Silverstone SLi 650w Power Supply :: Guide

[Xassius]

This power supply is one of the three SLi validated PSU's (along with the 510 and 850 from PC Power and Cooling). I have recieved this power supply and I would like to uncover some of the uncertainties.

Firstly, the data Silverstone has supplied.
---------------------------------------

http://www.silverstonetek.com/products-65zf.htm

Quad +12V rail for superior performance
Dual PCI-E 6pin connectors (SLI ready)
Four Serial ATA connectors
Industrial class components
Support for ATX 12V 2.0 & EPS 12V
Active PFC

Color Titanium black
Cooling System 1x 80mm ball bearing fan
Noise Level 29 dBA minimum
Weigh 2.7 kg
Dimension 150 mm (W) x 86 mm (H) x 180 mm (D)
MTBF 100,000 hours at 25'C, full load
Operating temperature 0 ~ 50°C
Model Output
+3.3V +5V +12V1 +12V2 +12V3 +12V4 -12V 5Vsb
33A 24A 13A/18A* 18A 16A 8A/13A* 0.5A 2.0A

*Peak
+3.3V & +5V : 170W Max.
+12V1 & +12V2 & +12V3 & +12V4 : 504W(42A) / peak 540W(45A)
Total DC output : 650W Max / 710W Peak.
Protection : Over Current Protection , Under voltage protection , Over Voltage Protection , Short Circuit Protection , No Load Operation

+5V min. load is 10A when +12V output is 30A to 38A
+5V min. load is 15A when +12V output is 38A to 42A

---------------------------------------

NOTE: This power supply is 18cm long and may not fit in some cases [Lian Li V1000] but I can confirm this fits in the CM Stacker.

Noise
This power supply, although rated at 29dBA by Silverstone is quite loud - rivalling that of PC Power and Cooling PSU's. It is obvious that this much noise is needed for a 650w PSU cooled ONLY by a single 80mm Fan.

FAN: ADDA [AD0812UB-A70GL] DC 12v 0.30AMP

What Silverstone had to say: "With the amount of power that ST65ZF needs to deliver at 50C, we had to
increase the speed of the fan so not to compromise on reliability. We know
there are manufactures that feature very slow running fan in their high
wattage models, but this is the exact reason they are unable to pass
NVIDIA's SLI certification test. If it is any consolation, the ST65ZF at
high load exhibits slightly less noise than PC Power & Cooling's 510W model
(another PSU on NVIDIA's SLI list)."

However, that does not explain why they did not have 2x8cm fans in push-pull config similar to that of Topowers and OCZ's.

Cable Sleeving
The two PCI-E 6-pin Power connectors, 4/8 pin CPU connector, 24-pin motherboard connector and the 6-pin EPS connector is sleeved. The 4-pin molexes and sata cables are unsleeved.

Target Market
Silverstone Rep stated that this power supply is not going to be as good as the PC Power and Cooling's but at a level just under that. It has passed the SLi validation tests, so it is at least quite good. :) He also mentioned that it is going to be "affordable" as compared to Zippy or PC Power and Cooling's.

Manufacturer
This power supply is manufactured by Enhance Electronics, a supposed company in the PSU industry with a reputation for "building very reliable power supplies" (Silverstone Rep, 2005). The PSU's +12V rail distribution, exterior casing, and cables are exclusive to SilverStone, however.

Pots
The pots on this power supply are "externally accessible" on the side of the power supply. Through testing, VR3 adjusts the 12v rails as well as the 5v rail. VR1 and VR2 are a mystery to me, however, as soon as I get data from Silverstone, I will let you know.

Rail Distribution
With Quad 12v rails, many would want to know how the rails are distributed.

Both PCI-Express Power connectors are on +12v3 - having 16A available

This Power supply supports EPS12v and thus has a 8-pin power connector [converter included] and +12v1 and +12v2 are attached to this. Thus, 31A available for the CPU Power connector.

