Power Supply SilverStone SX700-LPT - 700W SFX-L Platinum-rated

[K888D]

Semi fanless is the main feature I pick an SFX PSU for, it's also an important factor for me with GPUs. But the reason I have recently been going for Corsair over Silverstone is due to the clicking noises when the PSU temperature reaches the on/off crossover point for the SX500G.

For HTPCs the Silverstone ST30SF is a great power supply, I've never known the fan to spin up, so it's basically silent for CPU only use, also good value at £40.

But move up to dedicated graphics and 500w territory the Corsair units are much better.

 

[Phuncz]

I'm having trouble understanding why semi-fanless is tangibly better than silently running fans. Especially since human hearing seems to be more sensitive to changes in sound since the brain can cancel out consistent background noise, I'd think people would be able to hear fans going from 0 to 600rpm fans better than 500rpm constant fan speeds.

All fans in my PC (4 case fans, 1 PSU fan) run silently without any significant load, they gently and consistently ramp up when there is load. I can't tell if my PC is on by noise, I need to check the power LED.

 

[jeshikat]

and I'm sceptical that reducing the fan shutoff power to 135W-142.5W will solve the overtemp issue in restricted airflow environments.

I had asked Tony about that and he said it's enough but we'll see I guess.

Either eliminate the semi-fanless box feature and continue to use a cheap thermistor-based control solution, or implement semi-fanless control with an actual fan controller.

That's basically what they've done. The ST30SF v2.0 and SX500-LG v2.0 revisions removed the semi-fanless feature and the SX550, SX500-G, and SX650-G don't have it to begin with.

I wish the SX700-LPT increased the OTP point at low loads like the Corsair SF600 but the SF600 isn't perfect either though, my unit's fan turns on even in open air at idle.

I've always found it strange that Silverstone prioriitizes semi-fanless so heavily, like someone's life/job depends on it.

Marketing. It's a marketable feature and people want it.

 

[wywywywy]

How do you know about the SX500-G and SX650-G not having it? Do you have review units already?

 

[jeshikat]

How do you know about the SX500-G and SX650-G not having it? Do you have review units already?

Tony told me they won't have it.

 

[jtd871]

AT finally reviewed this unit.

 

[jeshikat]

http://www.anandtech.com/show/10696/silverstone-sx700-lpt-sfx-700w

Looks pretty good, though they must not have an updated unit either since it had the 150W OTP issue.

 

[Phuncz]

I'm finally seeing these trickle down in The Netherlands, 4 months lagging behind the US, for about € 180. Now I wonder if these would be the v2.0 and how long the SX800-LTI is going to take.

 

[Ranma13]

Silverstone has always had issues with their SFF PSU fans. First it was the ST45SF-G with the unbearably loud fan, especially during load. Then it was the SX600-G with the "semi-fanless mode" that kept the fan constantly on after only a few minutes of use. Then it was the SX500-LG with the fan clicking when it's right around the threshold of turning on and off. And now it's the SX700-LPT with the "let's only use wattage as a determinant for fan speed and not factor in temperature", resulting in OTP kicking in.

I've lost confidence that Silverstone can come out with a PSU that doesn't have some sort of fan issue. They've had many tries at it and failed every time.

 

[jeshikat]

To be fair, there is now a V2.0 of the SX500-LG that uses an always-on fan since the platform can't do semi-fanless perfectly. Then the original shipping versions of the SX700-LPT were too aggressive in keeping the fan off to avoid the complaints about the SX600-G.

The Enhance platform used in the Lian Li PE-750 and the upcoming SX800-LTI looks promising. I felt it was a bit too aggressive with the fan on the Lian Li but the SilverStone will have even higher efficiency so hopefully it will be tuned a bit better.

 

[jeshikat]

Tom's Hardware review: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/silverstone-sfx-sx700-lpt-psu,4754.html

 

[Hermit2001]

And the SX800-LTI should go in to production next month.