Silverstone

Introduction

The search for a power supply for my latest case-build “Yuugou,” was a long and arduous task. After all, the power supply is
arguably the most important piece of hardware in your computer since, without a good one, your brand new enthusiast
hardware is not going anywhere.

I was in need of a high wattage, modular power supply and, for me, the SilverStone company name has always been analogous
to quality. Naturally I was very interested in their Strider line of power supplies. For an extreme rig (i.e. 8800GTX Sli) a high
wattage power supply is a must; but a combination of great looks, great price, great quality and most important, modularity, is
rather difficult to find on the market. For this, I turned to the brand new SilverStone Strider ST85F 850 watt power supply.

First Impressions

Upon picking up the Strider’s packaging, I immediately noticed the
weight. I had hoped that weight would equal great quality. The box
itself hadn’t faired so well during shipping, receiving numerous
crushed corners and seemingly detrimental scars, however, that was
the shipper’s fault. Luckily the power supply survived unscathed
despite the damage to the box and wow, it was beautiful.

At first glance you will immediately notice something different about this power supply. In an effort to increase the cooling
performance while decreasing the noise produced, SilverStone has gone with a 135mm fan as opposed to the 120mm fan on previous
models of the Strider series. This fan is supposed to be silent and I will test this claim once the beast is up and running in Yuugou.

As you can see from the pictures, the specs are rather respectable compared to similar power supplies on the market.
Another great thing about this power supply is that the Strider ST85F is completely modular. The power supply comes with a
myriad of cables making the wiring process much simpler. Also included is a pouch for all of your unused cables, definitely a
nice touch.

Down to Details

Since Yuugou is not done yet, I cannot really test the voltages and stability of the power supply but I can go more deeply into
the aesthetics of the ST85F.

One thing that is important for power supplies in case mods is the finish of the power supply casing. I recently built a
computer for someone which had a power supply that I was originally interested in (I won't name the brand) but the finish
was just awful. Given this experience, I was pleasantly surprised to find that the ST85F has a beautifully done case that
should go well with any case. The real test are close up detail shots like the ones below.

As you can see, SilverStone has put a lot of effort into the details. I also really like how the set in the fan. It gives a very nice
finish. One more great feature of the ST85F is the labeled connector layout shown above. This will really help to make sure
everything is where is should be and hopefully eliminate any wiring mistakes by modders when making their own cable
combinations. (Trust me, it happens)

Next Generation Ready

This power supply is completely ready to power any Next Generation video card sli setup. It comes with 4 6-pin pci-e connectors
and also 2 8-pin pci-e connectors to power the latest Nvidia or AMD/ATI setup.

New Home

To conclude this review, I have some pictures of where the ST85F will be going in my case. The case isn't complete yet but it is
getting there. I'll have final pictures later once everything is done.

I must send thanks to SilverStone for providing this power supply for me. They are a great company with a lot of great products.
If you would like to see more of the SilverStone lineup or the ST85F in particular, go to their website: SilverStone