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SilverStone Nightjar ST50NF 500W Fanless Power Supply Review

Author:
Date: May 1, 2012
Subject: Cases and Cooling
Manufacturer: SilverStone Technology Co., Ltd.
Tagged: SST-ST50NF, Silverstone, Nightjar, Fanless PSU

Introduction and Features

SilverStone was one of the first PC power supply manufacturers to design and market a fanless power supply for silent operation. While many of their competitor’s fanless products have come and gone, SilverStone continues to build on their reputation and later last year released the SST-ST50NF 500W fanless power supply, which is the latest addition to the Nightjar series. We are a little late to the party in reviewing the ST50NF but after talking with the good folks at SilverStone it appears the wait was worth it as they have continued to tweak the design in recent months to improve AC ripple suppression on the DC outputs.

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Here is what SilverStone has to say about the Nightjar 500W fanless power supply: The fanless Nightjar series power supplies are long favorites for professionals and enthusiasts alike that require noiseless power solution with no moving parts. With increasing power demands required from modern computers, SilverStone engineers have once again created another fanless power supply with leading output level in ST50NF. With 500W of continuous rating, near 80Plus Silver efficiency, ±3% voltage regulation, single +12V rail, multiple PCI-E connectors, and full host of safety features, the ST50NF is a great choice for mission-critical systems that need to operate in noiseless or dusty environments.

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SilverStone Nightjar 500W Fanless PSU Key Features:

• Fanless thermal solution,0 dBA Acoustics
• 500W continuous power output
• 80 PLUS Bronze certified with84%~88% efficiency at 20%~100% load
• Compliance with ATX 12V v2.3 and EPS 12V Specifications
• Strict ±3% voltage regulation
• PCI-E 8-pin and PCI-E 6-pin connectors
• Powerfull class-leading single +12V rail (38A)
• Aluminum construction
• Server-level components
• Universal AC input (100~250V) with Active PFC

Editor’s Note: Fanless PC power supplies occupy a niche market and are targeted towards users who want a silent power supply for use in noise-sensitive areas or who need a power supply that can survive in a dusty/dirty environment that might choke and kill a conventional fan cooled PSU. Fanless power supplies rely on convection cooling and still require airflow in and around the power supply chassis to carry away the waste heat. So while the power supply itself may not have a fan, the computer enclosure must still have some means of creating airflow to keep the CPU, GPU and PSU cool. The last thing you want to do is put a fanless PSU in a closed enclosure without any fans or airflow!

Continue reading our review of the SilverStone 500W Fanless PSU!

SilverStone's PS07 might be Precisely the enclosure you are looking for

Subject: Cases and Cooling | February 27, 2012 - 02:24 PM |
Tagged: Silverstone, PS07, precision series

If you are looking for an inexpensive mid-size tower that can handle GPUs up to 13.5" in length and coolers with a height of 165mm or shorter the SilverStone Precision Series PS07 is not a bad choice.  It can handle up to three 120mm fans for cooling but no grommets for an external radiator if you prefer watercooling.  Sticking with the air cooling motif, they've included fan filters which are held in place with magnets offering an easier way to keep them clean than many competitors.  MEKTU Mods was also fond of the cable management solutions and the removable roof and motherboard tray.

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"Some might say that the PS07 is aimed more towards a budget buyer. There is nothing wrong in that and if the product is high in quality and looks good, I'm all for it. So, is the Silverstonetek's PS07 the case for you? Read and find out!"

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Source: Mektu Mods

SilverStone's tiny HTPC enclosure can hide full sized components

Subject: Systems | January 24, 2012 - 04:03 PM |
Tagged: htpc, Silverstone, SST-GD06B

Some HTPC builders envision their machine handling more than just media streaming; why not play WoW or KOTOR on your TV?  This can lead to some frustration if they chose an HTPC case that aesthetically fits their living room but cannot physically fit the components they need to drive the machine.  SilverStone has met their desire with the SST-GD06B, which resembles a stereo component yet at 17.3" (W) x 5.9" (H) x 13.4" (D) it is big enough to give you a lot more choice in the components you can utilize.  For instance it will take an ATX PSU of up to 5.9" in length, five internal drives and a CPU cooler of up to 120mm if you leave out the optical drive.  You can have up to 5 expansion cards in the case, with four of those slots able to accept a card up to 11" in length.  The only real fault that Benchmark Reviews found was the lack of IR support and a bundled remote control.

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"With these smaller cases, space is always an issue. This is becoming increasingly critical as high definition content becomes ubiquitous. Not only do we want to view our new content in more pixels than our brain can even process, but we want to upscale the old content, or view it in 3D, and do it upside down, right side up and inside out. While you're at it give me dish, cable, recording, streaming, email, gaming and the kitchen sink. Oh...and it needs to fit in a single box on my entertainment system. Well, SilverStone is at least trying to provide the box, the rest is up to you. They've expanded on past models to fit even more powerful toys inside your HTPC. Read on to see how model SST-GD06B crams the performance you demand and puts it on your shelf."

