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
Hot Test Results
Enhance is not an OEM who is known to focus on top-tier power quality delivery, and the tight dimensions of the ST1200-PTS certainly did not help the designer to improve much on that. The maximum voltage ripple on the 12V line reaches 86 mV under full load, quite close to the recommended design limit. The same stands for the 3.3V line, the voltage ripple of which reaches 42 mV under full load, with the 5V line faring a bit better. Severely cross-loading the PSU will cause the ripple to increase even further but the figures still stay within the recommended design limits. Voltage regulation on the other hand is exceptional, with the ST1200-PTS holding the 12V line at just 0.8% across the load range, with even tighter regulation on the 3.3V/5V lines.
| Main Output | ||||||||
| Load (Watts) | 241,12 W | 602,4 W | 899,32 W | 1196,12 W | ||||
| Load (Percent) | 20,09% | 50,2% | 74,94% | 99,68% | ||||
| Amperes | Volts | Amperes | Volts | Amperes | Volts | Amperes | Volts | |
| 3.3 V | 2,31 | 3,31 | 5,79 | 3,3 | 8,68 | 3,31 | 11,57 | 3,3 |
| 5 V | 2,04 | 5,02 | 5,09 | 5,01 | 7,64 | 4,99 | 10,18 | 4,99 |
| 12 V | 18,51 | 12,06 | 46,29 | 12,05 | 69,43 | 11,99 | 92,57 | 11,96 |
| Line | Regulation (20% to 100% load) |
Voltage Ripple (mV) | |||||
| 20% Load | 50% Load | 75% Load | 100% Load | CL1 12V |
CL2 3.3V + 5V |
||
| 3.3V | 0,5% | 18 | 32 | 46 | 42 | 26 | 36 |
| 5V | 0,65% | 12 | 24 | 34 | 32 | 22 | 32 |
| 12V | 0,8% | 16 | 32 | 52 | 86 | 92 | 20 |
The SilverStone ST1200-PTS is rated at 40 °C, meaning that the manufacturer specifies that it can output its advertised power when the ambient temperature is at or lower than 40 °C. Efficiency testing takes place at 25 °C and it degrades as the temperature increases, meaning that most units will not meet their certification requirements while we are testing them into our hot box. This is true for the ST1200-PTS, the efficiency of which drops by an average of 0.5% while operating into our hotbox and slightly below the 80Plus Platinum certification limits. On the other hand, the unit did reach its maximum 1200 Watts power output with an ambient temperature of 48 °C without issues, indicating fair resistance to thermal stress.
High ambient temperatures trigger the thermal control circuit to push the fan at its maximum speed very quickly. Although the PSU still is relatively quiet at very low loads, the fan’s speed goes to the maximum at 50% load, shooting the noise level of the ST1200-PTS to uncomfortable figures. Nevertheless, the internal temperatures of the PSU are, considering the very high output and the small volume of the unit, very low, ensuring the longevity of the unit. Thermal degradation is rather severe at very high loads and efficiency figures plummet, which is expected from such a design that is being pushed well above its rated temperature specifications – that it managed to output its full rated output is quite the feat as it is.
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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.