Silverstone SX500-LG 500W Gold SFX-L

Had a Seasonic SS-300SFD in a former build, bought I believe in 2005 or something, which has been the most silent SFX PSU I've had up to date. Also mentioning worthy: it was slightly larger than the SFX specs as it has (had?) a protruding fan on the topside. I wrote had, as recently the few SFX psu's they had are removed from their website (achieve.org logs it as July the 18th 2014). What I hope this al means is they'll show us soon some at the CES show, it would defiantly make sense.

At any rate I've decided to wait once again before filling my ncase v1 till sky lake gets released. I guess I'll buy whatever is available to me at that time. I'm really anxiously awaiting this one as I've tried the 600 watt one at my local pc store and it was indeed reasonable loud (to me), a 120mm fan could make quiet difference.

There is demand and actually there have been loads of sfx psu's available in my country over the past decade. It's just the larger watt ones that have become reasonably populair recently with the steam boxes and alike. I can still pick up 10 different ones below 400 watts here, and from my own experience (had a pc shop once) the demand is actually quiet good. I'd say they (psu manufacturers) have been noticing and we'll see some new products fairly soon. Let's just hope these new psu's are also SFX-L, They could easily just take a good psu, make flush connectors (I mean you Silverstone...) and rate it for slightly more watts as cooling increases.

In short: I expect some new ones due very shortly, it's very probable as well
 
Tschus said:
I had a look of the inside of my SilverStone SX500-LG and found out that the capacitors are mostly from TEAPO, instead of the NCCs in the HighPower's version. The main capacitor is still rubycon though. I was hoping SilverStone would use the same capacitors as the HighPower's, but sadly it was not the case.
Click to expand...
wtf
 
Tschus said:
I had a look of the inside of my SilverStone SX500-LG and found out that the capacitors are mostly from TEAPO, instead of the NCCs in the HighPower's version. The main capacitor is still rubycon though. I was hoping SilverStone would use the same capacitors as the HighPower's, but sadly it was not the case.
Click to expand...

That's kind of sad, especially in light of Tony's statement in post #63 that seems to imply the cost saving comes mainly from the additional depth of the unit.
 
I think I can forgive the lackluster caps if the fan is amazing.

Any comment on the fan noise Tschus?
 
Ermahgerd it's available here in Australia. Checked PCCG yesterday and today, it's here today going for $139. $36 less than the SX600-G.

Yay. I was about to put in an order, undecided on buying it. I don't need one now, so it will be wasting warranty time just to have it sit around.
 
The Chieftec one is available here for 105 euro/125 USD delivered, however I found a Chinese webshop selling the High Power one for the same amount... not sure which one I'll order (I have no clue on caps really, don't even know what caps the Chieftec one has). Choices... luxury problems :p And still haven't seen the Silverstone one for sale here in Europe, what's up with that?


The Chieftec has gotten a price drop to 80 euro (95 USD) here, guess it's a no brainer what one to get now...
 
Last edited:
It's CES time so there are some information I can share now.

Regarding capacitors, our SX500-LG have Japanese primary capacitors with Taiwanese secondary. All Chieftec units being sold now have non-Japanese capacitors (both primary and secondary) despite what you read in the reviews. The reviews of High Power branded units with all Japanese capacitors are special ordered by a Chinese distributor for review and limited release in China only (for now). The reviews showing Chieftec units having all Japanese capacitors are rebranded High Power units from that same Chinese distributor order and is not indicative of what you will receive when you buy one.

Some of us here at SilverStone have pushed for all Japanese capacitors in our SX500-LG, but this would of course increase the final cost of the unit a little. As I've mentioned previously, our goal was to release SX500-LG at around the same price point as ST45SF-G so moving to all Japanese capacitors may make this difficult to do. Please remember that having Taiwanese secondary capacitors will not affect the performance of SX500-LG in any way so is the change worth it? If so, by how much?
 
