If you have read any power supply review before, then you most surely know the cliché that I’m about to use. “The PSU is the most commonly overlooked part in a computer.” You’ve all heard it, and those who have used a cheap PSU know it.

Power supplies generally come in three categories; “Power hungry”, “Silent”, and “In between.” The ‘power hungry’ category generally contains outrageous watt ratings, now ranging into 650W and up. Silent PSU range is normally about 300 to 400 watts, but the major factor is very low noise. The ‘in between’ category is just that, with power supplies all over the watt rating board and noise levels doing the same. These “in between” models are generally the ‘cheap’ power supplies. Not that all are bad, but they have no distinct selling points to drive up the price.

Just because you want a silent computer doesn’t mean you have to deal with a very weak power supply. Today we have a 400 Watt version from Zalman that is a perfect example of a “silent” but adequate power supply. The PSU is the Zalman ZM400B-APS and while I’m not the biggest “silence” freak, I do have the perfect machine for it.