SATA connectors = ALSO on +12v2

Molex connectors = +12v4

Motherboard 24-pin 12v = +12v3

Even so, the max output for the 12v rails TOGETHER are 42A. However, over current protection will not kick in until 20Amps are drawn from each 12v rail.

Note: This power supply has "crossloading" issues. e.g.
+5V min. load is 10A when +12V output is 30A to 38A
+5V min. load is 15A when +12V output is 38A to 42A
meaning that a minimum load on 5v is required for high amps on the +12v

Ripple
Area of concern is here.

+3.3V 100 mVp-p
+5V 100 mVp-p
+12V1 150 mVp-p
+12V2 150 mVp-p
+12V3 150 mVp-p
+12V4 150 mVp-p
-12V 150 mVp-p
+5VSB 100 mVp-p

Silverstone provided me with this data. ATXv2.0 calls for a maximum of 120mVp-p ripple on the 12v rail. Whilst the real ripple MAY be lower than the values listed here, it still represents a concern as this data is from Silverstone [the ones marketing this product].

[Jack]

how much will these things cost?

[eva2000]

interesting this psu is listed at one of my fav Aussie retailers Auspcmarket.com.au http://www.auspcmarket.com.au/show_product_info.php?input[product_code]=PS-ST65Z&input[category_id]=1287 at AUD$228 = US$180

[saaya]

hey, this thread doesnt really belong in the xtreme overclocking section wich is for xtreme overclocks only, i moved your thread to the general hardware section section wich is for all general hardware related topics.

please post in the acccurate section the next time, if you dont know what section to post in the please contact any of us mods and we will help you :)

[dreamworkz]

NICE Xassius! Thanks man...Ive been looking at this power supply but didnt know the right questions to ask silverstone about it. I would've like the push pull of the fans instead of a one fan design. Did they ever tell you what this power supply wattage was rated at 50c? man, for the price and your review, I think im going to pick it up now. Thanks!

[Fzero]

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=17-163-108&depa=0 175 looks like its gana be a pretty good psu but what would be the use for 4 12v rails?

[Xassius]

NICE Xassius! Thanks man...Ive been looking at this power supply but didnt know the right questions to ask silverstone about it. I would've like the push pull of the fans instead of a one fan design. Did they ever tell you what this power supply wattage was rated at 50c? man, for the price and your review, I think im going to pick it up now. Thanks!

They didn't.

The fan leads also isn't soldered in the power supply and goes thru a connector, so replacing the noisy fan should be easy.

[eva2000]

They didn't.

The fan leads also isn't soldered in the power supply and goes thru a connector, so replacing the noisy fan should be easy.
wow that's good to have :)

[spytech]

thanks Xassius for all the in depth info. keep us posted about the vr1 & 2 pots. now that newegg has it, i will go ahead and order it.

[Fzero]

can some one tell me what the point of 4 12v rails is?

[J-Mag]

can some one tell me what the point of 4 12v rails is?

Supposedly it seperates possibe noise (ripple) from one batch of components to another.

Although, personaly I beleive it is an effective marketing tool PSU manufacturer's use because:

A: People are Morons
B: The More is always better, mentality.
C: It is DEFINATELY cheaper to produce a 650w with 4 12v rails vs same spec PSU but all the 12v is on one rail.
D: All the above

[Squid_Spit]

+5V min. load is 10A when +12V output is 30A to 38A
+5V min. load is 15A when +12V output is 38A to 42A

Thats the part that concerns me, how would you know how many amps you're pulling from the +5v rail.

[Xassius]

Supposedly it seperates possibe noise (ripple) from one batch of components to another.

Although, personaly I beleive it is an effective marketing tool PSU manufacturer's use because:

A: People are Morons
B: The More is always better, mentality.
C: It is DEFINATELY cheaper to produce a 650w with 4 12v rails vs same spec PSU but all the 12v is on one rail.
D: All the above

A: Intel Specs says so (if more than 18A on the 12v rail, split)
B: Less Ripple between electrically noisy fans and the CPU [yes, it impacts when you're really pushing the limit]
C: Not really. Just short the Quad 12v rails and be done with [Silverstone shorted 12v 1 and 12v 2 for the CPU line {only if using 4 pin}]
D: The more seperate rails [if assuming same quality] the better AS LONG AS no COMPONENTS are STARVED FOR POWER.

