What can I string off a 300W SFX? (ST30SF)

[Goobley]

Hey all,
I'm looking at getting a case that requires an SFX power supply and this one (silverstone ST30SF) looks like a great choice in lots of ways - it doesn't run its fan below 40% keeping the computer nice and quiet when idling. I'd need the computer to be quiet when web browsing and doing 2D work like coding and writing reports - not overly worried about noise under full 3D load - though under ~42dBa would be nice.

I'm looking at putting the following on it:

i3 4130 - 55W (allow 65W for possible future upgrade to S series chip)

R9-270 (PSU only has 1 6-pin and the aftermarket overclocked 270s seem extremely good value for money) - 150W TDP (rarely consume this much) - officially these ask for a PSU with 23A on 12V rail this one has 22A.

1 3.5" HDD - 20W if it's being hammered.

May possibly add an SSD in the future (barely worth including its consumption).

I see this as a worst case 235W load, I think another 10% for misc. motherboard, memory etc. is sensible putting us at about 260W max conceivable 12V load. If the PSU has 22A on the 12V rail then this is 264W. It's tight but I don't ever see all components consuming their TDPs according to HWMonitor my i3 never consumes more than 40W.
Thoughts on this? While I know there is a 450W version it isn't semi-fanless and costs a LOT more.
Cheers,
Goobley

[GeorgeStorm]

I would think that PSU will be more than adequate for that system

[jim]

This looks like a similar system to what you're planning, and it drew 165W at 3D load.

http://hexus.net/tech/reviews/system...ni-130/?page=5

[scaryjim]

I run a not dissimilar rig: 65W Phenom II Quad, Radeon 7750 and a spinning rust disk. That's all currently powered off an ancient 250W TFX PSU (no 80+ rating), and total at the wall draw throwing everything I can at it is < 150W.

Your a 300W silverstone strider will have no problem with the rig you plan to run

[Goobley]

Thanks everyone, it's always best to get advice from knowledgeable people on this sorta thing. At least i know this is a viable course of action now.
I've built a lot of electronics, but in those situations I actually know how much things draw thanks to datasheets etc. Such info isn't so readily available with computer bits.
Cheers!

[Pob255]

The good SFX psu's (the 80+ and 80+ bronze) from Silverstone and BeQuiet are rebranded FSP units and they are very good.

You can go cheap and get the original FSP unit http://www.scan.co.uk/products/300w-...03v-atx12v-psu
Although the 80+ bronze ones are slightly better.

The original FSP 400w and 450w versions are hard to find in the UK easier to get the bequiet or silverstone rebrands.

Silverstone has an 80+ gold rated modular sfx psu, that's made by Enhance which is a good chunk more money.

[satrow]

I'm pulling ~190W from the wall gaming, something like Crisis 3 would draw a little more, maybe 210-220W?.

Spec: E3 Xeon 1230 v2 (Socket 1155, 65W TDP, @3.4/3.85GHZ Turbo, probably ~55-60W stressed), ITX Z77E series 'board, R9-270, 2x SSDs + 1x 2.5" HDD, 2x Samsung LoVo Green DDD3 (@1.25V), 1920x1200 resolution, XFX 450W Gold (I'd be quite happy to run it from my Seasonic 360 Gold).

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

Well I run a GTX660,Xeon E3 1220,8GB DDR3,H67 mini-ITX motherboard and a couple of drives off an XFX PRO 450W. When gaming power consumption is around 135W to 195W at the wall.

The OP could try going this route though:
http://www.scan.co.uk/products/silve...-psu-%28sfx%29
http://www.scan.co.uk/products/450w-...0plus-gold-psu

They could combine the SG05 case alone with the Silverstone modular 450W PSU which is gold rated. It also means you can pare down the amount of cables in the case,which should help with airflow.

This is a different PSU from the 450W Bronze rated one in the SG05-450.

They could run their GTX670 off it,providing it fits. Is it a reference model??

[Goobley]

The 670's going, it's a reference model that makes more noise than I'd like. I'm sure it would be fine for someone with a Fractal Define or similar, but not for a desktop ITX build (no room for aftermarket cooler either).

When it comes to it I'd like to shrink my computer even further for the reasons outlined in my 'travelling with SFF' thread. I do however want to downsize for as low a cost as is reasonably possible and the 300W strider is affordable, the modular one requires a small mortgage (especially as I'm not really looking for gold ratings).

If I have to spend a fair amount of money to get what I want then I will, but I'm not going to overspend. The 270 should keep me covered for the next 2 years - the way I see it. And at that time a card with equivalent TDP will have a lot better performance meaning the 300W won't be outdated.

The 670 will go soon(when I can kick my lazy butt to do it), the rest is very much open to debate.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

You do have to consider after two to three years,that PSU will start to age and not push as much power out(unlike when it is new). The PSU is not that expensive - a decent unit will last you 5 years and give you more leeway in what you can get later on.

The ST30SF uses a Teapo primary and CapXon and Taicon secondary capacitors:

http://www.easycom.com.ua/power/silverstone_sst-st30sf/
http://imagescdn.tweaktown.com/conte...ply_review.jpg

Semi-passive and CapXon and Taicon secondaries. The same brands which do badly when pushed thermally.

Small case + semi passive PSU + CapXon and Taicon capacitors. Emm....Nope!

The ST45SF-G OTH,uses Panasonic and Chemicon caps,and JG rates it as a better PSU in everyway than the 300W one(especially with regards to build quality).

An SG05 with the 300W PSU is around £85 to £90,and with the ST45SF-G is around £110 to £115.

Its not much of a difference.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

In fact if you want to really spend less this is a better PSU:

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/350w-...-sfx-power-psu

It seems to use better capacitors than the Silverstone version(they are both made by FSP):

http://extreme.pcgameshardware.de/ne...netzteile.html
http://www.overclock 3d.net/reviews/...fx_power_psu/3
http://forum.overclock 3d.net/showpost.php?p=439725&postcount=3

However,the Silverstone version seems to use worse capacitors for some reason.

Edit!!

Dabs has it in stock:

http://www.dabs.com/products/be-quie...plus-95C7.html

A mate runs his Athlon II X4 760K and pre-overclocked HD7770 off one in his SFF SteamBox.