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Hiper might not be the most well know name in PSUs, but over the last couple of years it has established itself in the UK market as a budget brand. The HPU-3S350 is one of its most basic models and is the cheapest PSU on test here at a mere £21.74.

It has to be said though that the alarm bells started ringing as soon as we saw the price, and they carried on ringing after testing. Hiper is marketing the HPU-3S350 as a 350W PSU, but this is the peak load, so it will not be able to deliver this over any period of time. Looking at the label this is really a 300W PSU and it should be sold as such.

There is no shortage of cables at least, with six Molex, and two floppy connectors, two SATA and a 20-pin ATX power connector, and finally a 12V and an AUX connector. Only the ATX power cable is braided, although the braiding was not fastened properly in the PSU end on our review sample and came loose during testing.

But much more worrying was the noise produced by the HPU-3S350. For once it wasn’t the fan noise that was the issue, but rather the passive PFC causing problems. Even at a mere 25 per cent load a humming noise could be heard, while at 100 per cent the PSU was literally vibrating around the table. At the time it was quite comical but it didn’t inspire confidence. Imagine this resonating inside your PC causing further noise and possible damage to your PCs components.

Add to this the fact that the HPU-3S350 never managed to stay over 70 per cent efficiency at 100 per cent load and barely scraped by at 75 per cent and we have no choice but to state that the Hiper HPU-3S350 is a terrible power supply. The 3.3V rail didn’t produce enough power to meet the current ATX spec, which could possibly cause damage to components in your PC. The 12V rail was also very close to going above spec at 75 per cent load and generally the voltages where all over the place. Even at £21.74, this is one to steer clear of.

Manufacturer	Hiper
Model	HPU-3S350
URL	http://www.hipergroup.com
Supplier	Scan
URL	http://www.scan.co.uk
Price	£21.74
Molex connectors	6
Floppy connectors	2
SATA connectors	2
20-pin ATX / 24-pin EPS	Y/N
12V connector	Y
AUX connector	Y
Six pin PCI Express connector	N
Deditacted Molex for graphics	N
Fan speed header	N
Other connectors	N
Fans and size	1x 80mm
Extras included	N/A
Max power output (manufacturers rating)
3.3V	28A
5V	28A
12V	20A
Total power	300W

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