SilverStone SX700-PT 700W SFX Power Supply Review

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Build Quality

As we already know the SilverStone SX700-PT a single 92mm fan design that is similar to the preferred 80mm cooling solution by some brands. The major downside to this fan design is that to move a sufficient volume of air to cool a high output power supply it must spin very fast resulting in elevated noise levels. While these 92mm designs are not great for quiet computing environments the key criteria in our evaluation is whether or not the cooling solution is sufficient, not necessary its sound level or form factor, and our comments on such later are not absolute decibel values.

External Build Quality

The exterior of the SilverStone SX700-PT is different from the previous SFX units from SilverStone in appearance, but the same in form. The difference in branding today gives the unit a better look, while maintaining the same high construction standards. Cosmetically, the power label still takes up one entire side of the unit and is not the best look. However, the opposite side of this unit features that new SilverStone, and unit specific, branding which is nicer than what we have seen before with the SX700-G. The modular interface is well labeled and there are a pair of blue housing side connectors for the PCIe cables. Rounding things out, the unit has a durable black finish and an overhead 92mm fan.

The SilverStone SX700-PT comes in at a total length of ~4 inches while the cables come in at a length of ~13″ to 23″ to the first or only connector. Additionally, the cables are all FlexForce style cables which is excellent and it is fully modular. It supports an EPS ATX 12v connector.

Internal Build Quality

Once we open the top of the SilverStone SX700-PT, we see a rather cramped unit that looks like the SX700-G. However, that is to be expected from a pair of 700W SFX units that share the same platform. The topology is, once again, a half-bridge resonant LLC primary with a synchronous rectification secondary and DC-DC VRM’s for the minor rails. The fan cooling this unit today is an FDB Globe Fan fan rated at 0.45A at 12v and it is paired with one large heatsink and two very small heatsinks. Lastly, the soldering is generally very neat which is not always the case with Sirfa built units.

The SX700-PT input filtering begins upon the housing itself where we find a PCB with some X capacitors, Y capacitors, and a coil. The balance of the input filtering is found on the back edge of the main PCB. There are then a pair of bridge rectifiers next in line but they are not attached to a heatsink. The APFC coil is next and it is followed by the APFC power components and main switchers attached to the only substantial heatsink in the unit. Speaking of this heatsink, the main input capacitor is right next to it and is provided by Rubycon with a rating of 420v 470uF 85C.

The secondary side of this unit looks a little less crowded than the primary but that is only because the input filtering that was on the housing is not in the way as it was also attached to the main PCB here (and we have removed it). In the middle of this area, we find the main transformer by a pair of tiny heatsinks. These heatsinks are used by the MOSFETs which are on the back of the main PCB and they use the case as a heatsink as well (seen above). Next to this, we find the DC-DC VRMs housed on their own PCB (populated by FPCAP solid capacitors) up against the modular PCB and edge of the main PCB. In front of these PCB’s, we find a few standard electrolytics provided by Nippon Chemi-con and Nichicon. The modular PCB construction looks very nice and there are more FPCAP solid capacitors here as well.

Build Quality Summary

Today’s SilverStone SX700-PT is the second SFX power supply we have seen from SilverStone and it could be summed up as “second verse, same as the first”. The build quality looks very nice/excellent but this unit is, obviously, very small so it is a bit cramped. The exterior is a bit nicer than what we got with the SX700-G as SilverStone has taken a shot at putting some branding in place today along with the FlexForce style cables. The integration seems to be very well done and the component selection is excellent as we see Rubycon, Nippon Chemi-con, and Nichicon standard capacitors as well as FPCAP solid capacitors. We also see an FDB Globe Fan fan used in this unit. All in all, the SilverStone SX700-PT is not the most visually striking unit we have seen, but it is better than the SX700-G in this regard and it does seem to be well built where it matters. Let’s move on now to the load tests and see how this unit performs!

Paul Johnson
Paul is a long time PC hobbyist and tech enthusiast having gotten his start when he broke his first C64 quickly followed by breaking his first IBM XT. Most notably however, for 12 years, he served as the Power Supply Editor for one of the truly early, groundbreaking, and INDPENDENT PC enthusiast sites ([H]ardOCP) until its mothballing in April of 2019. Paul now brings the same flair and style of his power supply reviews to The FPS Review.

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