Introduction
A couple of years ago we noticed an increased demand in power supplies due to the harder and stringent requirements from hardware.Single GPU went dual-GPU, dual-core went quad-core on processors and we started adding a lot more chips onto motherboards.That combined with our thirst for overclocking resulted into kilowatt+ power supplies.The last year of two we got increasingly more concise about the fact that using a lot of energy .. well it isn't healthy for anyone really.It costs more, PSUs are more expensive and so on.So then the new trend started,more efficient power supplies.Right now most people DIY PC gamers have a 600-700 Watt power supply,preferably an energy efficient one.This new trend resulted in a down flux of the real beasts amongst power supplies.Personally I just love kilowatt+ power supplies,but then again I'm a freak,always have the latest gear and equipment.So when Silverstone released the new ST1500-GS power supply it put a smile upon my face.Silverstone's highest wattage Strider unit offers a lot of bang at 1500W.The ST1500-GS is intended for the really heavy duty work.Silverstone released the 1500 Watt model,which can actually peak towards 1600 Watt.If you're looking to upgrade to three or four of the new GeForce GTX 980's,this review will be well worth your time.
Well read:it's all modular,high amperage single +12V rail and is 80 PLUS Gold certified.Let's dig in now over the next few pages and take a close look.
Packaging & Contents
The packaging for the ST1500-GS power supply is big and trimmed out in black and yellow colors.There is a short list of features on the front.
More information on the product and its features are given on the back of the box.Four graphs provide 3% regulation and low ripple & noise performance,connectivity,efficiency and fan-speed curves.It also redirects you to their website in multiple languages for some more information.
On the top we find a good list of specifications for the unit and it covers all four wattages of the unit.
The other side simply displays a picture of the power supply.
The unit is packed well inside the box with an inch of foam above and below the unit.
Modular cables and accessories take up the rest of the space inside a box.
Once we open the ST1500-GS packaging,we find that the box includes the unit,power cord,mounting screws,fan filter,some zip ties,some Velcro ties,and two user manuals.The inclusion of an owner's manual that provides actual information about our product is also of great help in many situations.
One of the manuals that come with this unit is 10 pages long in English only and the other is 60 pages long in 10 languages.Among this total of 70 pages of literature we find the pinout guide, power label, installation instructions,some trouble shooting steps,and the very complete electrical specifications,actually the most complete we see from any vendor.
Dust can be a psu's worst enemy as it has the potential to lower cooling performance or cause damage when left overly accumulated.The FF141 fan filter that Silverstone threw in the box with the ST1500-GS would certainly make a great compliment to this,or any,psu.
The fan filter has embedded magnet in its frame so it can be effortlessly attached to any steel chassis without tools.Its 140mm size is also compatible with most 120mm fan vents so it can be used in many places that require filtering.
In addition to filtering dust,the fan filter's grille can reduce noise associated with air turbulence.
When it comes to wiring i feel that there are WAHAAY enough connectors for this PSU model,have a look at the supplied connectors,all with decent length by the way.Cable quality is pretty good.Silverstone sells individually sleeved kits if you want more.
Below a precise overview of the connectors,and yes that is not improperly typed that's 8 PCIe PEG connectors.Be prepared to make some geeky noises.
The cables are delivered in a dark black coating.All cables are flat.Good to see is that the connectors themselves are all black as well.
The Psu
SilverStone's ST1500-GS comes in the rough textured black finish.It's made of thick steel.I've never seen another power supply with the same type of texture as the ST1500-GS-it's very subtle but it looks great.
And yeah as you can see,a lengthy product alright with a length of 180mm.It's complete dimensions are 150mm x 86mm x 180mm.Well i assume that if you opt to purchase this beast, you won't have a small PC anyways.But please do check out if you have the space for it as next to the 180mm you will also need to lead out the cabling of course.
On the top is the SilverStone logo stamped into the enclosure.
The bottom houses the 135mm fan.
The fan grill's center is decorated by Silverstone's fancy logo.
One side of the power supply displays the I/O specification label and serial number.
SilverStone chose to leave one side of the power supply blank.
The back houses the standard honeycomb mesh grill. There is no on/off rocker switch for the unit.If you want to kill the power to the PSU,you must unplug the power cable.
The ST1500-GS is a fully modular power supply.All the cables, including the main ATX cable and +12V cables are removable.Most manufacturers leave the mandatory cables hardwired because it creates one less point of failure and electrical resistance,but Silverstone has good justification behind their decision to go 100% modular.
The modular connections on the front are labeled neatly.The PCIe sockets can be also be distinguished by their blue color.
A look Inside
It is obvious that the OEM behind the ST1500-GS is Enhance.The layout of the unit is traditional with the unit being dominated by the large but characteristically nicely machined aluminum heatsinks of Enhance.
These heatsinks have a cutout on the secondary where we find the DC-DC VRMs for the minor rails tucked in.In total, we see five heatsinks here and a rather crowded layout in large part due to capacity of the unit as well as these heatsinks.
The heatsinks are paired with a Young Lin Tech ball bearing fan rated at 0.7A,12v,3W,1.700 rpm,34dBa,91.16CFM.
Starting things off,the input filtering begins on the housing itself with some capacitors and then trails onto the main PCB where it is complete.The first part of the transient / EMI filter located behind the AC and is covered by a metal .It includes a CM coil,four Y capacitors and one X.The same filter continues in the main board with two pairs of X and Y capacitors,two CM coils and a varistor (MOV).
The input EMI filter circuit section.
The rectifier is screwed onto the main heatsink.