[Xassius]

+5V min. load is 10A when +12V output is 30A to 38A
+5V min. load is 15A when +12V output is 38A to 42A

Thats the part that concerns me, how would you know how many amps you're pulling from the +5v rail.

That's what I refered to when I said the Cross Loading issues. This also concerns me.

Hard drives and CD Drive pull on the 5v rails. RAM also pulls on this rail on some motberboards [DFI SLi's]

NOTE: This psu is NOT in the LEAGUE of Zippys or PC Power and Coolings, but it IS in the league straight after that.

[eva2000]

Xassius, so how's the psu fairing ?

[gr8golf]

Anyone seen these at the original price level lately? ($130)

[The Mofo]

I picked one up today and it was $179. Looking at it, its a nice PSU. Has adjustable rails just like he said on the side of the case.

However, theres nothing in the damn book to tell you the rails are adjustable nor which is what. Kind of stupid if you ask me. I needed a PSU until my monster 850 ships, so i decided to go for it.

[eva2000]

i justed ordered one of these as well from local Aussie retailer www.auspcmarket.com.au as i'm delegating my 580W Topower 686P6 to file server duties with it's 44A/5V and 35A/12V and using the silverstone sli psu for my sli rig

[The Mofo]

http://www.venomousmofo.com/mofo04/zeus1.jpg
http://www.venomousmofo.com/mofo04/zeus2.jpg
http://www.venomousmofo.com/mofo04/zeus3.jpg
http://www.venomousmofo.com/mofo04/zeus4.jpg

[eva2000]

thanks for the pics although the lighting was poor heh

[The Mofo]

Yea well i dont like blinding light in my lab.. Flash is too much.

I installed it, so far, im not impressed.

Which one of those pots is VR3? Also, im assuming 3.3v rail isnt adjustable. If thats the case, this thing sucks balls. My Vimm voltage dropped by .50. Give you an example...

http://www.venomousmofo.com/mofo04/beforezeus.png

http://www.venomousmofo.com/mofo04/afterzeus.png

[eva2000]

why not impressed ?

[The Mofo]

Welp i put this into a file server which is 100% load 24/7 as it serves not only my media, but my D20L crunching as well.. Out of the box, the voltages arent that impressive next to the POS TT480W i had installed in the box. Even the Dimm is down. Now, if i can get the voltages up, i wont complain. However, theres absolutely no instructions stating which POT is what and at the moment, i dont have a small enough screw driver to fiddle around with it.

[eva2000]

ah i see.. how does your old 480W 3.3/5V rails compare to this 650W as i think the 650W has low spec'd 3.3v and 5V if you have alot of drives could be a factor ?

which DFI board ? NF4 with 3.3v or 5V jumper ?

from your pic only 2 out of 4 12Vs are adjustable ?

[The Mofo]

If you look above, you get a good comparison.

Drives installed are 2 Maxtors. Ones a SATA 80 Gig the other is a Pata 160 gig. There 2 optical burners installed. Radeon 9800XT. System is OC'd.

I'd say the voltages as far as the rail goes, are slightly higher then the TT, but not by much. The 3.3V could use a kick and so could the +12V. This PSU doesnt have a -12V.

[The Mofo]

which DFI board ? NF4 with 3.3v or 5V jumper ?


Tried it on the NF4 with 5V jumper, works fine. As far as all 4 +12V rails being adjustable, its unknown at this time. Ill have more results tomorrow when i start playing with it.

[eva2000]

you sure the -12V is listed on http://www.silverstonetek.com/products-65zf.htm

i should have my psu tomorrow and see how it goes

[The Mofo]

I read a review on the web where they interviewed the guy from Silverstone. He stated that the -12V was never designed into the PSU because its not used in the industry no longer. Lemme see if i can dig it up.. Whoops, my bad, -5V line, sorry..



http://www.techimo.com/articles/i230.html

[Xassius]

if you adjust. ALL 4 rails go up and down.

