Today's Hard|Forum Post
Today's Hard|Forum Post
Date:
Wednesday, January 08, 2014
Author:
Paul Johnson
Editor:
Kyle Bennett
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SilverStone Strider Gold S ST75F-GS Power Supply Review

SilverStone is back today with its 750 watt computer power supply that is part of its S series. It is billed as the smallest 750w PSU that is fully modular. So this PSU should appeal to those looking to custom builds that could either have size or cable customization in mind. Does SilverStone keep with its longstanding quality traditions?

Introduction

SilverStoneTek is a company best known for its high quality cases but its product lines extend into other components such as cooling, power, fans, storage, and so on. As a company, Silverstone has built up this impressive product repertoire in a very short time having been founded in 2003. Today, however we are interested in their power supplies which are comprised of the Strider, SFX, Nightjar, Gemini, and Zeus model lines that range from 300W to 1350W DC output. For this review, we are looking at the new Strider Gold S series in the form of the 750W model (ST75F-GS). This power supply is produced in conjunction with Enhance.

Enhance Electronics Co. Ltd. was founded over 20 years ago in 1986. While a major power supply OEM Enhance is not nearly as well known to most users as some other OEMs as its core business focus has been outside of the desktop market in areas such as servers, embedded, and telecom markets. However, its products have started to surface in the US consumer realm in the last year or so under the likes of SilverStone, Silverpower, Antec, Cooler Master, and now Thermaltake as well as the occasional Enhance branded model.

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Shortening Up the Stride

Over the years, we have seen a number of SilverStone power supplies come through our testing and finish with good results. Today though, we are looking at the first product we have seen from SilverStone’s new Strider Gold S series of power supplies which is part of their "Affordable & high performance PSUs". Given that pricing has been the big stumbling block for SilverStone over the years, this is, perhaps, just what the doctor ordered (particularly in light of the virtual deluge of other 750W 80 Plus gold rated power supplies we have seen of late). Given that this field is getting really crowded, what does SilverStone have to say about this unit and what is going to set it apart from the rest of the pack:

To meet the requirements of current and future desktop computers, SilverStone created the Strider Gold S series power supplies. The Strider Gold S models are all new designs engineered to be the smallest, full-modular ATX power supplies at any wattage levels.

The Strider Gold S series includes wattage range from 550W to 1500W for a great variety of applications. With short depth designs, all models in the series are among the world’s smallest full-modular ATX PSUs. In addition to 80 PLUS Gold level efficiency, the Strider Gold S PSUs are built to meet very high standards in electrical performance with ±3% voltage regulation, ±3% ripple & noise, and high amperage single +12V rail. Other notable features included are 24/7 40℃ continuous output capability, low-noise fan, and multiple sets of PCI-E cables. For users looking for a power supply with faultless combination of compact size, performance, efficiency, and quality, the Strider Gold S Series is the only choice.

It seems that SilverStone is trying to carve itself out a little niche in the very crowded "entryish level" 750W 80 Plus gold range of power supplies by going after applications where power supply depth can be an issue. Certainly, a small fully modular ATX power supply will be of interest to a lot of modders out there; so let’s move on and see what we can expect when a user purchases the SilverStoneST75F-GS in retail in terms of documentation, accessories, cable count, rail layout, output characteristics, and general build quality.