The SilverStone Strider Platinum ST1200-PTS 1200W PSU Review: Small in Size, Big on Compliance
by E. Fylladitakis on October 11, 2019 9:15 AM EST- Posted in
- PSUs
- Cases/Cooling/PSUs
- SilverStone
- 80Plus Platinum
- ATX
Cold Test Results
For the testing of PSUs, we are using high precision electronic loads with a maximum power draw of 2700 Watts, a Rigol DS5042M 40 MHz oscilloscope, an Extech 380803 power analyzer, two high precision UNI-T UT-325 digital thermometers, an Extech HD600 SPL meter, a self-designed hotbox and various other bits and parts. For a thorough explanation of our testing methodology and more details on our equipment, please refer to our How We Test PSUs - 2014 Pipeline post.
The energy conversion efficiency of the SilverStone ST1200-PTS at room temperature is just sufficient enough to justify the unit’s 80Plus efficiency certification. It meets the 80Plus Platinum certification requirements for an input voltage of 115 VAC, reaching up to 92.1% efficiency at 50% load and holding an average nominal load (20%-100%) efficiency of 90.7%. In our testing the PSU cannot meet the 80Plus Platinum efficiency certification requirements for an input voltage of 230 VAC, failing to reach 94% efficiency at 50% load, yet the average nominal load (20%-100%) efficiency of 91.6% is good.
The thermal control circuitry of the SilverStone ST1200-PTS is simple, meaning that there is no “fanless mode” or some other advanced control method, with the circuitry simply controlling the speed of the cooling fan depending on the temperature and load of the PSU. We found the control algorithm a little peculiar, as it holds the speed of the fan at very low levels while the load is lower than 450 Watts but then increases the speed of the fan almost exponentially, reaching its maximum speed within a range of just a few hundred Watts. This effectively makes the ST1200-PTS very quiet at loads below 450 Watts and very loud at loads above 650 Watts.
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EdgeOfDetroit - Friday, October 11, 2019 - link
A quick google search says $270. How many people who require a small chassis (but not rack-mount) also require high-wattage and would be willing to pay for this? I'm sure there are some, but it seems to me I'd rather pay a bit less, get an equal quality and capable power supply that dares to exceed ATX in this one way, and buy a chassis that permits that.Death666Angel - Friday, October 11, 2019 - link
In German it is 203€ from a reputable retailer. It is within 10€ to 20€ of units that are 190mm or 200mm deep and from reputable manufacturers and retailers (Cooler Master, Enermax, Corsair). The price and performance is pretty reasonable to me. This might make a sick mATX TR3 system with dual GPUs in a (comparitively) tiny form factor. I'd dig it.CheapSushi - Friday, October 11, 2019 - link
I am willing to pay for it. I think all consumer/prosumer PSU's should be SFX or SFX-L already regardless of case size, racking mounting (all mine are Rosewill 4U chassis) or even motherboard size (all mine are ATX and EATX).AlyxSharkBite - Saturday, October 12, 2019 - link
I agree I have a hard time picturing a SFF PC needing a 1200W PSU. Even if it was an i9-9980XE and a 2080Ti build.patrickjp93 - Sunday, October 13, 2019 - link
While "I" wouldn't run such a setup, I do know a guy with a dual-Epyc board and 4 Nvidia Teslas who uses this.notashill - Monday, October 14, 2019 - link
Is he using it because the case actually can't fit a bigger PSU? I am finding it hard to imagine anyone designing a case that can fit an E-ATX motherboard and 4 GPUs but can't fit a "normal" 1200W PSU.bigboxes - Monday, October 14, 2019 - link
Haha! Exactly. If you have a case that fit an EATX Mobo and 4 GPUs then you most definitely can fit an ATX psutonyou - Monday, October 14, 2019 - link
We have two 33-34 liter sized HTPC cases capable of fitting true SSI-EEB level E-ATX motherboards and multiple cards that could benefit from a shorter PSU:https://www.silverstonetek.com/product.php?pid=330
https://www.silverstonetek.com/product.php?pid=331
Tams80 - Monday, October 14, 2019 - link
You might want to read up on power curves and power efficiency.CheapSushi - Friday, October 11, 2019 - link
It's so minor but I wish they went with a black PCB and I really don't like the blue connection ports, although I realize it's their "signature" branding. You don't see the PCB often but this is a high quality enthusiast PSU and nearly all of the same class us black PCBs; it fits the market better than the generic server / "don't care" green PCB. But I love to see more SFX & SFX-L PSU's. And yes, I really do want to use that size for all my ATX & EATX motherboards and all my cases, regardless of size, even my 4U Rosewill chassis. Lets continue to move forward with density & design improvements in the PSU realm, not just CPU / GPUs. It sucks just how long it takes for people (not even just companies) to stop doing things just because they're so used to doing it a certain way and then become naysayers when such products come now. They product is very welcomed in my opinion.