And BTW, VR3 is the pot ALL by itself, not the tandem ones. Be careful though, only move the pot a LITTLE at a time.

Maybe it's not. My P5AD2-E read the 12v rail as 12.77v, yet with a DMM, it was only 12.22v

[The Mofo]

Hmm interesting. Ill take a stab at it in the morning.. So you never got word back from Silverstone as to what the tandem VR's are for? I really wish the 3.3V line was adjustable :bsod:

[Xassius]

Hmm interesting. Ill take a stab at it in the morning.. So you never got word back from Silverstone as to what the tandem VR's are for? I really wish the 3.3V line was adjustable :bsod:


No :< They never replied

[eva2000]

Talk about luck or not, today my 580W Topower 686P6 psu decided to die on me :(

1. Booted DFI NF4 SLI-D system (at stock speeds), went into bios to disable onboard audio and rebooted pc and it didn't boot up :eek:
2. So turned psu off from the switch, cleared cmos, and then turned psu switch on and my APC BackUPS RS 1500VA UPS started screaming with red flashing overload beep alarm.
3. At this point the system automatically shut down and won't boot up anymore. :banana::banana::banana::banana:ting in my pants I calmly remove the 580W Topower 686P6 psu, plug in the Antec psu tester to test the psu. PSU won't start at all testing it standalone. Looks like RMA time for 580W Topower psu sigh.

Here's the lucky part, I have this 650W Silverstone psu which i bought and arrived yesterday and i was planning to use in this DFI NF4 SLI-D system.

1. So I unpack 650W Silverstone psu, connect it standalone to Antec psu tester, and flicked the psu on switch and yup starts up and runs fine.
2. Install 650W Silverstone psu onto my DFI NF4 SLI-D system and turns on and boots up fine! Now to testing this 650W Silverstone's psu rails.

System:

3500+ CAA2C 0507 GPMW @11x201HTT = 2211mhz at 1.48v stock vcore
DFI NF4 SLI-D 331-3 bios
2x 256MB XMS3500C2v1.1 BH-5 @2226 2.7v
2x 256MB eVGA 6800Ultra PCI-E SLI @ stock 425/1100 76.10 drivers
120GB WD 1200JB
Pioneer A05 Burner

MCW6002 + MCP650+MCP600 series + Thermochill 120.3 with 3x120x38mm Panaflo 103cfm fans
120x38mm Delta 190cfm 36W fan on Thermaltake fan speed controller on Medium speed (75%)

650W Silverstone Dual PCI-E SLI ST65ZF power supply

Antec PSU Tester
12v = 12v
5v = 5.12v
3v = 3.35v

Out of box
Rail = Bios idle / MM idle
12v = 11.70v / 11.86v
5v = 4.97v / 5.10v
3.3v = 3.25v / NA

Adjusted standalone pot on side of psu
Rail = Bios / MM idle / SG idle / Load SG / Load MM
12v = 12.02v / 12.22v / 11.83v / 11.77v / 12.16v
5v = 5.13v / 5.10v / 5.16v / 5.16v / 5.10v
3.3v 3.25v / NA / 3.21v / 3.21v / NA

MM = Multimeter
SG = Smartguardian windows monitoring app

Summary:
- Seems 3.3v rail is low :(
- 12v rail out of the box while in system was low too at 11.70 in windows or 11.86v on multimeter
- when i set 12V to 12.28v via MM reading I didn't have 120x38mm Delta 36W fan plugged in. Plug in 36W delta fan at 75% speed, 12v rail read 12.22v on multimeter!
- 5v rail steady so no probs there
- cable length is adequate
- cable config is 2 cables with 3x 4pin molex + 1x fdd connector, 2x PCI-E connectors, 1x 6pin connector, 1x 8pin connector + 8pin to 4pin converter, 2x cables with 2x SATA connectors each

More testing to come...

