Silverstone SST-ST30SF - semi-passive 300W SFX PSU

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raymondo

Limp Gawd
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Nov 17, 2012
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I wondered...why has no one bothered to mention the SST-ST30SF from Computex or did I just overlook it?
300W and semi passive with no fan under 40% load and for 50 bucks (as per Toms Hardware) sound good. Also mentioned on Haswell compatibility list.
Or is it only going to be OEM? Does anyone know more on that one?

Toms Hardware said:
We also looked at a number of power supplies, beginning with the SFX form factor. In addition to the company's ST45SF-G 450 W modular offering (boasting a 37 A +12 V rail), the new ST30SF 300 W with a 22 A rail features a silent mode where the fan disengages under less than 40% load, or less than 55 degress Celsius. Expect that one to show up in August for $50.
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See here: click

Computex said:
It has 80 PLUS Bronze level efficiency and a semi-fanless design that raises the efficiency level for this wattage class and allows for unprecedented low noise operation in low loading conditions.
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See here: click
 
I had presumed it was just the same PSU as the FSP300GHS they used in the original SG05. But if it's a new one then that will be great for lower-powered builds.
 
Or systems with non-overclocked CPU's and GPU's at GTX670 / 760.

If the 450W runs a moderately overclocked i7-4770K and a Titan without problems...
 
Yeah, we've been working on the ST30SF for a while and it should hit mass production later this month for late August release. It uses a different platform from the PSU we included in the original SG05. The efficiency is 80 PLUS Bronze certified vs. regular 80 PLUS. Tom's coverage on it is spot on regarding its passive mode.

Here is 80 PLUS's official report on the ST30SF if you are curious.
 
It will be launched initially as a stand-alone product in August and then "possibly" as a built-in PSU for SG05 and SG06 afterwards (there is no set time table for this yet).
 
think should have been in 1U formfactor, instead of SFX, It could have enabled interesting formfactors
 
Honestly, i don't like fan profiles. Id rather they be set to a constant low speed, and design the unit to handle that amount of cooling. Nothing draws your attention to fan noise more than when it changes tonalities and volumes.

Now sure, for someone who has a system that never draws more than 120 watts this will be amazing.
 
awesome!!

thanks Tony. should be perfect for small and silent builds. i'll be in for at least one.
 
Great news, decent price for a solid PSU, sometimes this is all you need. 300W, SFX, and quiet at low levels, wonderfully practical.
 
Hey Tony,
are there any news on release date? Can't find it in any database or shop as of now. Thanks for your input.
 
Our US office is getting their first shipment of ST30SF this week so they should be up soon late this week or early next week at various retailers.

For European users, they will be available about a month later.
 
geostation said:
think should have been in 1U formfactor, instead of SFX, It could have enabled interesting formfactors
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Saw someone also talked about 1U vs. SFX in another thread. Here is our take on the matter as to why we think SFX is a much better form factor for retail market.

Quietness
Standard SFX form factor allows up to 80mm fan, this allows for much quieter operation than 1U PSUs at the same wattage, which requires 40mm fans.

Consistent size
1U PSUs vary in depth from 150mm to over 220mm depending on wattage level. At wattage level that retail DIY market demands (300W, 400W, 500W, etc..), they are usually 190mm or longer. So total volume of the power supply is no smaller than SFX. As a direct comparison, our ST45SF is about 0.8 liters, a typical 400W 1U PSU is around 0.9 liters.

ATX compatibility
Because SFX PSU is sized like a shrunken ATX PSU in all dimensions (100mm depth), it easily fits in any case that accommodate ATX PSU with a simple use of an adapter plate (which we include in our retail SFX PSUs), even the smallest ones! With 1U PSU, the depth usually start at 150mm for a 200 ~ 250W model and up to 220mm+ for higher wattage models. Standard ATX PSU has depth of 140mm and many mainstream high wattage models (750W+) top out at around 160mm~180mm. Needless to say, there are many more smaller cases that wouldn't fit a 1U PSU even if an adapter was made due to excessive depth.

I haven't checked on the prices extensively, but I believe 1U PSUs are more costly on average due to stricter component height limit.

Hopefully this convinces some of you to switch to SFX camp, we need all the help we can get to popularize it more!
 
Tony Ou said:
Hopefully this convinces some of you to switch to SFX camp, we need all the help we can get to popularize it more!
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Well, make a 500W SFX PSU and a high quality case (maybe a updated SG05 with 240mm rad compabilty - get some inspiration from the Ncase M1 :p) and maybe more people would jump on the ship :D

I have a SG05 and though you can really fit a lot of stuff in this small case it really feels and looks cheap :rolleyes: I don't like the design of the FT03 Mini for all the cables leaving from the top. This doesn't look good if the case is standing on a desk ...

Also why is there still a Floppy connector on the ST30SF / ST45SF ...
 
milkcow said:
Also why is there still a Floppy connector on the ST30SF / ST45SF ...
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Just as people still use the "molex" connector, which was originally also a disk drive connector, people also still use the "floppy" connector. Some peripherals, especially card readers still use them.
 
