Silverstone ST45SF SFX 450w PSU

There is half an inch more height on the SG06 I think, nothing functional though, it was reported on the Sg05 thread.
 
zliqdedo said:
Does this mean I should get a SG05 rather than a SG06? I was leaning towards a SG06 because the fan isn't visible on the front and has golf blades. Is it really more quiet? More importantly, could a SG06 handle the configuration I'm planning (860, 470, etc.)?
Click to expand...

All current shipping SG05 should have already been updated with golf bladed fans too. You should check out SPCR's article on the SG05 and SG06 if you haven't already, they have detailed cooling and acoustic tests of both cases:

http://www.silentpcreview.com/Silverstone_SG05_SG06
 
Yes, a wonderful review. I have it bookmarked and I've (almost) read all of it. Now that I know they've updated the SG05 with a golf bladed fan I'm actually starting to lean towards it. Thanks for the info!
 
I don't include acoustic and cooling tests anymore because they aren't as useful as you might think. I used to do acoustic tests in an Anechoic chamber at a major research institution. The professor who was helping me and I basically came to the conclusion that the more fans the louder it is. The design of the case does cause a small change in volume but is normally not noticeable by the human ear. The materials generally just change the pitch. Steel makes for a lower while aluminum has a little more ring to it. The number of vents also makes a little bit of a difference.

In short, sound levels are basically obvious just by looking at the case and are not much different give the same number and type of fans.

Cooling is much the same way except that the biggest difference here is what heatsink you are using and how much heat your equipment produces to begin with. After reviewing a lot of cases I found that, get this, the more fans the cooler it was. There is rarely a big difference between different SFF cases since they are so limited to begin with. Probably the biggest differences will come with (in this order) what heatsink you use, what season it is outside, how many fans, and what kind of fans. I think thermal imaging is probably the better test in a computer case so you can see hot air pockets.

The SG05 has a 120mm fan and that's it. It also has a lot of open holes on the sides which create noise..mostly from the video card. This just is what it is.
 
Steeeeve said:
I don't include acoustic and cooling tests anymore because they aren't as useful as you might think. I used to do acoustic tests in an Anechoic chamber at a major research institution. The professor who was helping me and I basically came to the conclusion that the more fans the louder it is. The design of the case does cause a small change in volume but is normally not noticeable by the human ear. The materials generally just change the pitch. Steel makes for a lower while aluminum has a little more ring to it. The number of vents also makes a little bit of a difference.

In short, sound levels are basically obvious just by looking at the case and are not much different give the same number and type of fans.

Cooling is much the same way except that the biggest difference here is what heatsink you are using and how much heat your equipment produces to begin with. After reviewing a lot of cases I found that, get this, the more fans the cooler it was. There is rarely a big difference between different SFF cases since they are so limited to begin with. Probably the biggest differences will come with (in this order) what heatsink you use, what season it is outside, how many fans, and what kind of fans. I think thermal imaging is probably the better test in a computer case so you can see hot air pockets.

The SG05 has a 120mm fan and that's it. It also has a lot of open holes on the sides which create noise..mostly from the video card. This just is what it is.
Click to expand...

I have had some different experiences regarding noise and cooling.

More fans more noise, yes but some materials can actually insulate the noise. Also depending on the fan mounts vibration and thus resonance can be mitigated to a point.

Case cooling is a much more complicated issue. Actually using many fans can harm the thermal design of a good case if they are setup in different directions. A big advice to everyone is to keep the air flowing in one direction. I have seen setups with intake fans everywhere. Thats not going to help, It's gonna cause a lot of turbulence and even if temps are acceptable under load it's gonna take a lot of time to remove heat from non actively cooled parts of the case like the mainboard itsef
 
fr500 said:
I have had some different experiences regarding noise and cooling.

More fans more noise, yes but some materials can actually insulate the noise. Also depending on the fan mounts vibration and thus resonance can be mitigated to a point.

Case cooling is a much more complicated issue. Actually using many fans can harm the thermal design of a good case if they are setup in different directions. A big advice to everyone is to keep the air flowing in one direction. I have seen setups with intake fans everywhere. Thats not going to help, It's gonna cause a lot of turbulence and even if temps are acceptable under load it's gonna take a lot of time to remove heat from non actively cooled parts of the case like the mainboard itsef
Click to expand...
I'd agree that some materials insulate noise. Like I said, steel tends to absorb the higher pitched noises better. This is obviously negated if you have a lot of vent holes. In SFF computers you generally have a lot of vent holes. I've tested a lot of cases from the Antec Aria to the Qmicra to the SG05/06 and found very little difference in cases with similar number of fans. Apparenlty many people feel a low rumbling noise is "less" noise when it really is the same. This is why the steel cases do better.

