Page 2 - Physical Look - Outside
As its name suggests, the SilverStone Strider Essential Gold ST70F-ESG 700W is your quintessential back-to-basics power supply -- at least in looks, anyway. Its classical SECC construction comes finished off with the customary black matte paint. SilverStone's logo is nowhere to be found, other than on the big power supply specification label on the right, which we will take a closer look at in just a moment. On the left is a series of stickers that contains the unit's part number, serial number, EAN code, and UPC code, plus one that says "V1.0"'. Residing behind the eight ring fan grille -- designed for minimal air resistance while providing adequate protection -- is the primary and only cooling fan installed. The 120mm fan generates airflow by drawing air from the bottom of the power supply over its internal components to keep the temperatures in check. Exhaust heat is allowed to leave at the back of the power supply through the large secondary honeycomb mesh opening.
Measuring in at 14.0cm in length, the SilverStone Strider Essential Gold ST70F-ESG 700W is one of the shortest power supplies we have reviewed here in APH Networks. The last one I have reviewed at the specification was the FSP AURUM Gold 600W back in 2011. Like the AURUM Gold, the Strider Essential Gold is non-modular. Coincidence? Well, we will talk about that on the next page. Most modular power supplies are longer than non-modular units by a centimeter or two, as the extra length is needed to accommodate its connector board at the back. We will take a look inside the PSU on the next page. For most ATX or eATX chassis, length should not be much of a problem, if at all. However, if you have a mATX case that takes standard power supplies, the shorter length will definitely serve as an advantage -- although buying a power supply with modular cables probably has more benefits. Meanwhile, four screws -- two on each side of the ST70F-ESG -- secures the power supply case together; where one screw has a warranty seal over it, so you can't open the power supply without voiding the warranty. One thing to note, the warranty for this power supply is only one year, which is rather short. I trust SilverStone's quality, but most manufacturers have at least three years as their standard.
Starting from the back part of the power supply, we have the same familiar honeycomb mesh design like most PSUs with bottom mounted fans; and the standard on/off switch located on the right side of the male connector for power input on the western edge. The low resistance honeycomb mesh design is implemented to maximize airflow and minimize air resistance. This is done as heat needs to leave the power supply as easily and efficiently as possible, because the SilverStone Strider Essential Gold ST70F-ESG 700W incorporates only one 120mm fan at the bottom, with no auxiliary fans. It is also implemented in an efficient manner, as these components take up minimal amounts of room at the back. As with most new power supplies, the SilverStone Strider Essential Gold has an automatic full range (100V-240V) AC line voltage selection, so the user does not have to worry about manually selecting input voltage.
The SilverStone Strider Essential Gold is a non-modular power supply. Its cable lead out location is situated at the right side; as described from the perspective of our photo above. The advantage of permanently fixed cables is lower electrical power loss at the connectors, but it comes at a price of more challenging cable management for the end user. The external build quality of SilverStone's Strider Essential Gold ST70F-ESG 700W power supply is commendable; nothing bad, but nothing distinctive, either. We will take it apart in just a moment. Fit is done well with minimal panel gaps, and all edges are nicely finished off. The level of refinement with regards to the external build quality is comparable with all the other high quality PSUs I have used in the past -- the difference is its physical design is not special at all. As aforementioned, we will crack open the power supply to see what's inside in the following section.
The voltage specification label on the right panel of the SilverStone Strider Essential Gold ST70F-ESG 700W. There are three main virtual rails. Up to 24A can be delivered via the +3.3V rail for a total of 79.2W; while the same 24A on the +5V rail brings the output to 120W in this area. The total combined output for the +3.3V and +5V rail is 160W. 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 56A (672W) to reduce operating overhead compared to multiple +12V rails. Overall, the combined power output for the whole ST70F-ESG is... well, 700W haha. Again, your power distribution in your system must fall within the limits provided -- it must not exceed 79.2W on the +3.3V rail, 120W on the +5V rail and 160W combined for both, 672W on the +12V rail, and 700W combined between the +12V and +3.3/+5V rails. It does sound a bit confusing to understand how this works at first, but generally speaking, this configuration allows fairly flexible power demands and should be sufficient to accommodate most users. The overall distribution is quite reasonable for a 700W power supply.
The SilverStone Strider Essential Gold ST70F-ESG 700W is 80 Plus Gold certified, which means that it is certified to be at least 87%, 90%, 87% efficient at 20%, 50%, and 100% load, respectively. Higher certifications available for power supplies on this type include 80 Plus Platinum and 80 Plus Titanium at press time.
All of its permanently fixed cables are fully sleeved, as one would expect from a power supply of this caliber. Despite varying thicknesses, they are all easy to bend, making them extremely easy to work with. Surprisingly, all wires are 18 AWG, including high current PCI Express and ATX/EPS connectors. Usually, manufacturers will fatten them up to 16 AWG, but SilverStone opted out on that.
The following cables and connectors are available for use:
- 1x ATX 20+4 pin, 50.0cm
- 2x ATX/EPS 4+4 pin, 60.0cm
- 2x PCIe 6+2 pin, 2 connectors each, 50.0cm to first connector, 15.0cm spacing thereafter
- 1x SATA, 4 connectors, 55.0cm to first connector, 15.5cm spacing thereafter
- 1x SATA, 4 connectors, 55.0cm to first connector, 5.0cm spacing thereafter
- 1x SATA (x1) / Molex (x3) / Floppy (x1), 5 connectors, 55.0cm to first connector, 15.5cm spacing thereafter, Floppy at the end of dongle
These are just specified measurements from the manufacturer. Most users should have no problems with SilverStone's Strider Essential Gold ST70F-ESG 700W, even if your case has a bottom power supply mount. 50cm is the general standard, and this power supply met or exceeded this recommendation in all counts.
Page Index
1. Introduction, Packaging, Specifications
2. Physical Look - Outside
3. Physical Look - Inside
4. Minor Tests and Conclusion
