Page 3 - Physical Look - Inside
After removing the four standard Phillips head screws, the innards of the SilverStone Strider Gold ST75F-G 750W are revealed. However, I must again warn users planning to crack open the power supply will inevitably void the warranty. There is a three year warranty on this power supply, and I suggest that if you were to open it up, it would be at least after the warranty is expired.
As far as size is concerned, the external dimensions allow the inside to be quite spacious up top. Most of the space across the bottom is taken up by the PCB and its components, which we will take a more specific look in just a short moment. Normally, tightly spaced components will make it hard to dissipate heat effectively due to heat congestion, but with large heatsinks and the included 135mm fan, it should be more than enough to remove the heat generated by the components inside. Since this is an 80 Plus Gold certified unit, higher efficiency also translates to lower heat production. As mentioned on the previous page, while its length does seem a bit higher for a 750W power supply, the 850W, 1000W, and 1200W variants all utilize the same housing. In essence, it is more cost effective to use the exact same housing for all three power supplies in the same line; the savings can then be passed to the consumer, or make more money for the manufacturer.
One things I would like to point out before moving further is the way the fan is connected to the mainboard -- it is actually similar to how the fan is powered in the previous generation SilverStone Strider Plus ST75F-P 750W. The stock fan obtains power via a 2-pin non-soldered connector; if you ever feel the need to replace the stock fan, it should not be much of a challenge. Of course, replacing the fan means the warranty will be voided, and 135mm fans aren't exactly easy to find.
The first input stage into any standard computer power supply unit, the AC transient filter stage, starts at the AC input. The AC input is found where the honeycomb mesh is located, and moves through the various X and Y capacitors. This model as with the previous generation model also uses only two X capacitors and two Y capacitors for the whole phase from what I can incur. In addition there are two ferrite coils as well. As a quick reference, the NZXT HALE90 750W has two ferrite coils, two metalized polyester X-capacitors, and four ceramic Y-capacitors.
One thing that really caught my attention were the giant heatsinks installed quite liberally inside the SilverStone Strider Gold ST75F-G 750W. Due to the fact that these heatsinks are quite long and also spread far apart, dissipating heat should be no big deal due to the large amount of surface area given and also the additional space inside the PSU to help remove heat. Similar to most other power supplies, the Strider Gold is actually blocked by the huge 'finger tip' heatsinks, so it was quite a challenge for me to examine the model of each individual components for this report. (Good thing not too much has changed since the last edition, haha) Also seen above is the thin, transparent plastic piece along the side to keep components from making erratic contact with the metal enclosure.
As aforementioned, one thing that is noticeably missing from the back of the SilverStone Strider Gold ST75F-G 750W is the power switch. Nonetheless, the rest of the usual components are here, including the male power connector, as well as the automatic full range (100V-240V) AC line voltage selector. Also shown are the X capacitors and Y capacitors apparently located in the green plastic enclosures. All the points do appear to have been soldered on neatly, and look to be a decently clean job.
Included beneath the large heatsink arrays are various copper ferrite coils, bridge rectifiers, X and Y capacitors, miscellaneous capacitors, and fan control thermistor. Unlike some lower end Thermaltake designs I have seen in the past, there are no random globs of plastic over components, or at the very least, they have been hidden well by the overshadowing heatsinks.
Two filter capacitors are used on this design, but direct view is blocked by the heatsinks, as I have mentioned earlier. The capacitors are located near the top left of the photo above. Both filter capacitors are rated at 85c, and made by Nippon Chemi-Con. As we have stated in report after report, these are known to be very good Japanese brand filter capacitors, and are very popular with many OEMs. While it is highly unlikely that the power supply will go above the 85c mark, some power supplies in a similar price range -- such as the Seasonic S12D and M12D -- use Nippon Chemi-Con capacitors that are rated at 105c for better durability and performance in the long run. The manufacturer defends that, although even SilverStone themselves offer units with more heat tolerant components, the ST75F-P actually provides better "overall electrical performance" compared to its predecessors. We'll take their word on that, because the Strider Plus ST75F-P 750W is an 80 Plus Silver certified PSU. The secondary capacitors appear to be made by Teapo, a Taiwanese company, and are also well known for their decent quality work in this area.
I was unable to examine the entire PCB in detail to find specific information that may point to its original equipment manufacturer. From my observations and research, it is most likely an Enhance OEM power supply unit. The large heatsinks are said to be a staple of Enhance, and SilverStone has also had a long record of using Enhance as their OEM for some of their Zeus series PSUs. Not to mention the SilverStone Strider Plus is near identical to this one as well. Enhance is also the only OEM I know of that does not includes a rear power switch in most of their power supplies.
ST Electronics STTH12R06D high voltage rectifier was used for the rectification process. As with modern high efficiency power supplies, all rectifiers produces the +12V out -- while the +5V and +3.3V outputs are generated from the +12V output using a DC to DC converter within the power supply unit. The STTH12R06D's rated continuous drain current is 30A, and a pulsed drain current of 12A. Drain source voltage is rated at 600V. At 115V, the bridge can provide up to 1380W. The Strider Plus had a Diodes Inc GBU1006 glass bridge rectifier. Meanwhile, the DC-to-DC converter as well as Active PFC circuit has array of ST Electronics STW20NM50 MOSFETs for each of the +3.3V and +5V outputs. The ME70N03S MOFSETs' maximum drain current is rated 20A at 25c and 12.6A at 100c, with an RDS(on) value of less than 0.25 ohm (Vgs @ 10V, Ids @ 10A).
Taking a look at the modular cable connector printed circuit board, we can see that all of the points seem to be soldered and finished cleanly. The wires connecting to them also seem to be in the proper place, and are not all over the power supply. Overall, cables and components are quite neatly organized in the SilverStone Strider Gold ST75F-G 750W. The Enhance design appears to be a good build overall, and it should be safe to assert that all power supplies in this series should be intrinsically similar, other than components that contribute to the other models' higher combined output, obviously. As aforementioned, I am almost entirely sure that this power supply is of Enhance origin, due to significant amounts of evidence pointing in this direction, such as the components used and overall design pattern (That missing power switch eh?).
Finally, the 135mm fan found on the SilverStone Strider Gold ST75F-G 750W is manufactured by Young Lin Tech Co., Ltd. Young Lin Tech is a cooling fan manufacturer based in Taiwan; their fans are used by many manufacturers, notably SilverStone for this power supply (Gee, who would have thought of that? Haha. - Editor). The model number for this is written 'DFB132512H', which is rated at a maximum RPM of 1700, and has a specified airflow of up to 91.16 CFM. The sound pressure rating is 36.28 dB according to the manufacturer. The fan with the highest maximum speed from Young Lin Tech's product line was chosen, since the power supply has a built in temperature sensor, which throttles the fan accordingly. Nonetheless, if you find the fan unsatisfactory, it can be easily replaced anyway -- at the expense of your warranty, of course.
At the end of the day, this design is almost identical to the SilverStone Strider Gold 750W with minor difference in its internals. These small changes such as the rectifying bridge gives it slight boost over the Strider Plus from last year for the 80 Plus Gold rating. Think of the SilverStone Strider Gold ST75F-G 750W as a 'Strider Plus Plus', with an 80 Plus Gold certification due to minor improvements from its predecessor's 80 Plus Silver certification.
Page Index
1. Introduction, Packaging, Specifications
2. Physical Look - Outside
3. Physical Look - Inside
4. Minor Tests and Conclusion
