Today for review I have the pleasure of reviewing one of SilverStones' new 80Plus power supplies, it is the Element and it is capable of putting out 400Watts of power while being 80% plus efficient at the same time. The 80Plus program is only for a select few companies out there, so being in the program says quite a bit about the quality of the power supply and even more about SilverStones' high standards. So please read on to learn more about this great power supply…
SilverStone Element 400Watt PSU ST40EF
Reviewed by: Kristofer Brozio AkA Dracos
Sponsor: SilverStone
Tech Specs,Features or the Basic Info:
SilverStone Element 400Watt PSU ST40EF
Equipped with a new generation of design and components, the Element ST40EF continues SilverStone’s stride toward more efficient power supplies. With higher than 80% efficiency across all loading conditions (from 20% to 100%), the ST40EF produces less wasted heat than typical power supplies and allows the included 120mm fan to operate at minimal speeds, ensuring silent operation for nearly all applications. This stable output and efficient characteristics are packed inside an environmentally-friendly casing that is compatible with nearly any ATX enclosures on the market. If strong and silence are the main priorities, the Element ST40EF is for you.
Features:
Efficiency over 80% across all loading conditions (20% to 100%)
Dual +12V rails for advanced systems
Dual PCI-E connectors (Multi-GPU ready)
Industry-leading silent running 120mm fan
Support for ATX 12V 2.2
Active PFC
{amazon id='B0009VGAM2' align='RIGHT'}
Specs:
Color black (lead-free paint)
Cooling System 1x 120mm fan
Noise Level 20 dBA minimum ~ 29dBA maximum
Weight 2.5 kg
Dimension 150 mm (W) x 86 mm (H) x 140 mm (D)
Max. DC Output: 400W
Load Range:
+3.3V +5V +12V1 +12V2 +5VSB -12V
Max.(Amps) 20A 14A 16A 18A 3.0A 0.3A
Peak (Amps) 18A 18A 3.5A
Min.(Amps) 0.5A 0.3A 1.0A 1.0A 0 0
Range(%) +/-3% +/-3% +/-3% +/-3% +/-3% +/-10%
Ripple(mVp-p) 50mV 50mV 120mV 120mV 50mV 120mV
combined+3.3 , +5V 130W
combined +12V 30A/336W
Connectors:
1 x 24 pin motherboard connector (550mm)
1 x 4-pin ATX12V connector (550mm)
1 x 6-pin PCI-E (550mm)
2 x triple SATA power connectors (500mm + 250mm + 250mm)
6 x 4-pin IDE power connector (500mm + 250mm + 150mm)
2 x 4-pin floppy power connector (500mm + 250mm + 150mm +150mm)
Input Voltage 90V ~ 264V (Auto Range)
Input Frequency Range 47Hz ~ 63Hz
PFC Active PFC (PF>0.95 at full load)
Efficiency Typical >80%
MTBF 100,000 hours at 25°C, full load
Operating temperature 0 ~ 50°C
Protection Over current protection, Over voltage protection, Short circuit, No load operation
A Better Look at Things
:
The box, the box, the box… I'm sure some of you couldn't care about the box huh?! Oh well, you're going to see it anyway. The box for the ST40EF Element is similar to all the other SilverStone power supply boxes, same color scheme same setup.
All the sides of the box are covered with information pertaining to the power supply housed inside, it's always nice to know exactly what you are getting.
Opening the box up we find the user manual right on top, under that we find the Element wrapped up nicely in plastic for protection.
The Element comes with power cord, screws and a 20/24 pin adapter as well.
A Better Look at Things
Continued:
The SilverStone Element is a nice stylish black color, a semi-gloss almost flat finish. On the side that can be viewed easily with the case side off, you will find the specs sticker, the 80Plus logo and the RoHS compliant logo as well.
The back of the PSU features the common honeycomb style of ventilation, this style offers a lot of air to pass through the PSU to make sure it is cool, there is also a rocker switch and the power plug.
On what would be the front of the Element is where we find the power lead out and a small set of ventilation holes.
