300W to 450W: 20 Power Supplies on the Test Bench
by Christoph Katzer on December 31, 2008 6:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Cases/Cooling/PSUs
Silverstone Element ST40EF 400W
The Silverstone Element has been on the market for several years already, and apparently it has been upgraded a few times as the good performance will show on the next page. The package Silverstone put together with the Element is very nice for people who just want the best without compromises. This kind of power supply can only be offered for a certain price, which is the other side of the coin. The Element comes in black like all actively cooled Silverstone power supplies. The rear is nicely perforated for maximum airflow. The front shows several additional longer holes that trapped air exhausts through; that means this warm air will flow back into the chassis but fortunately the exhausted air wasn't very hot while testing.
The Silverstone Element is packed, which we see after opening the housing. There are lots of components and three large heatsinks with fins reaching far over the given space. This power supply is actually heavier than the others, which is due to extra components and larger heatsink volume. We like what Enhance does in its primary sides with the large coil and the little extra care for the rectifier bridge, which usually gets its own heatsink. Teapo makes the primary cap -- an okay choice but there are better options. Teapo also makes the caps in the secondary side and Adda makes the fan.
Silverstone delivers the most extreme cable harnesses with a maximum length of up to 100cm (40"). There are two cable harnesses with a total of six Molex and six SATA connectors. The ATX and PEG connectors have a decent length of 50cm and 55cm.
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7Enigma - Wednesday, December 31, 2008 - link
That is a heck of a lot of work for this article and we appreciate it immensely! Between this article and the upcoming mid-range builders guide (I'm begging...please get it out asap) you have reaffirmed for me this is the #1 site.Thanks again.
TheDoc9 - Wednesday, December 31, 2008 - link
The breakdown of the cable connectors and the build quality descriptions were helpful. The power noise charts look useful as well.mino - Monday, January 12, 2009 - link
Copy that, one of the best PSU roundups around.magreen - Wednesday, December 31, 2008 - link
We definitely appreciate the roundup. It addresses our needs as consumers. I wish you'd add more info about the Antec Earthwatts 430 though... it's one of the most popular PSUs on the forums here and always shows up for cheap in the hot deals section, often bundled with an Antec case. Wish you'd give us more details on its efficiency, ripple, and your overall take. I don't think you actually said anything about its performance at all. Thanks!OddJensen - Monday, January 5, 2009 - link
Isn't there a Delta made version of the 430 as well?Christoph Katzer - Monday, January 5, 2009 - link
Yes which we didn't have.Christoph Katzer - Wednesday, December 31, 2008 - link
http://www.anandtech.com/casecoolingpsus/showdoc.a...">http://www.anandtech.com/casecoolingpsus/showdoc.a...Here's the original review from a year ago. Even though I didn't mention it in the conclusion I think you have a great comparison with the respective graphics towards the end. :)
donjuancarlos - Wednesday, December 31, 2008 - link
Thanks for this article. I am one of those who does modest OCing and no SLI, and this article was pertinent for me.eetnoyer - Wednesday, December 31, 2008 - link
No temperatures at load? I would think that temps at 100% load for each unit shouldn't be too much. Just as a worst-case thing.