Just over two years ago SilverStone built the first real usable SFX power supply for enthusiast use, packing 450 W. Last year, we saw the arrival of a 600 W unit (our review of it is here), giving folks a little room for overclocking, along with an SFX-L 500 W unit with a larger fan. Today, SilverStone sent us some juicy details about a new SFX-L format PSU: the SX700-LPT.
The SX in the name indicates that it is part of the SFX series, the 700 is for its wattage, the L for the longer SFX format, and PT for Platinum. Yes, you read that right; this is an SFX-L PSU that can push up to 700 W and packs an 80-Plus Platinum efficiency certificate.
SilverStone's SX700-LPT strikes a couple industry firsts: it will be the highest-wattage SFX/SFX-L format power supply, and it will be the first to have a Platinum efficiency label.
The SX700-LPT unit's design is also fully-modular, meaning you can opt to connect only the cables you need. It comes with one 24-pin ATX connector, one 8-pin EPS connector, three or four lines for SATA or Molex connectors (the total will be decided by how many connectors are on each cable, which is typically three), and most impressive of all, the image reveals not one, but two PCI-Express power headers (see the blue connectors).
To each one of these PCI-Express power headers you'll be able to attach a cable that ends in two 8-pin PCI-Express power connectors, meaning that technically, if you really wanted to, you could drive two graphics cards from this little puppy. Of course, any case that can house two graphics cards can probably house a full-size ATX power supply, too. But this will be useful for powering a dual-GPU graphics card in a Mini-ITX case, although you'll really be pushing the power envelope of the SX700-LPT if you decide to take that route.
SilverStone also informed us that the modular connectors are the same as all of its PSUs built after 2009, meaning that you can joyfully upgrade to this PSU without needing to re-do your cable management.
Please note that the SFX-L format is slightly longer (hence the L) than the standard SFX format. It will fit in the same mount, but you'll have to make sure that your case can accommodate the additional length. The extra space is used in part for a larger fan, which will enable more silent operation under heavy loads.
At press time, SilverStone hasn't yet revealed info on pricing or availability. And all of the exact juicy tech specs are still to come.
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