Zalman ZM1250 Platinum 1250W 80 PLUS Platinum Power Supply Review

Introduction

Most enthusiasts will associate Zalman with quiet computing due to their quality fans and heatsinks, but they have much more to offer beyond that. In fact, there will be many who read today's article that aren't even aware Zalman is a competitor in the power supply market. Almost two years ago, we took a look at one of their units and it has been long overdue that we take a look at another.

Zalman isn't like many other companies that turn out product after product and rotate their lineup on a rapid timeline. Their units are built with quality from the start and are meant to last, which is why we haven't seen much from them in the way of power supplies since we took a look at the ZM1000-HP Plus.

The unit we are looking at today is the ZM1250 Platinum. As the name suggests, it is a 1250W power supply rated for 80 PLUS Platinum efficiency. It promises quite a bit all the way around, so let's start digging into it to find out just what all it has to offer and how well it performs.

Specifications, Availability and Pricing

Taking a look at the I/O specifications reveals that the ZM1250 Platinum is a dual rail power supply. The first 12V rail is rated for 45A while the second is rated for 65A. These two have a combined maximum output of 1250W. The 3.3V and 5V rails are rated for 25A each with a combined maximum output of 150W. The power supply's 5VSB rail is rated for 4A or 20W. Maximum combined output for the unit is 1250W.

Just as we would hope out of such a high-end unit, Zalman makes sure the ZM1250 Platinum is packed full of features. All protections are present, including Over Temperature Protection. All natively wired cables on the power supply are fully sleeved in nylon mesh while all modular cables are of the flat ribbon type. The ZM1250 Platinum is rated for 80 PLUS Platinum efficiency as well as 100% continuous output at 50C.

Zalman has an MSRP of $299.99 for the ZM1250 Platinum. Usually we can find somewhere online selling the power supply cheaper, but that wasn't the case with the ZM1250. We actually couldn't find it for sale anywhere though we suspect that this is due to some listing errors on multiple websites since we were able to find several other units of theirs available and it has been on the market for many months. Zalman backs the ZM1250 Platinum with an industry standard five year warranty.