Now make one that's also modular, and maybe with some more wattage (350 - 400w). :)
 
Well I'm sure that 1u argument "works" with TFX. However, Seasonic has a wonderful TFX PSU that is super quiet, semi-passive. Furthermore, it isn't about straight volume, the flatter, longer shape lends itself better for thinner, albeit perhaps negligibly taller. Negligibly.
 
You can't expect Silverstone to diverse their product lineup to the point it doesn't make financial sense. They already have large and small ATX PSU's and they have the best large and small SFX PSU's. Adding TFX doesn't really add much as the volume is about the same. The TFX PSU is 0.9 liters and only 350W, the SFX is 0.8 liters and 450W. Would would you gain ? They already brought out a quiet SFX 300W PSU (this topic) and they aren't sitting still on the high end of the SFX line, which is already reasonably quiet (unless you have a real issue with noise).
 
i am quite happy to stick with SFX, it's a perfectly good format to standardise on to meet SFF needs.

all i ask is that they continue to make SFX PSU's as efficient and quiet as possible.

things i'd like to see in future:
92mm quiet fan (500W)
completely passsive SFX (300W)
 
Tfx can grow grow just as sfx is. I don't expect Silverstone to want to push tfx, so I'm not asking them for anything.
 
TFX can surely grow, but it is in most SFF consumers' interest that it not to, because it would dilute the market and only lead to more difficult choices. Since SFX is already a good "small ATX" PSU concept, TFX doesn't bring anything new to the table either, making in an obselete choice.
 
Hi there,

Would this PSU be able to power a decent ITX build?

I'm looking forward to build something like this:

  • Asus Z87I-DELUXE;
  • Haswell i5 45W/65W CPU;
  • 1x 2.5 SDD;
  • 1x Green WD 3.5 HDD;
  • 1x BluRay Slim Drive.

According to some research that I've made, something like this would have a peak of ~ 100W.

In future, I would like to push it a little further with an Asus GTX 670 DirectCU Mini, wish seems to reach a peak of ~ 130W.

I do not want to OC the build for now. Theoretically, given the above peak consumption values, I would say that it should be fine. What do you guys think?
 
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This PSU can easily run the parts without the GTX 670, but I wouldn't do the GPU with it. While they use higher wattage CPUs, reviews show the GTX 670 pushing a system over 300W from the wall, which is uncomfortably close to the max of the PSU. I've run a GTX 260 years back with this Seasonic 350W SFX and while it was stable, under load the fan ramped up like crazy.
 
Zap said:
This PSU can easily run the parts without the GTX 670, but I wouldn't do the GPU with it. While they use higher wattage CPUs, reviews show the GTX 670 pushing a system over 300W from the wall, which is uncomfortably close to the max of the PSU. I've run a GTX 260 years back with this Seasonic 350W SFX and while it was stable, under load the fan ramped up like crazy.
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Yes, you're right, it may not bee a good future proof option. Thanks!
 
670 should be fine on the 300W PSU.

170W(670) + 65W(cpu) + 15W(ssd+hdd) + 30W (mobo+ram) = 280W. I would put system power consumption around 250W max when gaming since gaming shouldn't be pulling full power.
 
joaodrp said:
Yes, you're right, it may not bee a good future proof option. Thanks!
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Yeah, it isn't a future proof option if you aim for components that use more power. Unless you need the passive feature for idle, the 450W is a better choice.
 
I hope this is released in the UK at a reasonable price. My 450W that came with an SG05 stopped working and I'm pretty sure it's out of warranty so this will be the perfect replacement as it's only powering my sibling's rig which only has a Celeron G530 + HD4670 - I've been running it on a 160W PicoPSU for the last few months as I've not found a SFX PSU available in the UK at below £40 (that's $65).
 
Ulti said:
I hope this is released in the UK at a reasonable price. My 450W that came with an SG05 stopped working and I'm pretty sure it's out of warranty so this will be the perfect replacement as it's only powering my sibling's rig which only has a Celeron G530 + HD4670 - I've been running it on a 160W PicoPSU for the last few months as I've not found a SFX PSU available in the UK at below £40 (that's $65).
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Just did a search today randomly and found out that it's available on Scan in the UK for around £37! Ordered one and I'll be receiving it tomorrow.
 
300w works for me. The problem is a non-modular psu is horrible for itx case, those idle cables occupy too much space
 
Uhm no. BECAUSE it's only 300W, you shouldn't have many cables unused.
 
Indeed, it's only got 5 cables. You use 4 of them (ATX, EPS, PCIe, Sata). Or all 5 if you have something that needs a molex connector.
 
Hi I received that PSU and mine is very silent but has a noticeable buzzing sound aka "coil-whine".
I ear the coil whine because everything else in my config is dead silent, otherwise I couldn't but it's disapointing a little...
 
If only use the single PCI-E 6 pin cable for graphics card, what's the best graphics card available?

Seems AMD R9 270, but I've not scoured every manufacturers site looking at pictures.
 
Tinkerer said:
If only use the single PCI-E 6 pin cable for graphics card, what's the best graphics card available?

Seems AMD R9 270, but I've not scoured every manufacturers site looking at pictures.
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I would recommend the following cards:

  • GTX 650-ti BOOST
  • GTX 670 (mini only)
The 660 isn't worth it in comparison to the other two unless you can get it used.
 
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