Introduction

We would like to thank Silverstone for supplying the review sample.

Silverstone's rich PSU portfolio makes them a significant presence in the field of power supplies, and they have, on top of that, recently introduced a few new products. After the high-end Zeus 1350 W, which we evaluated in a previous review, they decided to release a middle-category PSU for a wider portion of users. Truth be told, high-capacity PSUs are amazing to test and review, but most users out there simply don’t need as much power and a 600 – 750 W unit will usually meet their needs. Also, the number of sales in the 600-750 W category is way higher than that of high-capacity units, mainly because the latter are ultra-expensive and too much for most systems. It is just like with race cars: everyone wants to drive one, but only a few actually buy them, while most of us buy a car that suits our needs (unless you feel the need for a 700 BHP car to drive the kids to school).

Silverstone’s Strider series consists of numerous members with capacities ranging from 350 W to 1500 W. The new addition to this series is the ST60F-PS unit boasting to be the world’s smallest modular ATX PSU with a depth of 140 mm, something that greatly simplifies its installation process. Its other characteristics include the 80 Plus Silver efficiency rating, a fully modular cabling system, and a single +12V rail. On top of that, Silverstone promises ±3% voltage regulation on all rails, and low ripple and noise. A significant advantage of fully modular PSUs, besides their easy installation, is the fact that you can use a different set of cables to meet your tastes and needs better. Like all Silverstone modular units made after 2009, the ST60F-PS is compatible with their optional PP06 modular cable kits consisting of full-length connectors with individually sleeved, black wires. Along with the ST60F-PS, Silverstone was kind enough to provide us with a full set of PP06 cables, which will allow us to check on their quality and usability.

Specifications

Efficiency is Silver, a rating that we don't meet very often nowadays, since most PSUs are either Bronze (the mainstream ones) or Gold. The maximum operating temperature is restricted to 40°C, although the ATX specification recommends 50°C. We will conduct our tests somewhere in-between (45°C).

According to Silverstone, all protection features are present in this unit, even OTP (Over Temperature Protection), which is always nice to see. The fan that extracts the hot air out of the PSU's internals has a diameter of 120 mm instead of the usual 140 mm, which is due to the unit's small dimensions. Thankfully, the fan is equipped with ball-bearings, so it will last much longer than a sleeved bearing fan.

Being only 140 mm long, this PSU boasts that it is the smallest ATX unit available on the market. This means that it will easily fit into most cases, even the smaller ones that aren't exclusively designed for SFF PSUs. Finally, the warranty period is neither short nor long with three years, and the price looks decent for a product with such a feature set.


The PSU only has one +12V rail that can deliver almost its full power. The minor rails are quite strong too, and the 5VSB rail has enough power to support every modern system.

Cables & Connectors, Power Distribution

As you can see, all cables are modular, which translates into less trouble during the installation and cable-management process. The PSU may only have a single EPS connector (after all, only a few users will need a second one and they probably won't buy a 600 W PSU), but it comes with four PCIe ones, so it can feed up to two VGAs with double PCIe sockets each. Also, the number of SATA and peripheral connectors is adequate for the capacity of the unit.

Overall cable length is ideal given that this is a middle-capacity PSU, so it shouldn't feed a system inside a full tower chassis. Finally, the orange wires (3.3V rail) of the 24 pin ATX connector are of 16AWG size, while all the others, including the gauges of all other connectors, are of 18AWG size.

Since this PSU features a single +12V rail, we have nothing to comment on about its power distribution.

Packaging

The package has small dimensions since the PSU itself is quite small. The front has the Silver efficiency badge and an image of the PSU with lightning bolts over it. On the left side are the series and model descriptions and a brief features description.


This side has a graph illustrating the efficiency curves of the unit with 115 and 230VAC input. Naturally, efficiency is noticeably higher with 230VAC, reaching Golden levels, but such efficiency levels should be obtained with 115VAC in order for the unit to be officially certified. Two further illustrations show the sockets of the modular panel and the dimensions of the unit, and another graph shows the fan's speed at various load levels.


The most interesting part is the description of the connectors that equip the PSU. Unfortunately, the length of the cables they are installed on is not provided.


The rear of the box only has a brief multi-lingual features description.