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.
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
27 Comments
View All Comments
dreamcat4 - Saturday, April 9, 2016 - link
Hmm. and apparently "there is a silverstone expo tomorrow". Not sure what that means since was expecting shipping / stock movement instead. But can read more about it all over here --> https://hardforum.com/threads/silverstone-sx700-lp...Sn3akr - Monday, April 11, 2016 - link
For a HTPC with discrete GFX, this seems like a good idea.. We cut the cable a few years ago and went full streaming, and for our system, that also doubles as our "console" for family entertainment, i'd be intereested in something like this, since our system runs a lot of hours daily..nagi603 - Monday, April 11, 2016 - link
My first thought was "Does a 550W platinum PSU even need a fan?", as I'm a happy owner of a couple Seasonic X400's that can go up to 600W load, fanless. Then I noticed the price.Note to self: not all platinum modular PSUs are made equal.
tonyou - Monday, April 11, 2016 - link
According to the testing done here, this PSU at room temperature stayed fanless until around 400W so it probably doesn't need a fan most of the time in a cool running rig. That Seasonic X400 may have the hardware to run up to 600W fanless for a while but it probably doesn't meet Platinum efficiency at that power level.AbRASiON - Monday, April 11, 2016 - link
Can someone explain to me the difference with silver / gold / platinum PSUs?Is it simply more energy efficient? Or is it capable of actually outputting more juice or more consistent juice?
Why not just buy a 700w platinum? If the load requirement is only 300w of components, would a 700w platinum use more power than a 550w platinum?
Namisecond - Monday, April 11, 2016 - link
All power supplies have an efficiency curve with the highest efficiency around half to 3/4 full load. The better PSU manufacturers show you that curve on a graphic. The lowest efficiency will be under 20% load with the efficiency falling further the lower the load (and at the other end of the curve, falling a bit past 75% load).Under a 300W load, that 700W platinum PSU would probably use a little more power than that 550W. However, Under a 50 -100W load your gaming rig (idling while you surf the net) there may be a bigger difference in efficiency percentages.
cara smith - Friday, May 6, 2016 - link
I like the way you characterised the features of this product. I hope next month I am going to buy this awesome product. I am taking consideration of it very passionately. By the way Thanks for the review.