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- Date:
- Tuesday , January 22, 2008
- Author:
- Paul Johnson
- Editor:
- Kyle Bennett
- Google +1
SilverStone Strider ST400 400w Power Supply
SilverStone updates its mainstream Strider ST400 computer power supply. Last time SilverStone failed our low voltage test, critical in the USA. We find out whether or not this new version is up to our quality standards.
Overview
The first thing we are going to look at with the SilverStone Strider ST400 power supply is its packaging, accessories, and documentation. While none of these items is a real make or break item for a power supply the packaging quite often contains a lot of information about the product we are purchasing. The inclusion of an owner’s manual that provides actual information about our product is also of great help. Accessories are almost unnecessary with a power supply as the unit is self contained, unless it is modular, but there cases where a manufacturer can include useful accessories to make installation, routing and use more efficient.
The packaging for the SilverStone Strider ST400 is light on the information front like many of the units we have seen in the $50 price range. The packaging doesn’t give a power table, or any certification seals like SLI or 80plus and indeed some of the pictures on the box (like the heatsinks) don’t match what is inside as we will see in a bit. However, one interesting point from the box is that while the unit is advertised as being quiet, it also tells us that the minimum dBA level is 23dBA. Along these same lines there is included on the back of the packaging a fan speed graph that indicates that the unit goes from that 23dBA figure to approximately 38dBA at full load. Moving on we find that the unit does have a nice ROHS compliance certification. So while the packaging doesn’t advertise any electrical green credentials it does provide that the unit is ROHS complaint for your green friendly quotient of the day. Now given that this is only a 400w model the lack of most certifications for multi GPU usage like SLI is not that surprising and is very much as we saw with the ST405. Now breaking from the trend of following the ST405 this unit does not advertise that it has APFC (which while advertised on the ST405 was not present) but it does have SATA support and a single PCI-Express connector which is good. Again like the ST405 the ST400 ships with a 1 year warranty that starts with date of purchase or is determined by the serial number if proof of purchase is not available. This is among the shortest warranty periods that we have seen on enthusiast power supplies and certainly could use to be lengthened. Additionally, this information is not on the packaging, manual, or easy to find on the website. At the time of writing there is no link from the product page to the warranty length, or a link on the support page to this information, and the warranty was only accessible by searching the site for this MS Word file.
The power label for the ST400 is certainly looking good for this power output range. The label indicates that the unit has 29A available on the 12v rail (or ~87% of its total possible output) for running the more 12v heavy systems we are seeing these days. This is good because many ~400w units have much less than this available on the 12v rail including the older ST405. At the same time the unit can provide up to 180w on the 5v and 3.3v rail to provide capacity for those items that still pull from the 5v rail and 3.3v rail. With this all in mind the lone 6 Pin PCI-Express connector for modern graphics cards is well suited to a 400w unit of this nature. While it is possible to run 2 graphics cards that use the PCI–Express connector off of some 400w power supplies that arrangement is certainly ambitions and taxing given the remaining variables in a system configuration so the inclusion of just 1 PCI-Express connector is certainly prudent and well appointed for this power level. Not to be left out the unit has four SATA connectors and six 4-pin Molex connectors for your other peripherals which should easily cover most systems that users would be looking to place a 400w power supply in.
Once we open the packaging of the Strider ST400 we find the usual assortment of items including the power supply, the power cord, mounting screws, and a manual. The user manual is a big change from the one that accompanied the ST405. With the ST400 manual instead of being a single sheet of heavy duty paper that is folded in thirds and then in half like it was with the ST405 the user manual this time is a real booklet. The manual includes the pinouts, physical dimensions of the unit, installation instructions, and just about every electrical specification imaginable. Indeed it is here we find the unit’s efficiency advertised (minimum 70% at 120v at full load), and its derating curve. The inclusion of the derating curve printed in the user manual is certainly a first for our reviews and a rather honest admission of this unit’s ability from an industry known for being less than transparent or consistent in power ratings. Under the section that defines the derating curve it clearly states that the unit’s operating temperature is 0 to 50c. This does not mean the unit is rated at 50c as the ATX12v specification does not require this it simply means the unit will function in some fashion at 50c within the constraints of the derating curve listed:
The maximum continuous power rating of the supply is 400w at 25c. De-rate 2w/c from 25c to 50c.
This means that the ST400 we are looking at today is only billed as being capable of 360w at 45c (our test temperature). Finally the missing item is again the warranty. After the very detailed specifications and honesty in the user manual the warranty is omitted. As discussed above however the warranty is only for 1 year. All in all this would have been the absolute best documentation we have seen and perfect example for others to follow had there been a mention of the warranty.