Hey Tony thanks for all the information and being so active in the forums. :) To me, the primary capacitors have to be Japanese, while Taiwanese secondary capacitors should just be fine. If you don't mind me asking, how much would the SX500-LG cost if it had all Japanese capacitors?
 
Hi Tony, thanks for the information! Any update on when we might see the SX500-LG available in the US?
 
My my, Chieftec has been a bad boy. I hope the top PSU reviewers are being informed of this shameful mal-practice.

Thank you for chiming in Tony Ou, I'm hoping to be able to purchase the SX500-LG soon in Europe.
 
Hmm that doesn't sound good, but honestly I don't exactly know why :p
From what I remember from my high school science classes higher quality caps were more true to their intended capacity and introduced less slack into the system (which causes a higher chance on parts failure)... or were those resistors?
Anyways I'm planning to finally build my M1 next month and I will really buy whatever is available then, my v1 has been waiting in the box for a year now.

Really hate these waiting games, I really do.
 
Tony -

Well its been 12 years since the Capacitor plague era (and write-ups in 2/2003 IEEE Journal).
http://spectrum.ieee.org/computing/hardware/leaking-capacitors-muck-up-motherboards

It did more damage (fiscal and reputation for quality) that many in Eastern Asia seem to disregard or not fully understand.
Anyone remember ABIT motherboards? HP used their motherboards, the capacitor plague (and accounting practices) contributed to downfall.
Many professionals and executives lost their jobs over the 2003-2005 problem and its cover-up (Taiwan and US companies),
which just created more distrust of claims about quality or warranties.
http://spectrum.ieee.org/tech-talk/computing/hardware/dell-tried-to-hide-bad-capacitors-problem

With Switch-Mode Power Supplies (SMPS), RFI (RF interference, and coil noise) issue is the #1.
Quality (cap choice) and Quiet (fan) tied for #2.

Capacitor plague
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capacitor_plague

Build It Right.
At the rate the US Dollar is rising (and barrel oil dropping) ... a few % is relative.
 
Last edited:
Tony Ou said:
Some of us here at SilverStone have pushed for all Japanese capacitors in our SX500-LG, but this would of course increase the final cost of the unit a little.
Click to expand...

You had me at "little". If it's only a little, then it's definitely worth it. :)
 
Any chance you guys could do a SFX-L and an SFX-L Plus with the latter costing more, but using the best fan and caps on the market? Frankly I'd have no problem paying 150-200 to know I'm not going to have to deal with quality or noise issues.
 
Bieberfever said:
Any chance you guys could do a SFX-L and an SFX-L Plus with the latter costing more, but using the best fan and caps on the market? Frankly I'd have no problem paying 150-200 to know I'm not going to have to deal with quality or noise issues.
Click to expand...

+10000

It's already a niche market, why not go full house.
True quality will always cost but it seams it will be worth it.
 
I personally would not pay 30-80$ for just a better fan and a few caps that might be theoretically better. Especially since we don't know how good or bad the SX500-LG is yet.
 
Bieberfever said:
Any chance you guys could do a SFX-L and an SFX-L Plus with the latter costing more, but using the best fan and caps on the market? Frankly I'd have no problem paying 150-200 to know I'm not going to have to deal with quality or noise issues.
Click to expand...

Absolutely. I am not as concerned about the caps, although my knowledge on that subject is limited so maybe I should be lol. I am however very concerned about noise. I would gladly pay a hell of a premium for an SFX-L PSU that is actually silent, be it fanless, or just a really nice fan with an rpm curve that works really well.
 
I am personally more concerned with the quality of the unit than a small increase in cost. This will be powering many hundreds of dollars in equipment and I have no desire to deal with dead anything. It may be fine as is, but I'd much rather pay for better internals given the option.
 
Who at Silverstone suddenly thought that SFF enthuasiasts are after the cheapest components...
 
Bieberfever said:
Maybe you guys can just do an 80 plus platinum version while you're at it : )
Click to expand...

