The FSP350-60PN isn't exactly a heavy duty PSU, but 350w of power is usually enough to power a basic PC. This particular PSU is also Pentium 4 compatible and it has the extra 4-pin power connector. AMD boards are also starting to take advantage of this extra power plug as well, so even if you are an AMD only person, you are safe purchasing this PSU. Speaking of AMD, there are special power requirements for Athlon processors, and this PSU adheres to AMD specs as well.

Testing

     Testing will be conducted on an EPoX 8RDA+ nForce2 motherboard and an AMD Athlon XP 2700+ CPU combo. The memory is 512mb of Corsair XMS3200. The system also features a 60gb IBM hard drive and a 24x Plextor CD burner.

     Testing power supplies has got to be my least favorite computer component to test. You can't overclock it, you can't really mod it and you can't benchmark it. It just isn't exciting as it just sits there and supplies your system with power. So with such a basic component, it really comes down to a few basic tests.

     The first thing I want to look at is the 5v power rail and we can monitor it from the system's bios. The 5v power rail is AMD's biggest concern for the Athlon CPU. If the PSU does not supply a constant 5v, the system will not function properly. I'm happy to report that this PSU holds strong at 4.97v. It's not exactly 5v, but it holds the same as our high end PSUs like the Vantec Stealth.

     Another thing I like to check for is power drains at 100% CPU usage. A cheap power supply will actually bog down when the CPU is at 100% causing power fluctuations that can even be heard in the system fans. Again, the Fortron/Source PSU held strong while being monitored with MBM.

     One of my big concerns was noise when using a 120mm cooling fan. Normally, 120mm fans are quite loud, however, the cooling fan Fortron/Source choose is pretty much silent. Even though the fan is extremely quiet, there is still a lot of air being moved and you can feel the air being pumped through the back of power supply. This PSU will also help keep your system cooler, which is always a big plus in my book.

Conclusion

     The Fortron/Source FSP350-60PN isn't as pretty as those expensive anodized PSUs, and it is not the strongest PSU money can buy, but it does the trick and delivers solid performance. This PSU has exceptional cooling and provides strong and constant power to our nForce2 motherboard. The FSP350-60PN is also a fraction of the price compared to other aftermarket power supplies, which makes it a bargain for system builders or those in need of an inexpensive PSU replacement.

Pros:

• AMD & Intel approved

• Solid performance

• Great cooling

• Low price

Cons:

• No fan speed options

• 350w max power

• Grey color only