Silverstone Strider Essential & Strider Plus 500W Power Supply Review

ST50F-ES and ST50F-P Review Introduction

Silverstone has been in the power supply market for quite some time now and it is a renowned manufacturer among advanced users and enthusiasts. If there is a thing that makes Silverstone standing out from other manufacturers is that it is one of the very few companies which has such a long products line-up and offers both pinnacle-level and budget-level products. Today we will be having a look at two 500W units, one from the Strider Essential series and one from the Strider Plus series. As the name suggests, the Strider Essential series is the most basic series which Silverstone currently offers, while the Strider Plus series is a step higher up the performance ladder and features a fully modular design.

At the time of this review, Silverstone retails the 500W version of the Strider Essential for just $39.99 incl. shipping (after rebate), while the corresponding version of the Strider Plus series currently retails for $74.99 incl. shipping; therefore, in this review we will be seeing both what $40 can get you and if the upgraded modular Plus version is worth the nearly double retail price.

Silverstone Strider Essential ST50F-ES 500W specifications

• High efficiency with 80 PLUS
• certification
• 500W 24hour continuous power output with 40operating temperature
• Class-leading single +12V rail with 34A
• Multiple protection circuitry
• Silent running 120mm fan with 18dBA minimum
• PCI-E 8pin and PCI-E 6pin connectors support
• Support ATX 12V 2.3
• Active PFC

Silverstone Strider Plus ST50F-P 500W specifications

• 24hour continuous power output with 40operating temperature
• 100% modular cables
• Efficiency 82%~85% at 20%~100% loading
• Class-leading single +12V rail with 34A
• Silent running 120mm fan with 18dBA minimum
• PCI-E connectors support
• Support ATX 12V 2.3 & EPS 12V
• Active PFC