The SilverStone Strider Platinum 550W PSU Review
by E. Fylladitakis on April 8, 2016 8:00 AM EST- Posted in
- PSUs
- Cases/Cooling/PSUs
- 550W
- SilverStone
- 80Plus Platinum
Hot Test Results
Looking at a detailed breakdown of performance under higher temperatures, the SilverStone Strider Platinum delivers mediocre electrical performance under stress for a PSU of its class. Our instrumentation recorded a maximum ripple of 60 mV on the 12V line, which is half of the 120 mV design limit, yet not really good for a premium PSU. Similarly, the voltage ripple on the 3.3V and 5V lines is 20mV and 26mV respectively. The voltage regulation leaves much to be desired as well, since we recorded excellent regulation of just 1.8% for the 12V line, but higher than 3.2% for the 3.3V/5V lines. These figures are uninspiring for a premium PSU design and surpass even the advertised 3% regulation.
| Main Output | ||||||||
| Load (Watts) | 111.94 W | 278.08 W | 413.92 W | 548.1 W | ||||
| Load (Percent) | 20.35% | 50.56% | 75.26% | 99.65% | ||||
| Amperes | Volts | Amperes | Volts | Amperes | Volts | Amperes | Volts | |
| 3.3 V | 1.74 | 3.43 | 4.34 | 3.4 | 6.51 | 3.36 | 8.68 | 3.31 |
| 5 V | 1.74 | 5.16 | 4.34 | 5.09 | 6.51 | 5.07 | 8.68 | 5 |
| 12 V | 7.97 | 12.17 | 19.92 | 12.11 | 29.87 | 12.02 | 39.83 | 11.95 |
| Line | Regulation (20% to 100% load) |
Voltage Ripple (mV) | |||||
| 20% Load | 50% Load | 75% Load | 100% Load | CL1 12V |
CL2 3.3V + 5V |
||
| 3.3V | 3.5% | 10 | 16 | 18 | 20 | 12 | 22 |
| 5V | 3.2% | 12 | 18 | 20 | 26 | 14 | 26 |
| 12V | 1.8% | 26 | 30 | 46 | 60 | 68 | 36 |
Even though this PSU is rated at 40 °C, we had no problem reaching it with a significantly higher ambient temperature. The impact on the conversion efficiency was minimal, with average nominal load (20-100%) efficiency dropping by only 1%, with a balanced drop across the entire load range and only slightly greater at maximum load, indicating that the components are not being overly stressed. The maximum efficiency now is 93% at 50% load, dropping down to a minimum of 89% at maximum load.
The semi fanless design of the Strider Platinum did not like the high ambient temperature inside our hotbox at all, forcing the fan to start nearly instantly after the PSU has been powered on. In order to combat the high ambient temperatures and, consequently, the high internal temperatures of the unit, the fan’s speed increases significantly alongside with the load, reaching nearly its maximum speed at 100% capacity. With a load greater than 200 Watts under such adverse conditions, the Strider Platinum would be clearly audible by the system’s user if a room reached these conditions. Nevertheless, the internal temperatures of the PSU do not get overly high, with the heatsinks staying below 90 °C under maximum load.
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tarqsharq - Friday, April 8, 2016 - link
First sentence of the Final Words section broke.revanchrist - Friday, April 8, 2016 - link
SilverStone ST60F-TI is even more mind blowing. 600W Titanium and very compact in size. Also fully modular.JoeyJoJo123 - Friday, April 8, 2016 - link
Titanium rated power supplies would be a lot more appealing if you lived in a region that used 230V for the main electric line. North America uses 115V and any Titanium rated PSU would function (at best) at Platinum level efficiency there.Daniel Egger - Friday, April 8, 2016 - link
Not sure where you got your information from but this seems to be incorrect according to a quick check with Wikipedia.JoeyJoJo123 - Friday, April 8, 2016 - link
http://www.techpowerup.com/forums/threads/super-fl..."80 Plus Titanium is where it's at. Applicable only in regions with 220~230VAC domestic power, 80 Plus Titanium requires a PSU to offer at least 94 percent efficiency at 20 percent load, at least 96 percent efficiency at 50 percent load, and at least 91 percent efficiency at 100 percent load."
The way I read it is that 80+ Titanium efficiency only worked in households supporting 230V lines, however, if you're at 115V, you wouldn't get the full 80+ Titanium efficiency you'd probably be at around 80+ Platinum efficiency rating.
Also note that the efficiency requirements are different for regions with different main electric supplies. North America, Brazil, Japan, etc has lower requirements to hit the same efficiency benchmarks (Bronze, Silver, etc) than 230V countries.
Daniel Egger - Friday, April 8, 2016 - link
How about you check with some authoritative source? I get you don't trust Wikipedia, how about the official homepage? http://www.plugloadsolutions.com/80PlusPowerSuppli...The only case where 80 Plus Titanium isn't defined is 115V industrial, which doesn't apply here. For any other case it is defined and a lot stricter than Platinum.
nevcairiel - Friday, April 8, 2016 - link
Fact remains that PSUs are generally more efficient when running at 230V, and the 80 Plus specification reflects that by lowering the limits on 115V.The comment about Titanium JoeyJoJo123 quoted probably applied to one particular PSU which was 230V Titanium but didn't quite reach it for 115V, which may be a bit harder to hit?
Daniel Egger - Saturday, April 9, 2016 - link
> Fact remains that PSUs are generally more efficient when running at 230V, and the 80 Plus specification reflects that by lowering the limits on 115V.True but besides the point. If a product is rated for "80 Plus Titanium" compliance it actually needs to comply with the requirements in each category and in each category Titanium has stricter demands than the Platinum tier. In other words: If you take a Titanium unit and operate it at 230V it needs to match the Titanium requirements for 230V, if you take the same unit to NA and operate it at 110V it still needs to comply with the Titanium requirements but the ones for 110V (which are a bit less strict than the 230V ones but still stricter than the Platinum tier at the same voltage).
Daniel Egger - Friday, April 8, 2016 - link
This is one very sexy PSU indeed. Thanks for bringing it to my attention...dreamcat4 - Saturday, April 9, 2016 - link
Hey Anandtech! The Silverstone SX700-LPT 700W Platinum SFX-L is finally due to become avavailable and start shipping this month / very soon. After unspecified teething / production issues has delayed production. Therefore now would be a very good time to review it.