Page 2 - Physical Look - Outside
As a new product, the exterior design of the SilverStone Essential Gold ET750-HG 750W does not surprise me at all. It looks like my favorite food, which is tofu. I really do not think there is any point to use different shapes other than a cuboid for power supply unit design. Therefore, the challenge of designing a good looking power supply unit is really about how to place things like the power plug, switch, grille, ventilation holes, output sockets, and even stickers. When it comes to measurements, this product is 15.0cm in width, 16.0cm in depth, and 8.6cm in height. It is not a small power supply unit for sure. The size is what a 750W PSU should be like. For ATX form factor PSU, I normally do not care about the size as long as it can be put in a mainstream ATX case.
The above photo shows three sides of the SilverStone Essential Gold ET750-HG 750W; namely the bottom, back, and left sides. On the bottom, there is an integrated grille above the cooling fan. Integrated grilles are a staple of budget power supplies to save on manufacturing cost. The details of the cooling fan will be investigated later. The right side of the power supply unit is not shown in the photo, but that does not mean there is nothing worth showing. In fact, a sticker can be found on the right side to show the power output specifications.
Now, let us move on to the front of the power supply unit. In the photo, we can see the power input and switch. The power input plug is standard, therefore the user can just reuse a power cord from other equipment if necessary. The rest of the front side panel features a grille for cooling. Cool air can be pumped into the power supply unit from the grille and fan at the bottom. After cooling down the internal components, hot air can then be discharged through the front grille. To install the power supply unit in a computer case, there are four screw holes at the front of the PSU.
The SilverStone Essential Gold ET750-HG 750W is a semi-modular power supply unit. The good thing is the minimum set of cables that need to be used are already connected and thus the users do not need to connect those cables, and this is done to save on cost as well. It is worth noting the ATX 20+4 pin connector needs to be used in almost all desktop computers. However, the downside is users cannot change those cables that are permanently connected to the PSU. Therefore, if you plan to use some fancy cables, then this PSU is not a good choice. Overall, I think it is a good thing to have a fully modular power supply unit, since cable kits can be swapped and unnecessary cables can be left unused without cluttering your build.
The back of the power supply unit is the connection panel for all the modular cables. The sockets are easy to use thanks to the labels on the panel; it is the standard two-row pattern. On the right hand side of the panel in the above photo, there are two PCI Express connectors, and they are made out of blue plastic. All the other four sockets are for Molex and SATA connectors. Thanks to the semi-modular design of the PSU, the ATX 4+4 pin is already permanently connected, thus the PCI Express output will not be mistakenly used as CPU power output sockets; they look similar in terms of pin layout.
The SilverStone Essential Gold ET750-HG 750W features pretty good build quality. The surface of the power supply unit is pleasant to touch, but it is not likely to leave any fingerprints on it. The gaps between panel connections are small and even. Most importantly, there are no sharp edges around the product. The external build quality boosts my confidence and hopefully this product will also have good internal build quality too.
The voltage specification label for the SilverStone Essential Gold ET750-HG 750W can be found on the right panel. There are two main virtual rails. Up to 22A can be delivered via the +3.3V rail for a total of 72W. The +5V rail can also deliver 22A, which is 110W. The total combined output for the +3.3V and +5V rail is 120W. In other words, your power allocation combination must fall within the limits of the listed specifications. Meanwhile, a single powerful +12V rail delivers up to 62A (744W) to reduce operating overhead compared to multiple +12V rails. Overall, the combined power output for the whole ET750-HG 750W is 750W. Again, your power distribution in your system must fall within the limits provided -- it must not exceed 72W on the +3.3V rail, 110W on the +5V rail and 120W combined for both, 744W on the +12V rail, and 750W combined between all the positive rails.Generally speaking, the power distribution of this product is fairly reasonable for a 750W power supply unit.
The SilverStone Essential Gold ET750-HG 750W is 80 Plus Gold certified, which means it is certified to be at least 87%, 90%, 87% efficient at 20%, 50%, and 100% load, respectively. There are higher certifications at press time, which are 80 Plus Platinum and Titanium, though I personally think the 80 Plus Gold is good enough for budget users.
Out of box, we have six modular cables and one AC power cable for the SilverStone Essential Gold ET750-HG 750W. Please note the ATX 20+4 pin cable and the ATX/EPS 4+4 pin cable are permanently connected to the PSU, as this product is a semi-modular PSU. Both the modular and non-modular cables are generally easy to bend. The flat cables are flexible enough to allow easy cable management in a desktop computer. As for currents handling, these wires range from 18 to 22AWG, which are thin but should be high enough for most computer applications.
The following cables are permanently attached to the PSU:
- 1x ATX 20+4 pin, 50.0cm
- 1x ATX/EPS 4+4 pin, 75.0cm
The following modular cables are included out of the box:
- 2x PCIe 6+2 pin, 2 connectors each, 50.0cm to first connector, 15.0cm spacing thereafter
- 3x SATA, 3 connectors each, 50.0cm to first connector, 15.0cm spacing thereafter
- 1x Molex, 3 connectors, 50.0cm to first connector, 15.0cm spacing thereafter
These measurements are pulled from the manufacturer's website. As you can see, those are the cables long enough for normal ATX cases. Most users should have no problems with installing SilverStone Essential Gold ET750-HG 750W, even if your case has a bottom power supply mount. 50cm is the general standard, and this PSU has exceeded it on all counts. In terms of color, all cables are black.
Page Index
1. Introduction, Packaging, Specifications
2. Physical Look - Outside
3. Physical Look - Inside
4. Minor Tests and Conclusion