80 plus platinum, fanless, 300w sfx psu please!

i'll pay 200+ USD for that.

i'm already paying $100 for the 250w DC/DC HD Plex board + $80 for a 240w passive AC/DC power adapter. So close to $200 already for only 240w for my current SFF build.
 
Screes said:
80 plus platinum, fanless, 300w sfx psu please!

i'll pay 200+ USD for that.

i'm already paying $100 for the 250w DC/DC HD Plex board + $80 for a 240w passive AC/DC power adapter. So close to $200 already for only 240w for my current SFF build.
Click to expand...
They don't even have a 300 gold version.
 
For starters just make this one available first.
Then I'd say make the next model with flush connectors instead of protruding ones for easier fitting of cables.
Platinum would be nice, but for now I'm happy with whatever.
The only sfx-l psu I can readily get here is the chiefted one, has been available for half a year now (!), that's why I won't wait much longer.
 
Tony Ou said:
Some of us here at SilverStone have pushed for all Japanese capacitors in our SX500-LG, but this would of course increase the final cost of the unit a little.
Click to expand...

Atleast to me the price increase would be absolutely irrelevant, and i am not rich or anything. PSU's are supposed to last many years to begin with.

Ive got two or your sfx 600W's, which cost me small fortune (260€ to be precise) - and i am not happy with the whining they do. Had i been able to add even some 30% more to price to avoid any sort of noise i would have paid that on the spot.

These components are enthusiast components to begin with, so just put the best damn components inside and the price increase will be whatever it is.

No one will complain about the price when the PSU's get the reviews they should and work as they real #1 SFX / SFX-L they should.

If you really want to be the best and want the image of being the best, then better not cut any corners. Even the "small ones".
 
It seems many are in the assumption that these secondary caps will solve the coil whine and that some awesome non-existant fan will solve all other issues. Part of these issues lay in the design of the PSU, component quality and component synergy or compatibility, of which most is not done by Silverstone but by Sirfa. Silverstone can replace certain components upon request, like the fan, raising the cost of production and certain demands considerably I'd guess. And I would also guess different quality tiers for components are offered, for instance the all-Chinese B-grade caps, the Japanese A-grade primary caps and the all-Japanese A-grade caps.

But for instance the fan-clicking with the SX600-G seems to be design-related: when the motor should start, it would click once (which would not be a problem), but when the voltage isn't high enough it could be click many times for a long period of time because it's right on the treshold.

Coil whine seems to be "solveable" by putting hot glue on every possible vibrating component and that seems to be related to the good application by the people assembling the PSU. So one less-motivated worker could spark "coilgate" all by himself. Or maybe it's the hot glue itself that is to blame. I assume this because some people have solved coil whine on the SX600-G by putting a heavy load on it for 4-8 hours, establishing the theory that the hot glue "reflows", as WiSK puts it so elegantly.

The SX600-G's chattery fan issue seems to be guess work for now. Some believe it is a faulty bearing or maybe a property of the type of bearing. We'd know for sure if we could find a fan with very similar properties to confirm.
 
I really have no clue on caps, haven't seen those bad leaking ones for years so I assume it's safe.
Else I really have no idea what difference a better cap makes.

But I do want the silverstone rather than the chieftec one as I indeed hope it has a better fan.
Seen the 600 a few weeks ago myself and while I didn't hear any of the coil whine or ticking noises with that unit I did find the fan somewhat loud under load. That's the main reason I want this unit with 120mm fan rather than the 600 watt with 80mm fan. If anyone knows a good review besides the german one let me know, but as far as is available we don't know anything about noises with this unit let alone if better caps can solve anything (if they even can as you mention).

It's really to bad the Scythe version isn't available outside Japan (atm?) as I do know that fan being used and like it.
 
As far as we know, the Silverstone version is the only one of the Sirfa SFX-L 500W units that uses a different fan than the GlobeFan one that Sirfa uses as standard. That and the flat ribbon cables should be enough reason to go with the Silverstone over the other ones, with the higher quality primary caps being nice for the not-so-tangible benefits.
 
