Page 2 - Physical Look - Outside
As a new product, the exterior design of the SilverStone Strider Platinum ST1000-PTS 1000W does not surprise me at all. It is classic SilverStone; understated and simple. 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 14.0cm in depth, 15.0cm in width, and 8.6cm in height. This is ridiculously small considering the power output. Appropriately, SilverStone advertised it as the "world's smallest kilowatt-level ATX power supply". It is a nice thing to have small ATX power supplies, since it is possible to use them in computers with small cases or even external GPU enclosures. The above photo shows three sides of the SilverStone Strider Platinum ST1000-PTS 1000W; namely the bottom, back, and left sides. On the bottom, there is a grille above the cooling fan. The details of the cooling fan will be investigated later. SilverStone also provides a removable dust filter with magnets for this product. It is a really useful feature if your computer case does not come with dust filter at the PSU air intake. However, I would suggest SilverStone to use some stronger magnets since I feel the filter is a little bit too lose when it is attached to the PSU.
Now, let us move on to the exposed side 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. Do make sure the power cord is of appropriate thickness though -- SilverStone recommends one that is at least 16 AWG, and the one included from the box is 14 AWG. 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 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 as expected.
The SilverStone Strider Platinum ST1000-PTS 1000W is a fully modular power supply unit. The good thing is only the cables that need to be used will be connected and thus the computer case will have a cleaner internal look. However, the downside is users have to connect all the cables themselves. It is worth noting the ATX 24-pin connector needs to be used in almost all desktop computers. Overall, I think it is a good thing to have a fully modular power supply unit, since cable kits can be swapped.
At the back of the power supply unit is the connection panel. The sockets are easy to use thanks to the labels on the panel with two rows of connectors. On the right hand side of the panel in the above photo, there are four peripheral power outputs. All the four sockets are grouped together. To the left of the peripherals section, there is an ATX 24-pin socket for the motherboard power supply. Right below the ATX 24-pin socket, there are two 8-pin CPU output sockets for the ATX 4+4 connections. The four sockets in blue are for PCI Express connectors. Thanks to the good design of the sockets, it is not possible to plug cables into the wrong connectors. For example, the user cannot plug the ATX 4+4 pin to the PCI Express output, even though they look similar in terms of pin layout.
The SilverStone Strider Platinum ST1000-PTS 1000W features pretty good external 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 gives me good vibes, and hopefully this product will also have good internal build quality.
The voltage specification label for the SilverStone Strider Platinum ST1000-PTS 1000W can be found on the top panel. Despite the fact that this product features a single rail design, there are two main virtual rails. Up to 25A can be delivered via the +3.3V rail for a total of 83W. 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 83A (996W) to reduce operating overhead compared to multiple +12V rails. Overall, the combined power output for the whole Strider Platinum ST1000-PTS is 1000W. Again, your power distribution in your system must fall within the limits provided -- it must not exceed 83W on the +3.3V rail, 110W on the +5V rail and 120W combined for both, 996W on the +12V rail, and 1000W combined between all the positive rails. Generally speaking, the power distribution of this product is fairly reasonable for a 1000W power supply unit.
The SilverStone Strider Platinum ST1000-PTS 1000W is 80 Plus Platinum certified, which means it is certified to be at least 90%, 92%, 89% efficient at 20%, 50%, and 100% load, respectively. There is only one higher certification at press time, which is 80 Plus Titanium, but Platinum is plenty efficient for most users.
Out of box, we have eleven modular cables and one power cable coming with the SilverStone Strider Platinum ST1000-PTS 1000W. The modular cables are really easy to bend. The flat cables are flexible enough to allow easy cable management in a desktop computer. As for current handling, wires designed for carrying high current such the ones in ATX 24-pin and PCI Express cables are fattened up to 16AWG. Everything else is 18AWG, which is to be expected.
The following modular cables are included out of the box:
- 1x ATX 20+4 pin, 60.0cm
- 1x ATX/EPS 4+4 pin, 70.0cm
- 1x ATX/EPS 4+4 pin, 55.0cm
- 4x PCIe 6+2 pin, 2 connectors each, 55.0cm to first connector, 15.0cm spacing thereafter
- 2x SATA, 4 connectors each, 60.0cm to first connector, 15.0cm spacing thereafter
- 2x Floppy/Molex, 1 floppy and 3 Molex each, 60.0cm to first connector, 15.0cm spacing thereafter
These are measurements I get from SilverStone's website. Most users should have no problems with installing the ST1000-PTS 1000W, even if your case has a bottom power supply mount. 60cm is longer than the 50cm general standard, and this PSU has exceeded it on all counts. In terms of color, all the cables are black.
Page Index
1. Introduction, Packaging, Specifications
2. Physical Look - Outside
3. Physical Look - Inside
4. Minor Tests and Conclusion