[The Mofo]

Same results as me. Eva, are you able to raise the 3.3V rail at all?

[eva2000]

Haven't looked into adjusting those 2 pots yet so not sure if 3.3v rail ca n be raised yet

[The Mofo]

O, im pulling the rig out and im going to adjust them and see what i get from it.

[eva2000]

Good luck mate, looking forward to your results :)

[The Mofo]

Like you, i got a huge diff in voltage from my MM, to BIOS to SG.. I raised my rails to 5.4, 12.5 however, the 3.3 wont budge, even after playing around with the tandem VRs. :mad:

until this gets resolved, i rate this PSU in the Sux0rs dept!

[The Mofo]

I just fired off an email to Silverstone. Let's see what they will do.

[J-Mag]

Why does it matter if you need the 3.3v higher?

3.2v or even 3.1v wont cause any problems... uNless you are doing some VDIMM mod or something...

[Xassius]

Seems like my sample was different. Stock - idle 12.0x volts (with DMM) and 11.87 load.

In my experimentation, the two other pots do NOTHING for the rails I think :confused:

On my old AA8 board, the voltage of the 3.3v corellated to my ram voltage

3.3v - 2.25v
3.4v - 2.30v
3.5v - 2.37v

:woot:

[Fzero]

maybe hipro5 will find a easy mod to do to it to bring the 3.3v up :)

[eva2000]

Xassius what serial number first 4 digits your psu, there's 2 revs

0508 and before = rev1
0509 and after = rev2

mines 0509

http://forums.2cpu.com/showthread.php?s=&postid=513650#post513650



This has, in fact, turned out to be a very pertinent question! Here is the reply from Silverstone support:

I had checked the question specification.
I found we have two version of ST65ZF

the version 1 SPEC. ( suitable for Single CPU system with SLI )
+12V1(13A/18A) -> CPU1
+12V2 (18A) -> CPU2 & PCI-E
+12V3 (16A) -> Motherboard & S-ATA
+12V4 (8A/13A) -> HDD Driver

the version 2 SPEC. ( suitable for Dual CPU system with SLI or Single CPU system with SLI )
+12V1(13A/18A) -> CPU1
+12V2 (18A) -> CPU2 & S-ATA
+12V3 (16A) -> Motherboard & PCI-E
+12V4 (8A/13A) -> HDD Driver

You can differentiate by the label on the color box.(please check the attach picture)
You can see the picture S/N is 0505 00112 ( is mean 2005 fifth week )
Before 2005 eighth week (0508 xxxx) is version 1.
Afther 0509 xxxx is version 2.
I think your system is better to use version 2.

I am sorry to tell you the version 2. will be saled at the end of March.
thanks.

[Xassius]

Mine is 0511 00380

hmm. Two weeks newer than yours :D

3.3v mod should work with the 3.3v PSU "Sense" mod right?

[Xassius]

SS reply:

"Hi Carson, I am sorry for the late reply but I have been waiting also for
another reply from our engineer. I did however, gotten a reply for him in
regards to the internal Pots located on the heatsink and also another one
underneath it. The three on the heatsink are used to adjust the
over-current protection for 3.3V, 5V, and 12V. The one underneath the
heatsink adjusts the +12V rails. However I must emphasize that we highly
advise against adjusting any pots in the ST65ZF as they are calibrated to
meet the specification (including reliability and other safety regulation)
we outlined."

Seems like the tandem pots do nothing really - except for over-current protection (which is next to useless). AND the single pot NOT ONLY adjusts the 12v, but also the 5v (not as silverstone states). And these pots are NOT on a heatsink or internal. They are "external" and on a seperate pcb.

[eva2000]

hmmm maybe engineer got the model mixed up ?

[The Mofo]

Sounds like it.. Mines a 0311 serial as well.

[eva2000]

Hmmm not sure if it's psu or the newer drivers for SLI but i'm getting lock ups in windows with certain drivers for my 2x eVGA 6800U PCI-E SLI@stock 425/1100 with this psu plugged in. In non SLI mode it's fine though.

