SilverStone Strider Platinum ST1200-PT PSU Review

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Load Regulation, Hold-Up Time, And Inrush Current

To learn more about our PSU tests and methodology, please check out How We Test Power Supply Units. 

Primary Rails And 5VSB Load Regulation

Load Regulation testing is detailed here.

Hold-Up Time

Our hold-up time tests are described in detail here.

Not only does the measured hold-up time fall short of 17ms, but to make matters worse the power-good signal lasts longer. That means it's inaccurate, since the rails are already out of spec by the time it drops. This is a great shame for such an expensive PSU. We could forgive a slightly lower-than-required hold-up time, but we never tolerate fake power-good signals.

Inrush Current

For details on our inrush current testing, please click here.

The inrush current is relatively low with both voltage inputs.

Load Regulation And Efficiency Measurements

The first set of tests reveals the stability of the voltage rails and the ST1200-PT's efficiency. The applied load equals (approximately) 10 to 110 percent of the PSU's maximum load in increments of 10 percentage points.

We conducted two additional tests. During the first, we stressed the two minor rails (5V and 3.3V) with a high load, while the load at +12V was only 0.1A. This test reveals whether a PSU is Haswell-ready or not. In the second test, we determined the maximum load the +12V rail could handle with minimal load on the minor rails.

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Test #12V5V3.3V5VSBDC/AC (Watts)EfficiencyFan SpeedFan NoiseTemps (In/Out)PF/AC Volts
18.087A1.995A1.975A1.001A119.7984.21%0 RPM0 dB(A)44.89°C0.942
12.145V5.008V3.336V4.989V142.2541.78°C115.1V
217.206A3.000A2.974A1.206A239.6189.79%2140 RPM52.2 dB(A)41.37°C0.968
12.132V4.992V3.325V4.975V266.8643.79°C115.1V
326.733A3.511A3.498A1.410A359.8591.23%2155 RPM52.3 dB(A)41.88°C0.979
12.112V4.977V3.314V4.960V394.4544.67°C115.1V
436.250A4.025A3.990A1.616A479.6291.53%2180 RPM52.7dB(A)42.05°C0.985
12.095V4.967V3.305V4.946V524.0345.84°C115.1V
545.465A5.041A5.002A1.821A599.5491.35%2260 RPM54.5 dB(A)42.86°C0.988
12.077V4.955V3.298V4.935V656.3447.37°C115.3V
654.708A6.068A6.016A2.030A719.5190.38%2360 RPM55.3dB(A)43.53°C0.990
12.059V4.944V3.290V4.923V796.0748.90°C115.4V
763.973A7.093A7.032A2.239A839.4389.86%2360 RPM55.3 dB(A)44.46°C0.991
12.042V4.932V3.283V4.910V934.1250.60°C115.1V
873.271A8.138A8.058A2.448A959.3489.25%2360 RPM55.3 dB(A)45.10°C0.992
12.023V4.918V3.275V4.898V1074.8452.80°C115.1V
983.023A8.663A8.598A2.451A1079.2988.62%2360 RPM55.3 dB(A)45.59°C0.992
12.005V4.908V3.268V4.890V1217.9554.36°C115.1V
1092.778A9.187A9.108A2.560A1199.2387.91%2360 RPM55.3 dB(A)46.08°C0.992
11.986V4.899V3.260V4.881V1364.2156.00°C115.1V
11102.927A9.206A9.135A2.563A1319.1487.34%2360 RPM55.3 dB(A)44.39°C0.994
11.969V4.890V3.251V4.873V1510.3554.98°C115.1V
CL10.097A14.024A14.005A0.005A117.2379.38%2140 RPM52.2 dB(A)41.34°C0.947
12.135V4.951V3.327V5.023V147.6846.91°C115.2V
CL299.938A1.003A1.003A1.002A1211.1188.32%2360 RPM55.3 dB(A)43.91°C0.994
11.987V4.935V3.264V4.919V1371.3152.93°C115.1V

The ST1200-PT's efficiency comes close to the 80 PLUS Platinum spec's requirements in the 20% load test. It's a little further off at 50% load, and under full load it's a full 1.09% away from the 89% mark. Since we run our benchmarks in an environment with a much higher ambient temperature than 80 PLUS, we expect to see lower efficiency. However, this PSU's efficiency just doesn't stack up to the high-end competition in the Platinum category.

SilverStone clearly designed its ST1200-PT for ambient environments cooler than 40°C, and this is shown by its fan profile. As you can see in the table, with even 20% load the PSU's fan goes crazy at warmer temperatures, generating lots of noise. If you plan to push this unit hard somewhere warm, you'll most likely be disappointed by the fan's noise.

Load regulation at +12V is good enough, although competing offerings in this category achieve even better results. The results are satisfactory on the minor rails, as voltage deviations are kept close to 2.5%. That's definitely not ground-breaking performance, but it's not bad, either.

Lastly, we had to conduct our overload (110%) test below 46°C ambient because over-temperature protection kicked in after the full-load test.

Aris Mpitziopoulos
Contributing Editor

Aris Mpitziopoulos is a contributing editor at Tom's Hardware, covering PSUs.

  • powernod
    Wow!! Extremely impressed with Aris's more thorough "Advanced Transient Tests" !!
    Great to see a reviewer who never stops evolving his work!!
    Amazing work Aris !!!
    Reply
  • Metteec
    Nice review, Aris. $233 is a lot to spend on a PSU. You can get a Corsair HX1200i for $210 after mail in rebate, which is a well-regarded PSU with a 7-year warranty.
    Reply
  • jeffunit
    "...and as you can see, the glossy silver surface makes taking pictures difficult."

    It sure does, because the pictures have the exterior looking like matte black.
    Reply