SilverStone Strider Gold Evolution 1000-watt Power Supply Review

We take our final look at the SilverStone Strider Gold Evolution series to find out if the 1000W model is a good compromise between the 850W and 1200W models.

Published
Updated
6 minutes & 26 seconds read time

Introduction, Specifications, Availability and Pricing

Our recent reviews of SilverStone power supplies have caused quite a bit of emails to come flooding in. Many wanted to know if the Strider Gold Evolution 1000W was on par with what we saw from both the Strider Gold Evolution 850W and the Strider Gold Evolution 1200W.

Most of the emails inquired simply because they felt that 1200W was overkill for their needs, but the 850W wasn't enough. We know all about trying to make sure that you put your money in the right places when building a computer so that is why we are here today and taking a look at the SilverStone Strider Gold Evolution 1000W.

It features their Air Penetrator fan that we know operates very quietly, offers 80Plus Gold efficiency and is fully modular. As it is built on the same platform of the other Strider Gold Evolution power supplies, it should produce similar results. If so, the real question today will be not if it is a good power supply, but how much of value the unit is compared to its brethren and if you should gravity towards purchasing the 1000W model over the other two.

Let's dig in and see what we can find out about the Strider Gold Evolution 1000W.

Specifications, Availability and Pricing

SilverStone Strider Gold Evolution 1000-watt Power Supply Review 02

DC output is again very similar to that of the 1200W model. The unit is capable of 83A on the single 12V rail. Both the 3.3V and 5V rails are rated for 25A each. These have a combined total wattage of 150W. Interestingly enough, the 850W model has a combined wattage of 150W on the minor rails as well, but only rates the 3.3V rail for 22A. The same -12V rails and 5Vsb rails are seen throughout the entire series, rated at .3A and 3.5A respectively. That is a bit weak on the -12V rail, but solid on the 5Vsb side.

SilverStone Strider Gold Evolution 1000-watt Power Supply Review 03

The 1000W Evolution shares the same feature summary as the rest of the Evolution series. It's full of protection features including over temperature protection, but the unit is not rated for 100% continuous output at 50C. It is instead rated for 100% continuous output at 40C. The power supply is fully modular and fully sleeved. The full modular design also allows for the use of SilverStone's PP05 short cable kit.

As of right now, the ST100-G Evolution can be had for $204 at Newegg. For comparison purposes, Newegg also offers the 850W model at $170 and the 1200W at $235. That is a $65 difference between the two if you're stuck choosing between one or the other and a $31 difference between the 1000W and 1200W. SilverStone backs the unit by a three year warranty.

Packaging

SilverStone Strider Gold Evolution 1000-watt Power Supply Review 04

The same black and gold packaging is used for the SilverStone Gold Evolution series. There is a short list of features on the front.

SilverStone Strider Gold Evolution 1000-watt Power Supply Review 05

The back simply redirects you to their website in multiple languages for some more information.

SilverStone Strider Gold Evolution 1000-watt Power Supply Review 06

On the top we find a good list of specifications for the unit and it covers all four wattages of the unit.

SilverStone Strider Gold Evolution 1000-watt Power Supply Review 07

The bottom has some more information about the unit including compatibility with the PP05 short cable kit and the included fan filter. Also pictured is their Air Penetrator fan with results in quieter fan operation.

SilverStone Strider Gold Evolution 1000-watt Power Supply Review 08

One side has a good list of connector availability for the unit. The big difference between the 850W, 1000W and 1200W models is the number of PCI-E connectors. The 1200W model also has double the SATA connectors.

SilverStone Strider Gold Evolution 1000-watt Power Supply Review 09

The other side simply displays a picture of the power supply.

Inside the Box

SilverStone Strider Gold Evolution 1000-watt Power Supply Review 10

The unit is packed well inside the box with an inch of foam above and below the unit. Modular cables and accessories take up the rest of the space and make for a snug fit.

SilverStone Strider Gold Evolution 1000-watt Power Supply Review 11

SilverStone's Strider Gold Evolution comes in the rough textured black finish. On the top is the SilverStone logo stamped into the enclosure.

SilverStone Strider Gold Evolution 1000-watt Power Supply Review 12

One side of the power supply displays the I/O specification label and serial number.

SilverStone Strider Gold Evolution 1000-watt Power Supply Review 13

SilverStone chose to leave one side of the power supply blank.

SilverStone Strider Gold Evolution 1000-watt Power Supply Review 14

The modular connections on the front are labeled neatly. There is no need to list what rails are where as the unit only has a single 12V rail.

SilverStone Strider Gold Evolution 1000-watt Power Supply Review 15

The back houses the standard honeycomb mesh grill. There is no on/off rocker switch for the unit. If you want to kill the power to the PSU, you must unplug the power cable.

SilverStone Strider Gold Evolution 1000-watt Power Supply Review 16

The bottom houses the 139mm fluid dynamic bearing Air Penetrator fan.

SilverStone Strider Gold Evolution 1000-watt Power Supply Review 17

The 1000W is the middle of the road when it comes to cables. There are quite a few more with the 1200W, but just one less with the 850W. The PCI-E cables have additional capacitors soldered inline to help reduce GPU whine.

