Silverstone Strider Essential & Strider Plus 500W Power Supply Review

Testing results (Efficiency, Noise & Thermal)

Silverstone Strider Essential ST50F-ES Efficiency

As the ST50F-ES only carries the most basic 80Plus certification, which only denotes at least 80% efficiency across the load range of the power supply, we cannot really complain about the relatively low efficiency of the Strider Essential as it meets the certification standards. However, 81.2% peak efficiency at 110VAC and 82% at 230VAC respectively definitely are not good figures by current standards, even for a builder-class product.

Silverstone Strider Plus ST50F-P Efficiency

The efficiency of the ST50F-P Strider Plus is significantly better than that of the Essential series model, reaching up to 86.4% peak at 230VAC and up to 85.3% peak at 110VAC. It is also noteworthy that the Strider Plus appears much more efficient at low loads regardless of the source voltage, with the efficiency continuously declining as the load increases beyond 250W.

Silverstone Strider Essential ST50F-ES Thermal Performance

The thermal performance of the ST50F-ES is good for a low-cost product, with the temperature delta reaching up to 9.5 C under maximum load. Although such a figure might appear high if compared to a high performance unit, it actually is very good for a product with such a basic design and heatsinks.

Silverstone Strider Plus ST50F-P Thermal Performance

The Strider Plus 500W unit does quite a bit better on the thermal performance front, with the temperature delta reaching up to 6.9 C at maximum load. Across most of the load range, the temperature is kept quite steady, with the delta averaging at about 5C from 30% to 80% capacity.

Silverstone Strider Essential ST50F-ES Acoustics Performance

As far as acoustics are concerned, the performance of the Strider Essential ST50F-ES can only be classified as horrendous. With the basic heatsinks obviously lacking the capability of removing heat fast enough, the fan accelerates quickly and actually reaches its maximum speed at only 60% load. As such, the power supply is quiet only at very low loads and it quickly becomes noisy if loaded even up to 40% capacity.

Silverstone Strider Plus ST50F-P Acoustics Performance

Acoustics are perhaps the section where the difference between the ST50F-ES and the ST50F-P really stands out. The Strider Plus operates at much lower noise levels, staying virtually quiet up to 60% load. The noise levels keep increasing after that, yet only at maximum load the fan does reach its maximum speed.