Unboxing & Overview: Silverstone Strider Essential 600W

Silverstone is quite well known for their radical designs and engineering marvels on their chassis and accessories. Thanks to them and Inter Asia Technology, we got our hands on a classic power supply for us to test in our labs. The Silverstone Strider Essential 600W is an 80+ Bronze. Nothing radical about the design of this PSU (it is called the essential series) but rest assured the necessities are all in place.

This PSU retails for RM299 (SRP) in local stores and so without further adieu, lets pop the box open!

Specification

Model No.	SST-ST60F-ESB
Max. DC Output	600W
Load Range
+3.3V +5V +12V +5VSB -12V Max.(Amps) 22A 22A 45A 2.5A 0.3A Peak (Amps) / / / 3.5A / Min.(Amps) 0.1A 0.2A 0.6A 0A 0A Range (%) ±5% ±5% ±5% ±5% ±10% Line Reg.(%) ±1% ±1% ±1% ±1% ±1% Ripple(mVp-p) 50mV 50mV 120mV 50mV 120mV
combined +3.3, +5V	120W
combined +12V	540W
Input Voltage	103.5 ~ 253 Vrms
Input Frequency Range	47Hz ~ 63Hz
PFC	Active PFC（PF>0.95 at Full Load）
Efficiency	82%~85% @ 20% ~ 100% loading
MTBF	100,000 hours
Operating temperature	0°C ~ 40°C
Protection	Over power protection Over voltage protection Under voltage protection Short circuit protection
Connectors	1 x 24 / 20-Pin motherboard connector（500mm） 1 x 8 / 4-Pin EPS / ATX 12V connector（550mm） 1 x 8/6-Pin PCIE connector（500mm） 3 x 6-Pin PCIE connector（500mm / 150mm） 6 x SATA connector（"500mm / 150mm / 150mm / 150mm" x 2） 3 x 4-Pin Peripheral connector （600mm / 150mm / 150mm） 1 x 4-Pin Floppy connector（500mm / 150mm / 150mm / 150mm）
Color	Black（Lead-Free Paint）
Cooling System	Single 120mm silent fan
Noise Level	18 dBA minimum
Dimension	150 mm (W) × 86 mm (H) × 140 mm (D)
Weight	1.75kg
Form factor	ATX
Certification	80 PLUS Bronze
Other	GPU Support list Haswell CPU support

Packaging

At the front of the box we see the 80 Plus Bronze certification which derives power delivery efficiency up to 88% and the Active PFC (Active Power Factor Correction) which is capable of generating power factor of over 95% theoretically. 

At the back of the box is where you'll find the efficiency and load curves for your reference. Also a chance to learn the specifications in multiple foreign languages.

English specifications are found at the side of the box. From here you can see that the unit draws 540W on the single 12V rail; 90% of the rated 600W... Cool!!

Not much in terms of accessories, you get a power cord (varies depending on your region) a user guide and a product catalogue.

The PSU itself is wrapped in plastic to keep the dust bunnies out and is surrounded in soft foam for protection against bumps during transport. Kudos to Silverstone for keeping all the cables in a bundle.

The PSU

The PSU is not a modular unit so all the cables are attached to the main box. Not that it's a bad thing just that you'll have to manage the cables nicely in your chassis if you wanted it to look nice, particularly so if it's a windowed chassis. The PSU's painted surface is matte black overall which is nice and it has some heft to it, a sign that this isn't just some cheapo unit.

Taking a closer look at the sticker where you'll find the power specifications, serial number, some precautionary notice and the 80+ Bronze badge. 

A 120mm silent fan resides behind the metal grill will be all the cooling you need for the internals. If you look at it closely, there are a lot of metal heatsinks for heat dissipation.

Speaking of heat dissipation, the back of the unit is mostly honeycomb mesh which will definitely help to keep things cool. This is also where you'll find the power switch and where the power connector is plugged into. 

As I mentioned before, this is a non-modular PSU so every wire is attached to the PSU. Here is what you're looking at:

• 1 x 24-Pin motherboard connector
• 1 x 8 / 4-Pin EPS connector
• 1 x 6+2-Pin PCIE connector
• 3 x 6-Pin PCIE connector
• 6 x SATA power connector
• 3 x 4-Pin Molex connector
• 1 x 4-Pin Floppy connector

Quite a lot of cables to manage but as I said before, this is a basic PSU. They are kept that way to lower down manufacturing costs and increased efficiency.

Testing & Conclusion

We mounted the PSU inside the Vector Beta Testor and have tested on numerous hardware and software configurations including overclocking both the i7 4770K CPU and an Asus GTX670 DCUII Mini. Glad to say that we did not encounter any issues while stress testing the rig using the PSU. The PSU's fan is inaudible over the 3.5" mechanical drives I had in the chassis so Silverstone has done a great job with teh acoustics of the PSU. 

As expected from Silverstone, the Strider Essential 600W's quality is very good, not just in build quality but stability as well. In the basement of the Vector bench, it does gets a little toasty to the touch but that's to be expected from an electrical component. At RM299 (SRP), this one is very worthwhile to pick up for a worry free computing.

Pros:

• 80+ Bronze rating
• Very competitively priced
• Very quiet during normal operation and stress testing.

Cons:

• Non-modular cables

The Silverstone Strider Essential 600W is hence awarded the Tech-Critter Recommended badge.