On the bottom of the Element is the 120mm, silent fan, SilverStone branded of course.
A Better Look at Things
Continued:
SilverStone includes more than enough power cables to get most any system up and running, the list is in the specs but I'll repeat it again:
1 x 24 pin motherboard connector (550mm)
1 x 4-pin ATX12V connector (550mm)
1 x 6-pin PCI-E (550mm)
2 x triple SATA power connectors (500mm + 250mm + 250mm)
6 x 4-pin IDE power connector (500mm + 250mm + 150mm)
2 x 4-pin floppy power connector (500mm + 250mm + 150mm +150mm)
Cracking this power supply open, we can see the large sized components in there, they look to be for industrial or heavy duty usage, which is what you want to see in your PSU.
I really like the style of the heatsinks, they are functional but the 'finger' like design allows for better cooling with increased airflow.
The SilverStone Element looks pretty much like all other SilverStone power supplies, it's not a bad thing, I figure when you got a good thing going stick with it, and besides black just goes with everything…
Anyway, the Element is a nice solid PSU that I'm sure won't disappoint anyone Having reviewed many of SilverStones products I know their quality is excellent, and time after time they have proven this, with every product, SilverStone is very consistent, and quality oriented.
Installation, Testing and Comparison
Installation is very easy, if you've never installed a power supply you can handle this, like any PSU, just a few screws and your done. Of course you need to hook all the power cables up etc, but overall there is not much work involved. The Element is actually a rather small power supply, I would guess that it can fit it almost any case, with the exception being the smallest SFF cases.
I have the Element installed in my CoolerMaster Centurion RC532 case, the system is:
ECS KN1 Sli Lite mobo
AMD X2 4200+ cpu, cooled by an Arctic Cooling Freeze 64 Pro (review next week),
3 gigs of OCZ ram,
3 hard drives,
2 dvd/rw
7800GTX (1st montior)
Radeon x1300 (2nd monitor)
2 x120mm cooling fans and 1 x80mm cooling fan, along with an Icy Dock Modiflash drive enclosure.
So I have a bit of stuff in there that uses a bit of power….
To get the voltages for the 12v and 5v rails I used my trusty Radio Shack Multimeter. To get the idle voltages I let the computer sit for 30 minutes, 15 minutes for each rail and recorded the readings. To get the load voltages I ran Prime 95 Torture Test, one instance on each core, for a total of 30 minutes doing the same thing, 15 minutes for the 5v rails and 15 minutes for the 12 volt rail, and recored the readings. I also ran 3dmark06, two passes and recorded the reading for the 12v rail.
First off I have to say that this is one stable PSU, during testing the rails barely fluctuated.
Sitting Idle:
12v = 12.14v
5v = 4.98v
Load with Prime95:
12v = 12.13v
5v = 4.97v
Load with 3dmark06 12v rail:
12v = 12.11v – 12.13v
The only fluctuations came in while running 3dmark06 as you can see, and they were very minor. As you know 3dmark06 stresses the CPU and the Video Card quite a bit so it does push your system to the limits, and can easily bring most systems to their knees.
I hooked up my Seasonic Power Angel and also checked up on the Power Factor of the Element, it varied from .98 – 1.00, or 98% – 100% PFC during the testing, not bad at all.
As for sound, the Element is very quiet at idle, and at load put out a barely audible hum that I can barely hear over my case fans.
Summary:
I'm very happy with the performance and the SilverStone Element, it handled my system very well. The system seemed very stable and had no problems running anything during the week it was installed in my case, my system is usually on from 7am til about 11pm everyday so it gets a bit of use doing various things. The SilverStone Element meets and exceeds all my expectations, I can easily recommended this to anyone looking for a midrange, efficient power supply.
DragonSteelmods gives the SilverStone Element 400Watt PSU ST40EF a 5 out of 5 and our Recommended Awards as well,
Pros:
-Stable
-Quiet
-SilverStone quality
-Efficient
Cons:
-None
I would like to thank SilverStone for the chance to review the Element and for their continued support of DSM.