[The Mofo]

Weird. I dont have dual 6800's or Ultras to test the SLI lines. I only have dual 6600's. I did find the 2 dedicated PCI-E plugs and 1 non dedicated PCI-E plug odd though. 3 PCI plugs. Youre using the 2 marked as PCI-E no?

[eva2000]

yeah 2x 6pin PCI-E labeled connectors, the 3rd 6pin isnt for PCI-E bot for dual cpu server boards i.e. like Tyan s2895 dual opteron PCI-E SLI board

[Jupiler]

A new PSU section has been created under the General Hardware one (thx saaya), so I moving this topic to that section, so things stay nicely organized.

[The Mofo]

Eva, have you gotten SLI to work yet without lockups? I think it may be the drivers.

[eva2000]

yeah it was the drivers, did fresh winxp pro sp2 install and 71.89WHL and no more lock ups :)

also PC and Power 510W SLI vs Silverstone 650W review at http://www.linuxhardware.org/article.pl?sid=05/04/15/1742246&mode=thread

so maybe smartguardian is buggy and my multimeter seems to be low on battery power heh

[The Mofo]

Awesome bro, glad to hear it wasnt the PSU. Good review btw, thanks for the link.

[The Mofo]

Ok silverstone replied to my email and here's what they had to say. Im firing off a reply however as i feel the 3.3 rail SHOULD be adjustable just like PPC&C AND OCZ.. There are obvious reasons for these adjustments...


Hi Kevin, thank you very much for purchasing a SilverStone and for sharing your experience with us. However, I must tell you that we do not recommend users to adjust the VR as they are for final tuning before they are packaged and shipped from the factory. Therefore, we do not include instruction on what they do. However, for your information, the +3.3V rail is not adjustable in the ST65ZF. The +3.3V rail is the one that usually requires no fine tuning so the design did not incorporate POTS for it.



We treated your report as a precaution that perhaps our latest shipment had unusually low +3.3V rail. Please keep in mind that our spec calls for a 5% tolerance for all rails so for the +3.3V rail, this gives us a range of 3.14 and 3.47. While the numbers you have measured were still within this acceptable range, we usually like to be as close to 3.3 as possible so I had commissioned our PSU engineer to double check the power supplies we have on hand. And from our testing, we’ve found that all ST65ZF samples we had that were produced recently are still within 3.25 to 3.37 when the load on the +3.3V rail is around 10amp.



May I ask how you are measuring the +3.3V rail with the multi meter? We recommend you measure this value from the side of motherboard 24pin connector with 2 orange wires.

In the rare incidence that the multi meter may not be accurate, the best way to really know if your power supply is not supplying enough power is to use it with your system. A power supply that is not supplying correctly will result in an unstable system. Have you actually tried overclocking your system and see if it had overclocked less than your previous power supply or when compared to OCZ and PC Power & Cooling power supplies you were talking about?



Sometimes it is more difficult to appreciate power supply of ST65ZF’s caliber because very few PC’s currently (if any) can actually fully load it. If you were to get a dual Opteron motherboard with 6800 ultra in SLI and load it up with 4GB of RAM and 10 high speed hard drives, you will then see the difference between ST65ZF the likes of OCZ and Thermaltake. The strength of ST65ZF comes from its high output +12V rails, which is the most important rail for modern high end CPU and video cards. Consequently, this is also where you will extract the most performance from an overclocked system as well. So please give your power supply a try and see how high you can overclock!



If you have anymore concerns or questions, please feel free to let me know.



Tony Ou
SilverStone Technology Co., Ltd
http://www.silverstonetek.com


I can think of 20 people here that could fully load that psu to full capacity, if not beyond. We will see what they say when i fire off my reply.

[eva2000]

thanks for the info so 3.2+ on 3.3v is normal to them

[The Mofo]

Ya, i got another email from them tonight and theyh show me pics of it on the bench. Ill send them over to this computer from the network and post them with their response. He did mention, they are listening to our suggestions.