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Power Supply: SilverStone Strider Gold Evolution 1000 W

Tom's Hardware's 2011 Gift Guide: Part 1, For System Builders
By

$201.99
www.silverstonetek.com

One of the many bad facets of a rotten economy is that some people, in an effort to conserve resources, will pick the cheapest way to do something and lose sight of the big picture. Many of us forget the importance of green computing. After all, it’s not really about the money saved; it’s about taking strain off the planet. Less energy efficiency means more waste heat means more planetary warming means melting polar caps means...you guessed it: a homeless Santa Claus. There ain’t enough room on those melting icebergs for the polar bears and Santa’s reindeer. Our money is on the bears.

However, you can do your own little part to avert this arctic meltdown and save all those Christmases to come by picking the most efficient power supply possible. The shortcut in this selection process is to pick a PSU certified by the 80 PLUS organization, so named after its eponymous baseline specification, meaning an internal 115 V power supply able to operate under 20%, 50%, and 100% loads at a minimum of 80% efficiency. At the extreme end of the 115 V PSU scale, there’s the 80 PLUS Platinum certification, which mandates 90%, 92%, and 89% efficiency, respectively. As a point of reference, 80 PLUS has granted 1120 baseline certifications but only 61 for Titanium. One step from the pinnacle of the 80 PLUS stack is the Gold certification, requiring 87%, 90%, and 87%.

SilverStone’s ST1000-G Evolution surpasses the 80 PLUS Gold level, testing out at 88%, 91%, and 88%. That alone should make this model worth noticing, but SilverStone sweetens the stocking with so much more. We appreciate that the company plainly states on its jumbo-sized box that the power supply’s peak rated power is 1100 W, yet the unit was still marked for 1000 W sustained. We also praise the use of an extremely quiet 139 mm Air Penetrator fan with fluid dynamic bearing. Maximum noise output for the PSU is 28 dbA.

All cabling with this unit is modular, and there are more than enough plugs for even the most powerful systems, including both 550 and 750 mm ATX12V connectors and eight SATA power connectors. All told, the +12 V rail offers 83 A of current, and a power factor of >0.95 under full load. Another two marks of quality are SilverStone’s maximum allowed load variance of only ±3% and an MTBF rating of 100 000 hours at 25 degrees Celsius under full load. Taken all together, this is a superb, stable, and future-looking power supply if you can float the price. If you can, the reindeer will thank you.

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Top Comments
  • 36 Hide
    serhat359 , December 13, 2011 4:29 AM
    I feel sorry for those girls that they have to smile for the camera even though they have no idea what they are holding
  • 33 Hide
    wizloa , December 13, 2011 4:25 AM
    i clicked for the lady
  • 22 Hide
    HansVonOhain , December 13, 2011 4:34 AM
    Must... focus ... on ... computer parts...
Other Comments
  • 0 Hide
    gerohmygosh , December 13, 2011 4:13 AM
    Where is the girl for the PNY RAM?!?!?!
  • 33 Hide
    wizloa , December 13, 2011 4:25 AM
    i clicked for the lady
  • 6 Hide
    phamhlam , December 13, 2011 4:29 AM
    What is your favorite picture?

    Mine was the one with the 4 SSD.
    My floppy disk totally turned to a hard disk drive.

    I can't wait for part 2 already.
  • 36 Hide
    serhat359 , December 13, 2011 4:29 AM
    I feel sorry for those girls that they have to smile for the camera even though they have no idea what they are holding
  • 22 Hide
    HansVonOhain , December 13, 2011 4:34 AM
    Must... focus ... on ... computer parts...
  • -6 Hide
    phamhlam , December 13, 2011 4:37 AM
    What is hotter? The computer parts or the girl?
  • -7 Hide
    richboyliang , December 13, 2011 4:39 AM
    haha do these girls know what they're doing?
  • -6 Hide
    koolkat574 , December 13, 2011 4:45 AM
    richboylianghaha do these girls know what they're doing?


    Depends on if you use an aftermarket cooler or the stock one
  • -5 Hide
    manu 11 , December 13, 2011 4:54 AM
    For one second, my focus was deviated, back to pc!
  • 10 Hide
    lunyone , December 13, 2011 5:01 AM
    It looks like the Blonde model was having more fun, or is it just me. If I wasn't married, I'd take either! Forget the PC hardware, there are more important things to look at!!! Lol!
  • 11 Hide
    bcontoursvt , December 13, 2011 5:02 AM
    All these pages later and I still have no idea what the topic of the story was...
  • 21 Hide
    LuckyDucky7 , December 13, 2011 5:08 AM
    I don't get it.

    Why are some things suggested in this guide mostly the worst value you could get for that sum of cash?

    For starters:

    -MSI 990FX-GD80 wouldn't be my top pick. That would go to a Gigabyte 990FXA-UD(x) board. Why bother getting a board that's more expensive than the best processor for the platform (or one whose lower-end boards don't catch fire).

    -i7-3930K? Ivy's just around the corner and will run on 150 dollar boards that do more than X79 could think of.

    -Silverstone 1000W PSU? Seasonic's already got their X-1050, which has 80+ Platinum certification instead of gold for the same cost.

    Some things I guess I just don't understand, then. You list some parts that have really good value, such as that RAM and Powercolor graphics card along with the 955BE, and then go to the polar opposite. I don't see the reason for that.
  • 1 Hide
    manu 11 , December 13, 2011 5:44 AM
    I can ditch pc hardware if i can get a girl in those photos
  • 0 Hide
    kustiki321 , December 13, 2011 6:02 AM
    I'm sorry, was there supposed to be some sort of gift guide here? I know it's a tech site and I was expecting one but I can't seem to see what they're recommending.
  • 17 Hide
    mkrijt , December 13, 2011 7:03 AM
    The redhead doesn't seem to have fun....
  • -8 Hide
    cold fire , December 13, 2011 7:39 AM
    I'm having a hard time deciding whether I'd take all the hardware or all the girls. :$
  • -7 Hide
    tzhu07 , December 13, 2011 7:46 AM
    Those girls prove why Tom's Hardware will never be at the level of AnandTech...
  • 15 Hide
    Goldengoose , December 13, 2011 8:28 AM
    gazum123Get a life you freak

    Get a sense of humor you rude little man.
  • -4 Hide
    Anonymous , December 13, 2011 8:50 AM
    and not a single anti-static precaution taken... All those naked components... what a waste
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