Did Tony name these Chinese companies that were building "better" versions with higher quality components?
 
NVM you were right, the silverstone unit uses the same fan scythe used on htpc low profile coolers which I used before and know.
Somehow google gave me the silverstone unit while searching on the scythe part number.
Anyways that fan alone is worth me another month of waiting.

Synomenon said:
Did Tony name these Chinese companies that were building "better" versions with higher quality components?
Click to expand...

I believe he said that only some review units had better Japanese caps but everything else was the same, except for silverstone using a different fan.

There is this Dirac oddity which isn't really SFX, isn't SFX-L but in between and is a SX600 slammed in a larger housing with noisy 92mm fan (found a review) and rated for 650 watts suddenly while using the same electronics.
d9455e9c518f5f3cba1a4493faa47585.jpg

e439b3dcbf39f449a5c52fa5a7af3197.jpg
 
Last edited:
I think it was already discussed that the SX600 could could handle higher loads but Silverstone specifically down-specified it so 100% load wouldn't actually be 100%, resulting in higher efficiency.
 
JoepieDeSnoepie! said:
There is this Dirac oddity which isn't really SFX, isn't SFX-L but in between and is a SX600 slammed in a larger housing with noisy 92mm fan (found a review) and rated for 650 watts suddenly while using the same electronics.
Click to expand...

PSU's are rates for different power outputs depending on the stock level of cooling they get. So if the stock cooling is improved with a larger/higher CFM fan, then its rated power would go up.
 
iFreilicht said:
I think it was already discussed that the SX600 could could handle higher loads but Silverstone specifically down-specified it so 100% load wouldn't actually be 100%, resulting in higher efficiency.
Click to expand...

Since the efficiency is also gold-rated in the Dirac, that doesn't sound right.

I'd guess the reason the SX600-G is downrated is purely because the 80mm fan can't keep it cool enough above 600W to cover their expected RMA quota. The Dirac with the stronger fan can manage a bit higher loads without shortening the lifespan/MTBF of the capacitors.
 
Tony Ou said:
Some of us here at SilverStone have pushed for all Japanese capacitors in our SX500-LG, but this would of course increase the final cost of the unit a little. As I've mentioned previously, our goal was to release SX500-LG at around the same price point as ST45SF-G so moving to all Japanese capacitors may make this difficult to do. Please remember that having Taiwanese secondary capacitors will not affect the performance of SX500-LG in any way so is the change worth it? If so, by how much?
Click to expand...
I would like the lowest noise levels possible and the highest quality possible, regardless of cost, so for me the change would be worth it. Furthermore, I would expect that the marketing advantage of being able to advertise all Japanese capacitors would allow increasing the price without hurting sales.
 
Last edited:
Remember that Silverstone are having Sirfa assemble the PSUs. Using a different fan, in addition to the costs of that fan as a component, adds an extra cost in that now Sirfa has to split a production run, or run two different production runs, to produce the two different PSUs. Swapping out the capacitors is even worse; now you need to both validate another set of components with the existing PCB design (assuming the PCB doesn't need to be redesigned due to physically different size caps), and the PCB assembly steps needs to be modified to handle the different components (either through instructing workers in the new assembly steps, or changes in setting up the PCB robots and solder fountain stages).
tl;dr Cost for replacing the fan or the caps is more than just the difference in component cost. Even using components costing the same would raise production costs.
 
EdZ said:
tl;dr Cost for replacing the fan or the caps is more than just the difference in component cost. Even using components costing the same would raise production costs.
Click to expand...

Not to mention every major change it might need to be retested by all the various certification companies like UL and Ecova.
 
If Tony-Ou's info is correct and those were units specifically for review, such a short run could have been viably hand-assembled.
 
It sounded like a small production run.

The reviews of High Power branded units with all Japanese capacitors are special ordered by a Chinese distributor for review and limited release in China only (for now).
Click to expand...

emphasis added
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top