SilverStone Strider Gold Evolution 1000-watt Power Supply Review 18

SilverStone gives you plenty to work with. Aside from the AC power cables are a handful of Velcro cable ties, four zip-ties, a set of thumbscrews for mounting the unit, a set of regular screws for mounting the unit and a magnetic fan filter.

SilverStone Strider Gold Evolution 1000-watt Power Supply Review 19

Also included with the unit are two user manuals. The one on the left is a generic manual in multiple languages while the manual on the right is contains specifications just for the Strider Gold Evolution series of power supplies.

Cabling Arrangement and A Look Inside

Cabling Arrangement

SilverStone Strider Gold Evolution 1000-watt Power Supply Review 20

The ST1000-G Evolution remains 100% modular. It has the standard 20+4 pin Main connector as well as dual ATX4+4 connectors. PCI-E Connectors come in the form of two 6+2 pin cables and two cables with one 6+2 pin and one 6 pin connectors. Peripherals connections are handled by a total of 8 SATA, 6 Molex and 2 FDD connectors over four cables. Those seeking shorter cables will be interested in the PP05 short cable kit.

SilverStone Strider Gold Evolution 1000-watt Power Supply Review 21

Rail distribution is as simple as it gets with a single 12V rail.

A Look Inside

SilverStone Strider Gold Evolution 1000-watt Power Supply Review 22

SilverStone uses the same heatsinks that are used on all models in the series and provide more than sufficient cooling for this unit.

SilverStone Strider Gold Evolution 1000-watt Power Supply Review 23

A pair of Nippon Chemi-Con caps covers the primary side of the SilverStone Strider Gold Evolution 1000W.

SilverStone Strider Gold Evolution 1000-watt Power Supply Review 24

Nippon Chemi-Con capacitors can be found on the secondary side of the PSU.

SilverStone Strider Gold Evolution 1000-watt Power Supply Review 25

Cooling for the unit is provided by the same SilverStone's HA1425L12F-Z fan. SilverStone claims the grill increases airflow and reduces fan noise. We could not discern the power supply above the noise of our test equipment and never had any problems with temperatures during testing.

Test Results and Final Thoughts

Test Results

Our load tests utilize a couple of FAST ATE active load testers and a variety of other equipment such as an oscilloscope, power conditioner, temperature probe and a power consumption meter. You can read more about our standard testing approach here.

The tests performed are based around six conceivable setups that are out there and progressively load down the PSU up to the power supply's limits or 1000W, whichever comes first. Since our test equipment's limits are the same as the SilverStone Strider Gold 1000W, we can test it to the maximum.

SilverStone Strider Gold Evolution 1000-watt Power Supply Review 26
SilverStone Strider Gold Evolution 1000-watt Power Supply Review 27

Let's start by taking a look at the voltages to see how well this unit did during testing. Starting with the 12V rail, we see 2% regulation from start to finish. The 12V rail showed a total drop of .17V from start to finish. The 5V rail did just better as it managed to stay within 1% of specification with a total drop of .07V from start to finish. Moving towards the 3.3V rail, we see that regulation was still within 1% with a total voltage drop of .05V.

DC output quality was close to what we expected and better than what we saw with the 1200W model. We started off seeing 17mV of ripple on the 12V rail during Test 1. As we increased the loads, the ripple had increased to 27mV at a little over half load. By the time we had the maximum load of 1000W we were seeing 48mV of noise.

The Strider Gold Evolution is rated for 80Plus Gold efficiency. This means that the power supply must perform at 87%/90%/87% efficiency at 20%/50%/100% loads respectively. As you can see, the Strider Gold Evolution passed on our bench and wasn't close to failing at any point.

Final Thoughts

Once again, we see great performance with the SilverStone Strider Gold Evolution 1000W. While the results that are shown are a tad bit better in the voltage regulation department than we've seen in the past, the DC output quality is a tad bit worse.

Overall, we feel it is safe to say that differences are due to the differing tolerances in the individual components that make up the entire PSU just the way that some CPU's overclock better than others of the same part number. The SilverStone Strider Gold Evolution series is filled with a fantastic line of power supplies no matter which one you choose.

The great thing about it is that SilverStone does a great job of making sure that you don't have to overspend to get what you need. The 1000W unit sits perfectly between the 850W and 1200W models in both wattage and price. It is the final nail in the coffin that proves you will receive a quality, enthusiast grade, power supply no matter what one you choose.

Rest assured that the 1000W SilverStone Strider Gold Evolution power supply is just as good of a bargain as the rest of them and if you're torn between the three, all you need to do is calculate your wattage needs to make the choice.

What do TweakTown.com awards mean? Click for details!

PRICING: You can find products similar to this one for sale below.

USUnited States: Find other tech and computer products like this over at Amazon.com

UKUnited Kingdom: Find other tech and computer products like this over at Amazon.co.uk

AUAustralia: Find other tech and computer products like this over at Amazon.com.au

CACanada: Find other tech and computer products like this over at Amazon.ca

DEDeutschland: Finde andere Technik- und Computerprodukte wie dieses auf Amazon.de

Newsletter Subscription
We openly invite the companies who provide us with review samples / who are mentioned or discussed to express their opinion. If any company representative wishes to respond, we will publish the response here. Please contact us if you wish to respond.