In front of this setup towards the edge of the PCB,we find the coil for the APFC as well as the main input capacitors which are four Matsusita (Panasonic) rated at 420v 270uF 105C.
Circuit board 5V,3.3V DC-DC housed in a separate section,in order to don't occupy space in the main portion of the circuit.
The LLC resonant controller is a Champion CM6901.This specific IC company offers very high efficiency with appropriate design and accessories.
The PFC coil is very large,because the input voltage is 110V and can reach more than 16A.
The 12V line is equipped with an additional resistor for short circuit protection.
Stashed throughout the secondary,we see a number of capacitors (both standard and solid) which are provided by Nippon Chemi-con,Rubycon (standard) as well as Teapo.
Test System
In order to review power supplies the right way i needed some key pieces of equipment. Briefly those pieces of equipment are shown below.
SunMoon SM-8800 SMPS ATE
CSI3710A Programmable DC load (+3.3V and +5V outputs)
CSI3711A Programmable DC load (+12V1, +12V2, +12V3, and +12V4)
Extech MultiMaster MM560 digital multimeter
Extech 380803 Power Analyzer
SkyTronic DSL 2 Digital Sound Level Meter (6-130dBa)
Oscium iMSO-104 signal oscilloscope
Oscium WiPry-Combo peak power meter and spectrum analyzer
Sperry DT-506 4 Channel Digital Thermometer
Powerstat Variable Autotransformer, 1.4 KVA, 0-140 VAC
Voltage Variance
Load regulation is quite good.
Cross Load
The power supply coped reasonably well with the cross loading test,although there was minor droop noticeable on the +12V rail when hit with 92 amps.
AC Ripple
Ripple results are excellent,especially on the +12V rail ? peaking at 25mV.This falls in with some of the best results i have seen.
Efficiency
The efficiency ratings are superb, peaking at 92.2% at 50% load.Efficiency drops to 88.7% at full load, which is a good result.If you are running this power supply at a constant 1,500 watts we can?t imagine the system you are powering!
Temperature
The large fan copes with the heat inside the chassis, spinning more actively as the load increases above 1,000 watts.
Noise
The fan spins slowly until around 700 watts is demanded and it begins to increase with load.At 1000 watts the fan is audible although not intrusive.At 1250 Watts,the fan is spinning much faster and will be audible if your system is relatively quiet.At 1500watts the noise increases a little further.
Conclusion
I love the appearance of the Silverstone ST1500-GS power supply?the rough matt finish is very resilient and able to withstand a fair bit of abuse.It manages to offer some protection against fingerprints,thanks to the mottled/textured surface.The cables are delivered in a dark black coating, flat-cable mostly.Good to see is that the connectors themselves are all black as well.Modular designs are the way to go.You use what you need in terms of wiring,keeping the innards clean and tidy,plain and simple.And overall the ST1500-GS is a great looking PSU,slightly longer than your typical ATX sized PSU though.Be sure to check if it even fits inside you PC,then again if you purchase a beast like this i assume you have mutiple graphics cards and at least an XL-ATX sized motherboard in your chassis already.The Silverstone ST1500-GS is impressive and comes with a nice design,is very very stable,quiet,modular and let's not forget this is an efficient power supply rated at 88-92% efficient @ 20-100% load (depending on 110V/230V).More efficient PSUs will not only be a little greener to the environment,they also save you money on your power bill.My motto is simple,higher efficiency PSUs will pay themselves back in the long term, plain and simple.The ST1500-GS obviously had no issues whatsoever with what i threw at it.I also tested the power supply powering four GTX 970 graphics cards,an overclocked 4790K processor and a watercooling kit.The system was rock stable and performance was,as I would expect,remarkable.You can easily power four high end single GPU graphics cards without a problem.Technically,the ST1500-GS is very capable,delivering immense power when needed and fantastic ripple suppression.The +12V rail peaked at 25mV.The Silverstone ST1500-GS can even peak towards 1600 Watt and it would still not fail you,that is very extreme.The tremendous quality that Silverstone offers with its ST1500-GS really oozes and drips from the product.This unit is top of the line and kicks the proverbial aazz big-time.But i also understand that it will be a hard sell,as who really needs a PSU of this class and caliber?These PSU's are designed for the true afficionado's that overclock to the extreme or the onces that build PCs with say 4 GPUs.Realistically that is a limited market.That said however,it does not disqualify how tremendous good this power supply really is.
So yet again there is very little negative to report on the Silverstone ST1500-GS.I would like to see Silverstone backs the ST1500-GS up with a five year warranty(three year warranty now).Now the discussion of whether or not you need a Kilowatt+ Power supply remains VERY trivial. If you really need one, well the Silverstone ST1500-GS will be something to consider alright.It won't be a cheap call to make though,265 EUR was the lowest price I could find for the model tested today.But if you need one, then you better make sure you invest in pure quality.My thesis never failed me in the past.I simply like to have reserves and not once did I run into a stability issue or got an overheated PSU just because I know the PSU will never be an issue (for me).I have this feeling with the PSU as tested today,it has plenty in reserve,a lot of it really and that definitely did show.Even with multiple multi-GPU graphics cards and added PhysX card on an overclocked system the PSU barely coughed silently at best.The unit remains 100% stable,silent and doesn't seem to break a sweat.And that's the kind of gear you like to have feeding your expensive components.You do get what you pay for,an almost demonic PSU with very high efficiency levels,great looks and great connectivity.If you are in the market for a product of this caliber and are willing to pay up the price for it,then heck .. why not?
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