The SilverStone SX700-LPT SFX 700W PSU Review
by E. Fylladitakis on September 30, 2016 9:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Cases/Cooling/PSUs
- PSUs
- SilverStone
- SFX
Cold Test Results
For the testing of PSUs, we are using high precision electronic loads with a maximum power draw of 2700 Watts, a Rigol DS5042M 40 MHz oscilloscope, an Extech 380803 power analyzer, two high precision UNI-T UT-325 digital thermometers, an Extech HD600 SPL meter, a self-designed hotbox and various other bits and parts. For a thorough explanation of our testing methodology and more details on our equipment, please refer to our How We Test PSUs - 2014 Pipeline post.
The efficiency of the SilverStone SX700-LPT is excellent, meeting and surpassing the 80Plus Platinum guideline with an input voltage of 230V AC. Our instruments measured a maximum efficiency of 94.3% at 50% load and an average efficiency across the entire nominal load range (20% to 100% of the unit's capacity) of 92.5%. The low load efficiency of the PSU is outstanding as well, with a reading of 89.2% and 81.4% under 10% load and 5% load respectively.
The SX700-LPT sports a semi-fanless design, meaning that the fan will start only after the load is higher than 150W. Due to its densely packed design, the internal temperatures of the SX700-LPT rise sharply until the fan starts, but the internal temperatures drop down to reasonable levels once the fan is working. When operating in room temperature, the cooling fan is relatively tolerable with loads only up to 500 Watts. Beyond that point, the thin fan speeds up significantly in order to keep up with the cooling needs of the PSU, reaching above 44 dB(A) at maximum load, an uncomfortable noise level for casual use.
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JoeyJoJo123 - Monday, October 3, 2016 - link
I don't believe you realize that the FTZ01, ML07, and RVZ01 cases are all designed to have one intake case fan over the CPU and two in the GPU compartment. It's a 13 liter case, half of which is sectioned off to the GPU. The GPU takes up some volume and the fans take up some volume of that 6.5 liters of GPU compartment air. With an open air cooler, it's not unreasonable for it to be suffocating of fresh air when the compartment probably has less than 2 liters of open space.Ej24 - Friday, September 30, 2016 - link
Agreed. Also take in to account increasing efficiencies. My gtx 1080 at 180w demolishes top cards from previous generations that used to be in the 250-300w range. And my cpu is a 65w i7. Going by tdp, while not the best, that's less than 250w at full load. Power supply requirements will only continue to drop.ImSpartacus - Friday, September 30, 2016 - link
I think the bigger issue is that a cramped case that demands an sfx psu quite possibly won't have the extra space for this non-standard "sfx-l" design.That starts to defeat the purpose of having a compact psu in the first place...
But I suppose if Silverstone made a case or two that used the sfx-l standard, then it might be worth it to them.
JoeyJoJo123 - Friday, September 30, 2016 - link
They have plenty of SFX-L compatible cases.ML07: http://www.silverstonetek.com/product.php?pid=503
ML08: http://www.silverstonetek.com/product.php?pid=607
RVZ01: http://www.silverstonetek.com/raven/products/index...
RVZ01-E: www.silverstonetek.com/raven/products/index.php?model=RVZ01-E
RVZ02: http://www.silverstonetek.com/raven/products/index...
FTZ01: http://www.silverstonetek.com/product.php?pid=533
Samus - Friday, September 30, 2016 - link
Don't forget the legendary FT03-Mini. Liquid cooling, 3 drives, 10.5" videocard, X99 ITX, optical drive, integrated cable management, in less than 18 liters.ImSpartacus - Friday, September 30, 2016 - link
Really? The FT03 Mini supports it?Ok, that, alone, justifies the existence of this psu.
Honestly, while writing my comment, I was literally thinking, "if it doesn't fit in something like the ft03 mini, then why bother?"
Velocialume - Friday, September 30, 2016 - link
Hmm. I've always been under the impression that case didn't support SFX-L .. I just got that 600w corsair to power my new 1080.Samus - Saturday, October 1, 2016 - link
I just checked the clearances, and it will fit only because it's modular. Most of the space behind my PSU in the FT03-mini is taken for cable management of the PSU sources.However, it's going to be hell running the "bottom row" of power from this PSU without losing the DVD cage, something I refuse to do with my case. I mean, there are hacks to get a full ATX PSU to fit if you are willing to sacrifice the DVD tray and the 3.5"\2.5" bay (leaving you a single 2.5" tray at the bottom) and at that point the case is ruined for functionality.
Again, not impossible, but let's just say you will need to install the PSU with cables already installed and routed, there is no way to manage/add/remove them once it's mounted and they are smashed against the DVD tray.
It has never been a user friendly case to work inside. It isn't like my hands get cut up or anything but simple tasks like removing the video card requires removing the PSU, DVD, 2.5" SSD, 3.5" HDD, memory DIMMS and depending on where the PCIe connectors go on the video card (such as out the rear instead of the top) you may even have to remove the radiator. Shorter 10" or less video cards are a cinch in comparison to twist and pull but when you are running an out of spec 10.85" card like I am, you go to hell to make it work.
Wouldn't give the case up for anything else though.
piroroadkill - Saturday, October 1, 2016 - link
Even the smallest case that can fit decent hardware (Dan Case A4-SFX) can fit an SFX-L PSU.TheinsanegamerN - Monday, October 3, 2016 - link
There are many SFX class cases that cant take SFX-L.