In any event, my point is that sound tests on a computer case are almost worthless since so many other factors play a bigger role (location compared to you, fans used, your own hearing preferences, etc). You can basically look at a case and tell right away if it will be loud or not. This makes a sound test just silly. See below:
http://www.sffclub.com/site1/index....ew&id=97&Itemid=99999999&limit=1&limitstart=5
soundgraph2.jpg

So if I ask which is quieter the SG01 or the SG05 the answer is going to be the SG05 is slightly quieter with a lower "pitch". But in real life they are almost the same if you put it on your right side of the desk because of the video card. It would be silly for me to test that and report the SG05 is a much better case thanks to the decrease in sound levels.

Now, case cooling is probably more silly to test than sound unless you use thermal imaging imo. I've also found that "positive" vs "negative" pressure is a silly debate to have with SFF. You are right, just have it go in one direction and your case will be fine. SFF cases are just extremely limited in how much they can cool. The SG07 will have a huge fan so it will cool better than the SG05 but the SG05 does just fine. Same with the SG01 vs the LanBox. Your 1-4c difference could just as easily been obtained by moving your computer away from the wall, ha.

I understand this goes against conventional wisdom but I've been testing cases for years and think a lot of these "differences" you are not really material.
 
Not everyone has big PSU testing gear, I still don't get why a kill-a-watt would be inaccurate besieds for not taking into account efficiency.
 
My guess is that there is Kill-A-Watt and Kill-A-Watt. The simple model I have at home seems to be rather consistent with calculated values (I don't need the utmost precision), so I'm fairly confident when I use it. Your mileage may vary.
 
fr500 said:
Not everyone has big PSU testing gear, I still don't get why a kill-a-watt would be inaccurate besieds for not taking into account efficiency.
Click to expand...
Unfortunately not even PSU experts or people who tests PSUs for a living know why a KAW provides inaccurate numbers. All they know is that it does and that you have to take those numbers with a grain of salt.
Posted via [H] Mobile Device
 
Yoy0YO said:
Good news everybody :D
they're starting to stock the ST45SF
from google: Sundialmicro (never heard of them)
Click to expand...

Wasn't the MSRP $10 less? :confused: $80+shiping is too much for me. If I can get one for $60 out the door, I'd buy one in a heartbeat! I could use it to ressurect my rare aluminum mATX slim case as a LAN party box.
 
Zap said:
Wasn't the MSRP $10 less? :confused: $80+shiping is too much for me. If I can get one for $60 out the door, I'd buy one in a heartbeat! I could use it to ressurect my rare aluminum mATX slim case as a LAN party box.
Click to expand...
80 shipped would be a nice price. Also please send me some pics of your rare case, Im curious as to what it is. :)
 
Sundial Micro is $100 for me including shipping which is too much for this. $20 for shipping for small box? :( I'll wait and keep work on my build and buy this PSU last.
 
lillimon04 said:
Also please send me some pics of your rare case, Im curious as to what it is. :)
Click to expand...

I got it from Athena Power (back when they were A+GPB) maybe a decade ago. Yes,l I've been into SFF back before people differentiated it as such. :cool: It is the same exact chassis design as the Athenatech A100 only with a different face, and of course made out of aluminum (and plastic face) instead of steel. I actually have two of these cases, and they have been through several system incarnations.

The case measures 13.5" tall, 5.75" wide and 14.5" from front to back. It weighed around 14 pounds as a complete system.

Of course I've modded one of these cases. :D In these pictures the CPU fan sucked air through a hole fit exactly to the CPU fan in the side window. Parts in the picture were:

CPU - Opteron 144 (slight overclock)
RAM - Corsair XMS 2GB
MOTHERBOARD - Biostar Tforce6100-939
HEATSINK - AMD retail box quad heatpipe
FAN - Thermaltake Starforce
VIDEO - Sapphire Radeon X850XT PCI-E 256MB
HARD DRIVE - Maxtor 250GB EIDE 7200RPM 8MB cache
OPTICAL DRIVE - LG DVDRW
POWER SUPPLY - Enermax EG265S-VE 270W SFX

The most powerful parts I've used as an actual LAN party rig were pretty much the same thing, but with an Enermax 320W SFX PSU, EVGA 7900 GTO and an Athlon 64 San Diego core 4000+ overclocked to 3.12GHz. I had it going on for single core performance! (I actually went through multiple 3700+, 4000+ and FX55 to find the best overclocker of the bunch.)

