|
Design & Features
**click to enlarge**
The ST70F is a real beauty, both inside and out.
It will certainly impress the second you take it out of the box. Let's
have a more detailed look...
|
**click to enlarge** |
**click to enlarge** |
This unit sports a matte black, lead-free finish
that is of very high quality. I can go as far as saying that it is not
easily scratched and should hold up quite well after long term use. Heck, Silverstone even managed to
take the extra yet unnecessary effort to accent it with their own engraved
logo
on the outer housing. Yes, it looks great, but it's that ultra-large
fan that will immediately grab your attention. Like a few of the new additions recently
added to their Strider series, this new model sports a large 135mm fan as opposed to the
standard 120mm option typically found in most higher end units.
|
**click to enlarge** |
**click to enlarge** |
The ST70F sports a fully modular design and all
connectors are clearly labeled for added convenience. Aside from the
extra large fan, it also sports some vents for heat dissipation and the back
side features a honeycomb style design that not only will aid in cooling,
but adds that finishing touch to its overall appealing design.
A Closer Look
**click to enlarge**
Unlike a number of units, it only requires four screws to be removed in
order to check out what powers it within. As with all Silverstone power
supplies I've used or tested here, its quality and component layout will
immediately impress. In fact, I don't normally do this, but will take
this one opportunity (out of the sheer frustration lately) to provide you an example of how not to approach
the design of such a product. Compare
this pic of just one of
about three other 700W PSU's I've received for review and I'm sure you'll
quickly notice and appreciate the significant difference in both the quality
and design of Silverstone power supplies.
|
**click to enlarge** |
**click to enlarge** |
First off, for a PSU in this class, its inner
components are quite large and so are the two quality Primary and Secondary
brushed aluminum heatsinks. You'll find its large main transformer
right smack in the middle of both heatsinks. You will also find one
massive capacitor near the right rear of the unit.
|
**click to enlarge** |
**click to enlarge** |
Upon a more careful inspection, the circuit
board containing all the external modular connectors is well-designed
and mounted in place extremely well. I have actually experienced some
problems with a couple of modular power supplies in the past and all
issues were a result of poor mounting or solder points. This will
likely not be an issue at all with this particular unit. Finally, we
have a closer look at that super impressive 11 blade 135mm fan. The fan
is actually manufactured by Yong Lin Tech, one of the leading DC fan
manufacturers in China. Based on the official specs provided by
Silverstone, it operates at roughly 18dBA and apparently impressive enough
for them to slap their own logo on it as well.
Additional Features
Like a majority of their quality PSU's, the
Silverstone ST70F is an Active PFC unit. Most new power supplies on the
market are, even though some manufacturers don't "officially" market them
this way. Active PFC units, in short, provide more efficient power
frequency. They use a circuit to "correct" power factor, resulting in high
power factor when compared to those that aren't. Active Power Factor
Correction also attenuates total harmonics and automatically "corrects" for
the input AC voltage. This method is usually much more expensive to
implement so very cheap, high wattage units on the market actually fail to
feature it. How to easily tell whether your unit is physically designed this
way is actually not that simple. However, one indication is by simply
looking at the rear of your power supply and see if it has a switch. If
there is some kind of voltage switch on the back, chances are that it is not
an Active PFC unit.
Other Special Features
- Ultra Silent Running 135mm Fan With 18dBA.
- 80% ~ 87% Efficiency at 20% ~ 100% Loading.
- 700W Continuous Power Output Rated.（Peak 780W）
- Quad +12V With Continuous 50A Combined Output.
- Quad PCI-E 6Pin, Single PCI-E 8Pin.
- 100% Modular Cables.
|
