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INTERNAL LAYOUT
Like most other fanless power supplies, the interior of the power supply is
dominated by large heatsinks. In keeping with the open design, there is room
for air to circulate between the various components.
The vents on each end of the unit are aligned with each other and seem to be
designed to ensure that the airflow current is kept to the side of the power
supply. The open casing should also allow the air inside the power supply to
mix with the air in the larger case, preventing heat buildup inside the power
supply and keeping the ambient temperature close to that of the case interior.
Unless you look closely, all that can really be seen is heatsinks.
Vertical aluminum plates transfer heat to the finned heatsinks.
The heatsinks all have heavy fins that run lengthwise though the power supply.
The fins face downwards, and the spaces between them should help create a convection
current that directs heat to either end of the power supply, where the heat
will be evacuated from the power supply.
The fins form channels that direct airflow to either end of the unit.
Heat is guided to the end of the power supply where it can escape through
the exhaust vent.
CABLES AND CONNECTORS
There are a total of five cable sets and two splitters that increase the number
of IDE power headers. All cables are sleeved with the exception of the two splitters.
- 14" sleeved cable for main 20+4-pin ATX connector
- 15" auxiliary 12V connector
- 21" cable with two 4-pin IDE drive connectors
-
26" cable with two 4-pin IDE drive connectors and
one floppy drive power connector
- 21" cable with two SATA drive connectors
- 2 x 6" two way splitters for IDE drive connector
The cable lengths are pretty standard.
On the whole, the Zen has fewer and shorter cables than most
power supplies we've reviewed recently. This is not necessarily a bad thing: Most systems do not require
the large number of connectors included with most retail power supplies, and
unused cables can impede airflow if there is no space to hide them. There are
enough connectors to power any low to mid-range system, although the lack of
a PCI-e header and the modest capacity on the +12V line makes it a poor choice
for use with a high powered VGA card. The limited number of SATA connectors
may also pose a problem for those with a lot of SATA drives, although most drives
on the market (even SATA drives) can still be powered with the legacy IDE power
connectors.
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