Pics:
gr4.jpg

gr3.jpg

gr0.jpg
 
Zap- nice case. As an A100BB user myself, I once had that very same Enermax 320W psu. Had to give it up though since it didn't have enough juice to power an 8800GS. Switched to the Seasonic SS-350SFE that I have now which is still going strong with a 5770 (see sig).

Needless to say, I'm really looking forward to picking up one of these 450W units. Pairing one of these with a 5850 will be a nice jump in performance.
 
kniah said:
Zap- nice case. As an A100BB user myself, I once had that very same Enermax 320W psu. Had to give it up though since it didn't have enough juice to power an 8800GS. Switched to the Seasonic SS-350SFE that I have now which is still going strong with a 5770 (see sig).
Click to expand...

The Enermax 320W was 24A peak and 20A continuous on the single +12v rail. Even a 300W FSP would have been better at 22.5A continuous with the two rails combined. I also have the 300W FSP, and used to have the 350W Sparkle (same as FSP) which was worse because they beefed up the 3.3v and 5v to get the higher wattage while +12v stayed the same. They also used a pair of 60mm fans that were noisy all the time.

I also have one of those Seasonic 350W PSUs as you do. The 60mm fan starts off a lot quieter than the Sparkle, and never seems to get as noisy. It is also capable of 26A continuous on the +12v. With the Silverstone 450W, the Seasonic is now the second highest continuous +12v of any SFX PSU. (AFAIK all those other high wattage SFX PSUs either pad the 3.3/5v or are peak rated and don't have high +12v.) I briefly ran a Core 2 Duo with a GTX 260 using the Seasonic and it worked fine, except the fan spun up and was audible.
 
Could REEEALY use this in NZ ASAP. Are there any good E-tailers that'd ship to NZ?
 
Just ordered mine @ Amazon. It's out of stock, but not for long!

Newegg wanted 69.99 with 22 dollar shipping.

Amazon wanted 70.00 with 6 dollar shipping.

Sometimes it's ass to live in Hawaii! :p
 
I hear ya. I'm desperate for one of these in Australia. I don't think the SG05 stock 300w will last very long with my HD5850. It's making a constant buzzing noise, even when the PC is off :( I just hope it doesn't blow and take out my whole system.

I'd order one from Amazon, but they won't ship to my address.

There's only one US based online store I can find that will ship to Oz, but I doubt they have stock.
 
Dammit! It's out of stock EVERYWHERE.

I asked and two companies said they did not even know when they would get more.

Looks like ANOTHER 3-4 month wait.

Same kind of BS on the Silverstone SG03-Fs. :(
 
Check Newegg often. I wanted to save like $8 and order from Amazon but didn't want to take chance with 3-6week wait that it said on their site. Newegg said they will have stock sometime around June or July but I've checked couple of times a day and it was in stock for short period of time so picked one up last week. It was OOS again in matter of 2-3 hours again. I should be getting it today. :)
 
Congrats HaxEJxuK! Please give us your opinions and thoughts about it as soon as you can!
i'm super dissappointed in Amazon for D/Cing this product, they seemed like the most likely candidate for shipping to NZ.
 
Wow! you are right! It doesn't even show in Amazon anymore. I was going to wait till I finish my SG06 and buy it cheaper but good thing I didn't want to take chance and just bought it from Newegg.

Yoy0YO said:
Congrats HaxEJxuK! Please give us your opinions and thoughts about it as soon as you can!
i'm super dissappointed in Amazon for D/Cing this product, they seemed like the most likely candidate for shipping to NZ.
Click to expand...
 
I'll see if I can find time to install Windows 7 with old Q-pack tonight or tomorrow. Hope this PSU is quiet. Also check my build log if you haven't yet. http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1469728

Yoy0YO said:
Congrats HaxEJxuK! Please give us your opinions and thoughts about it as soon as you can!
i'm super dissappointed in Amazon for D/Cing this product, they seemed like the most likely candidate for shipping to NZ.
Click to expand...
 
I got mine two weeks ago from newegg. I have an e8400 overclocked to 3.6 GHZ, 5770 vapor-x, Corsair H50, 2x 120mm fans, and 500gb laptop drive. Works perfectly and is fairly quiet.

It comes with an atx bracket incase you want to mount it in a full size case, wish the mount was black though incase I ever get a Lian Li pc-q08.

The cable bundle is hard to work with since they are sleeved it is harder to hide them in the case. You would think sleeved cables would be a benefit but don't offer anything in such a compact case.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top