Silverstone Strider ST56F 560W PSU

• Processor – AMD 3700+ San Diego 1MB L2
• Motherboard – DFI LanParty Ultra – D
• Video Card – eVga 7800 GT
• Power Supply – Silverstone ST56F Strider
• Memory – 512 x 2 Crucial Ballistix
• Hard Disk – 1 WD Raptor 74 GB / Seagate 160 GB
• Sound Card – Creative Audigy ZS2
• OS – Windows XP Pro / SP2

On to the results!

Those are pretty stable rails there folks. The rails stayed around where they should be and well with in the advertised range that Silverstone so to me, there is nothing to worry about. The rails were solid, the sound was virtually not there and the look is top notch. What’s not to love about this PSU? There is one more thing that I would like to mention about this power supply and that’s the fact that it does in fact feature active PFC. PFC stands for Power Factor Correction and what this basically means is that allows power distribution to operate at its maximum efficiency (according to endpcnoise.com.) To quote the same source again:

Because Active PFC uses a circuit to correct power factor, Active PFC is able to generate a theoretical power factor of over 95%. Active Power Factor Correction also markedly diminishes total harmonics, automatically corrects for AC input voltage, and is capable of a full range of input voltage. Since Active PFC is the more complex method of Power Factor Correction, it is more expensive to produce an Active PFC power supply.

If you understood any of that, and for those that didn’t exactly follow, if you can afford it, active PFC is a better idea for your PC. I am not saying that you wont have any luck with a power supply with passive PFC because all of my power supplies up until this one have been passive but what I am saying is that a PSU with active PFC will provide your PC with "cleaner" power.

All in all, I liked this power supply. I actually liked it a lot. The presentation was good, with the box being attractive. The packing was tight and secure. The power supply preformed as it should. It lived up to my hopes and expectations. As good as the ST56F is, it is with down points. I would have liked to have seen all of the cables in sleeves and while I feel it is worth it, the 130 dollar (US) price can and will scare off a fair amount of possible customers. This isn’t a big deal because I have always thought that you get what you pay for and in saying that, I am not saying that you will get a PSU that will crap out and take your PC with it if it costs less than this one. What I am saying is that for 130 dollars, you are getting a damn good PSU that can handle most anything that you decide to throw at it.

Pros
• Sexy
• High quality build
• Active PFC
• Quiet!
• Efficient
• Powerful (560W)
• SLi and Crossfire Ready

Cons
• Price
• Lacking cable sleeving on all cables.

You can pick the Strider ST56F at some etailers for just under $130. With that said, go get you one and see just how good a power supply can be.

I am giving the ST56F a score of 9 out of 10 possible with the only point missing going towards the steep price. This is a relative debate though because some will have no qualms with spending that but most will.

Thanks to Silverstone for once again working with us and allowing us to take a look at their ever improving line of products.

If you comments or questions about the review, we invite you to post in our related thread. You do not have to register in order to comment!