Trending

SilverStone Strider Platinum ST1200-PT PSU Review

The highest-end member of SilverStone's Strider Platinum line is the ST1200-PT, and we're ready to give it an exhaustive evaluation. It achieves a high power density score thanks to compact dimensions, and there's that 1200W capacity. But is this enough?

By

Ripple Measurements

To learn how we measure ripple, please click here.

The following table includes the ripple levels we measured on the ST1200-PT's rails. The limits, according to the ATX specification, are 120mV (+12V) and 50mV (5V, 3.3V and 5VSB).

Test12V5V3.3V5VSBPass/Fail
10% Load19.9mV18.3mV36.0mV15.0mVPass
20% Load27.4mV20.8mV37.3mV17.9mVPass
30% Load30.5mV22.9mV38.2mV20.8mVPass
40% Load31.1mV28.4mV44.8mV23.4mVPass
50% Load33.4mV30.9mV50.6mV26.9mVFail
60% Load34.9mV34.8mV53.9mV29.8mVFail
70% Load36.3mV38.1mV61.0mV35.6mVFail
80% Load36.8mV41.2mV64.7mV40.5mVFail
90% Load38.5mV42.7mV70.9mV41.5mVFail
100% Load41.8mV47.9mV76.9mV45.8mVFail
110% Load42.1mV48.6mV79.5mV49.7mVFail
Cross-Load 119.1mV18.0mV32.3mV14.2mVPass
Cross-Load 244.4mV41.8mV65.9mV42.4mVFail
Image 1 of 4

Image 2 of 4

Image 3 of 4

Image 4 of 4

Ripple suppression on the +12V rail is pretty good, though not top-notch. It's really bad on the minor rails though, especially at 3.3V. The main cause for these poor ripple results is a high ambient temperature. Below 40°C, the PSU's ripple suppression is pretty good on everything except the 3.3V rail. That one needs an ambient close to 30°C to get inside of the 50mV range.

Again, we expect such a high-end PSU to perform well under all temperature conditions. Also, Gigabyte's XP1200M, based on the same platform, demonstrated decent ripple suppression under the same conditions. More than likely, Enhance let something slip by in SilverStone's take on this platform (or we received a lemon, which happens).

Ripple Oscilloscope Screenshots

The following oscilloscope screenshots illustrate the AC ripple and noise registered on the main rails (+12V, 5V, 3.3V, and 5VSB). The bigger the fluctuations on the screen, the bigger the ripple/noise. We set 0.01 V/Div (each vertical division/box equals 0.01V) as the standard for all measurements.

Ripple At Full Load

Image 1 of 4

Image 2 of 4

Image 3 of 4

Image 4 of 4

Ripple At 110-Percent Load

Image 1 of 4

Image 2 of 4

Image 3 of 4

Image 4 of 4

Ripple At Cross-Load 1

Image 1 of 4

Image 2 of 4

Image 3 of 4

Image 4 of 4

Ripple At Cross-Load 2

Image 1 of 4

Image 2 of 4

Image 3 of 4

Image 4 of 4

Aris Mpitziopoulos
Aris Mpitziopoulos
Aris Mpitziopoulos is a Contributing Editor at Tom's Hardware US, covering PSUs.
3 Comments Comment from the forums
  • 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