but it did feel good when we had to increase the resolution of the Stingray display to better see the minimal amount of ripple the Zeus was putting out. This is one phenomenal result here folks!!


Heat and Noise

Let’s be honest here; we needed to bench this power supply on an open test bench and with the assault on your senses the stock HD2900XT cooler puts out, it is a miracle we are not deaf. Did we hear the Zeus over the screaming of a pair of HD2900XT coolers? No, but then again a bomb could have went off outside the office and we would have been oblivious with the racket from these cards. All kidding aside (actually, the R600 cards do make that much noise) we installed the Zeus into the X2 3800+ test system with the 8800GTX installed and even though the Zeus started with a titanic “wooosh” which blew our hair back, it stayed silent.

Below are Silverstone’s specified acoustical numbers for the Zeus 1200W

22dBA @ 300W or below
28dBA @ 600W
40dBA @ 1200W

Judging from this, once you approach the 1200W system load mark this power supply will put out a fair amount of noise.
Believe it or not, even after 30 minutes of the Extreme Load test the air being exhausted by the single 80mm fan was quite a bit cooler than we would have thought it would have been. While not scalding hot, at the warmest point we measured the exhausted air to be 33*C.
 
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SKYMTL

HardwareCanuck Review Editor
Staff member
Joined
Feb 26, 2007
Messages
12,840
Location
Montreal
Conclusion

Conclusion

If you would have asked me about 1200W power supplies a month ago I would have told you they were a dying breed. However, with the advent of Tri-SLI, Crossfire X and dual GPU graphics cards along with platforms like the Skulltrail, I am quickly revising my thinking. While the mid-range performance segment has seen its power consumption steadily decrease, the ultra high-end market continues to push technology and power consumption to new heights. Fortunately for the environment, there will come a time when power consumption will hit the maximum amount of power a regular North American 120V outlet will provide. Yet until that time, power supplies like Silverstone’s Zeus will continue to dominate the enthusiast market.

Did we say dominate? Simply put, the Silverstone Zeus absolutely obliterates every other power supply we have tested to date. Granted, they were lower wattage units but the Zeus performs just as well at lower loads than it does at higher loads and that is something which still amazes us. Many high wattage power supplies struggle to maintain efficiency at lower loads but the Zeus bucks that trend by putting up some very respectable numbers in all of the efficiency tests we put it through. Voltage regulation was also top-notch without nary a whimper on the +5 and +3.3V rails while the +12V rail stayed quite solid throughout the tests. Then there is the matter of the stunning ripple suppression which still leaves our jaws slack.

Performance aside, there are so many other things to like about the Zeus 1200W. Even though it is the longest power supply we have seen, its fully modular interface partially offsets this increased length. Not only are the modular connectors convenient (not to mention they are straight out of a cable routing fanatic’s wet dream) but the cables themselves are all extremely long. With more and more cases now offering bottom-mounted power supply layouts, longer than normal CPU connectors are becoming essential and this Silverstone power supply offers just that. The 3-year warranty is also nothing to sneeze at and since it is backed up by Silverstone’s always-helpful customer and RMA service, you can have some piece of mind when buying this product.

Now we have come to the part of this conclusion where we can discuss the issues we had with this power supply and to be honest, there isn’t much not to like. The one thing that pops to the front of our minds is the lack of sleeving on the wires leading to the second PCI-E connector on two of the PCI-E cables. On a power supply of this caliber there is absolutely no reason for all the cables to not be fully sleeved. The only other caveat we had with this unit was the fact that the multi / combined rail switch was impossible to get to but this is supposed to be rectified with the actual retail units.

So, with ripple suppression to make most other power supplies jealous, extremely long cables, great voltage regulation and good efficiency can the Zeus 1200W truly be called a flagship power supply? Damn right it can!


Pros:

- Amazing performance in all categories
- Fully modular interface
- Long cables
- 6 PCI-E connectors
- Sleek design


Cons:

- Some PCI-E wires not sleeved
- Can get a bit noisy when pushed to the limit



240463923aca1f6b.jpg

Thanks to Silverstone for providing us with this power supply

 
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