Getting a new power supply isn’t the most exciting thing in the world, and you’re not going to see any improvement to your computer, but remember that your PSU is what keeps your computer running so choose wisely.

At around £90 ($155), the Strider is not a cheap PSU so I am expecting a lot from Silverstone, but this high price is reflected in the quality materials used in the manufacture.  The Strider unusually only has one fan cooling the components; the air flow is helped by the honeycomb back panel which allows the hot air to easily disperse, the power switch is in it usual place but I was a little disappointed with the small power on/off button preferring a more robust version, the power connection is bellow the switch and I think keeps the power cable out of the way.

The other side is more interesting, as you can see the Strider ST60F is cooled by one 120mm fan, but I am more interested in the modular connections, if you have never seen a modular PSU before then this might interest you, the way it is simple you only plug in the cables that you need, no more octopus PSU taking up half your computer case while it craps up your airflow, I cant see why this was not done 10 years ago but at least some cleaver chap realized that not all people need 10 molex connections.

The back of the Striders modular connection process is very easy to follow because of the connection diagram, all you need do is plug the correct cable into the proper port and if you don’t need something well leave it out, again it surprises me that somebody hasn’t developed a modular many years ago.

The Strider is relatively small 150mm(W) x 86(H) x 180(D) but I have seen smaller, this is not such much a problem as it would be with a normal PSU but since the Strider is modular you do not have the problem of unneeded cables, and the left over wire can easily be hidden.

Although the Strider is not the smallest PSU on the market, I think that you could use this unit on a MicroATX system without any problems, this is quite surprising and I would like to see a MicroATX running SLi or a Crossfire setup.

The Strider ST60F cables are all braided and I must say the braiding is of a high standard, there is no bagginess here something that I have noticed on a lot of cheaper PSUs, the molex connections are all black keeping the morbid theme, not that I don’t like it, I just think Silverstone could have put some more life into the thing.

The ATX plug is detachable so you can use the Strider on any of the next-generation motherboards likewise any older board on the market, this has some benefits, such as saving space and also you avoid having to upgrade your PSU for the near future you also don’t need a converter cable.

The Strider ST60F has SSI Compliant Connectors, Dual 6pin PCI-E Connector, Backwards Compatible with 20pinmotherboards via adapter and has four serial ATA connector totaling up to 10 Molex connectors, this is great news for thoughts of us that have very power hungry computers, luckily I am not in that category running only 1 HDD, DVDROM and 2 card adapters. The length of the cables could be a problem, they are only 55cm so I could see the strider no reaching in all cases, although saying this I currently am using a full tower and have experienced no problems.

Let's have a look inside.

The top comes off easily being held in place by only 4 screws, and I was immediately struck by the amount of components squeezed into the Strider, the Fan is thermally controlled and runs at a quiet 28dBA on its lowest setting, one thing you do notice is the quality of the components, such as the advanced quad 12v circuitry and build in multi protection features.

Another surprise is the heatsink, I have never known a PSU to use one until now, maybe this is because of the higher wattage PSUs on the market but it is good to see as it will only increase the MTBF (Mean time between failures) which is over 100,000 hours on the Strider.

Because of the single fan I was a little dubious about the cooling, but since taking the cover off and seeing the heatsink I have had a change of heart, there should be ample cooling and because there is only one fan in use this should keep the noise levels down to a minimum, Not forgetting the fact it has quad rails, I am becoming more and more impressed with the Strider as look at the unit in more depth, this is a pleasant surprise as this is not usually the case, hopefully the testing will keep up to my expectations.

Overall the Strider ST60F is near perfect, if I had a problem it would be the size of the cables they are not short but I have no other complaints so far, the PSU looks good, the construction top quality and all the components used are the best available on today’s market, because it is modular you save on space so it is perfect for a modding your PC, nobody likes to see cables braided or not, and speaking of braiding that too is some of the best I have seen. Now let’s move onto the Installation and testing.

Next Page Install and Testing