SilverStone Strider Platinum 1,000W Review

Performance Analysis

Compared to a high-quality PSU from be quiet!, also rated Platinum but with a smaller capacity, +12V regulation is pretty much in the same ballpark. In fact, there's very little to differentiate these supplies in any of the rail loading tests, and they would both be considered excellent.

Higher efficiency means that less juice is wasted turning AC into DC. A solid 80 Plus Platinum PSU will have numbers routinely in the 90 percent range. SilverStone's killowatt monster has the edge.

Yet while we would hope for excellent efficiency across a wide range of load wattages, seeing what they can do in the sub-100W range is instructive insofar as it's the level where most PCs idle at. Thankfully, it's another very good showing by SilverStone here.

Ripple is defined as the unwanted fluctations when converting from AC to DC power used by your PC. The better you can suppress this fluctuation, the more steady the flow. SilverStone is well inside the ATX spec, which is easy to do, but it lags behind the extremely impressive Be Quiet!


The supply is silent up to around 375W, according to our tests, so it should be able to power a solid gaming rig - Core i7-6700K OC and GTX 1080 - without even turning on. If you can get to that 1,000W limit, however, the fan is clearly noticeable.

Though the chassis is small by other companies' 1,000W models, good cooling and excellent efficiency combine to keep it reasonably cool regardless of load.

Conclusion

The need for 1,000W-plus PSUs is diminishing because of the drive towards energy efficiency from almost every component manufacturer. Those that want to stand out in this market need to offer exceptional performance in every regard.

Hitting plenty of right notes is the SilverStone Strider ST1000-PT. This Enhance-built unit is of a standard ATX size and industrial in appearance. Focus has been put on where it counts, so fully modular cabling, hybrid fan mode, high-quality innards, and performance that befits a £150 supply.

The ST1000-PT isn't a standout performer in any one area, but it's solid everywhere, so if you want a no-nonsense PSU to help power that dual GTX 1080 rig, preferably with an overclocked CPU to boot, it's certainly a viable option.