Packaging, Contents, Exterior And Cabling
Packaging
There's a photo of the PSU on the front of SilverStone's compact box with its native cables strategically left out. The model number is highlighted in large letters, while the small 80 PLUS Gold badge resides in the bottom-left corner. The technical and power specifications tables, along with a list of the available connectors is found on one side of the box. On the back, SilverStone lists its special features in multiple languages. The efficiency and fan speed curves are also back there. According to the latter, the fan spins at around 1500 RPM with the PSU delivering 20 percent load. Under full load, the fan spins at 3500 RPM. We obviously aren't expecting the SX550 to operate quietly, but we'll know more once we finish our noise measurements.
Contents
The first things you notice once you open the box are the two bundled manuals that SilverStone provides with each of its power supplies. The PSU isn't protected particularly well, though; only bubble wrap is used. Because of the tiny box, packing foam just wouldn't work.
SilverStone's bundle includes an AC power cord, a set of fixing bolts, some zip ties, a Velcro strap, and those manuals.
Exterior
The design isn't innovative in any way. After all, this is a budget-oriented SFX PSU without modular cables. The fan grille could at least sport SilverStone's logo in its center, improving the aesthetics. Up front, a small power switch is installed next to the AC receptacle.
Ventilation grilles on the sides don't appear to do much. Meanwhile, the power specifications table is on the bottom.
Around back, the native cables aren't sleeved all the way back to the PSU's chassis and this is a great shame. To make matters worse, there is no grommet around the PSU's cable exit hole.
The finish is of decent quality. However, semi-sleeved cables make the SX550's appearance really poor. In a PSU that costs 95 bucks, we expected fully sleeved and stealth cables. Apparently SilverStone thought differently.
Cabling
Again, the cable sleeving is poor. In addition, there are too few connectors for a 550 W PSU (even a small SFX-based one). The length of the ATX cable is also quite limited. You'll want to check compatibility if you plan to drop the SX550 into a mid-tower case, particularly since we recommend against ATX extenders prone to dangerous voltage drops.