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Source: Benchmark Reviews

More CES coverage for your reading pleasure

Subject: Shows and Expos | January 18, 2012 - 01:22 PM |
Tagged: CES, lightning bolt, amd, razer, fiona, lucid, Silverstone

 The Tech Report still has more to say about what they saw in Los Vegas this year, as they covered quite a bit of ground.  AMD's Lightning Bolt connector, their competition for Thunderbolt, which is much less expensive to integrate into a system especially considering it uses DisplayPort 1.2 style ports.  They also played with Razer's popular Project Fiona which is probably what Nokia wished they had released instead of the N-Gage.  SandyBridge features in their coverage of Zotac and EVGA and the next generation of that chip showed up at MSI.  There is plenty more coverage over at The Tech Report so check it out and don't forget all of our coverage at pcper.com/ces.

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PC Perspective's CES 2012 coverage is sponsored by MSI Computer.

Follow all of our coverage of the show at http://pcper.com/ces!

Source: The Tech Report

Another unfortunately named PSU from SilverStone; the fanless 500W ST50NF

Subject: Cases and Cooling | December 12, 2011 - 05:19 PM |
Tagged: Silverstone, Nightjar ST50NF, Fanless Power Supply

SilverStone have updated their NightJar series with a new model, the ST50NF, which is a 500W PSU that relies on passive cooling and so operates in complete silence.  With a claimed 80 Plus Silver rating this PSU is perfect for mid-range systems and servers, which you either need to operate silently or to use in dirty environments where fans can bring in enough dirt to cause shorts.  The design challenges that SilverStone faced when developing this PSU is obvious in its $200 price tag, which may discourage some.  [H]ard|OCP takes a good look at the newest NightJar from SilverStone here.

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"SilverStone is back on our test bench today with a fully silent and fanless 500 watt computer power supply that is making some very impressive "Silver" efficiency claims. Beyond that, terms like "noiseless," "dusty environments," and "mission-critical" are thrown around. Now to figure out what a "Nightjar" is."

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Source: [H]ard|OCP

The SilverStone Strider Gold 750W deserves its name, but for the wrong reason

Subject: Cases and Cooling | November 16, 2011 - 03:17 PM |
Tagged: modular psu, 80 gold, Silverstone, strider gold 750w, 750w

The SilverStone Strider Gold 750W offers good performance but unfortunately demands a premium price.  Overclockers Online had a hard time getting around that fact when they reviewed this unit.  There is nothing bad about the PSU, the solid performance of the single 12V rail at 62A will keep most users happy as will the amount of SATA and PCIe connectors.  The 5V rail does vary by about 3% but is still well within specifications.  Still, there are competitors out there delivering the same performance and charging less money for their units. 

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"The Strider Gold 750W does have a quite a bit of good points going for it and a few excellent ones, namely: efficiency and some pretty decent line regulation on the 12V rail (which reasonably, we care quite a bit more for than the 5V rail). The unit is also built extraordinarily well, inside and out. Still, while we can hardly discount the fact that the Strider Gold 750W is priced just a wee bit higher than it should, that decision is for the individual and despite priced a tad higher than other units, the Strider Gold is still a solid power supply."

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Source: Overclockers Online

The Silverstone Raven RV03 is one topsy-turvy case

Subject: Cases and Cooling | July 7, 2011 - 03:10 PM |
Tagged: Silverstone, raven rv03

If you remember Steve's review of the SilverStone Raven RV02, you will be familiar with the unique setup of this series of cases.   Your motherboards backplate, as well as the exhaust of your PSU are located at the very top of the case, as is a large exhaust fan.  That feature is the biggest aesthetic change in the case, with the shroud that hides the wiring and plugs gaining several fin like protrusions as opposed to a flat mesh top.  Unfortunately the placement for your storage drives is still in a difficult place to reach, as it was with the RV02.  Overall The Tech Report liked the internal size of the case as well as the look, but felt the asking price of $160 put it in a league with much better cases.

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"This oddball enclosure from Silverstone turns age-old concepts on their head: the motherboard tray is rotated 90 degrees, several drive bays sit directly behind it, and the PSU fits at the front. Do those eccentricities make the Raven RV03 cooler, quieter, or easier to use than the competition?"

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Source: The Tech Report

Putting together a silent and powerful mATX system

Subject: Systems | July 5, 2011 - 12:52 PM |
Tagged: Silverstone, Fortress FT03S, zotac, Z68-ITX Wi-Fi, mATX

Using the Silverstone Fortress FT03S, an mATX case measuring 235mm x 284mm x 487mm (9.25" x 11.18" x 19.17") Hardware Heaven crafted a great machine for HTPC use or for those wanting a quiet and diminutive work station.  Inside is a Zotac Z68 board, a Core i3 2100, an Intel 80GB X25-M SSD, two 4GB Corsair Vengenace DDR3 DIMMs, a Sony Blu-Ray drive, an Asus Essence STX Sound Card and the Sapphire Ultimate HD6670 as a discrete GPU.  All of that seems a fairly tight fit, but Hardware Heaven shows that even more powerful parts could be contained within.  Check out the full build process here.

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"Last month we took a look at building a Fusion based HTPC which was based around an m-ITX motherboard and silent case. This system offered good media playback and decent general computing however there are consumers who require more performance from a compact system. Therefore today we are going to look at building a compact, stylish system based on Intel's Z68 chipset in ITX form (The Zotac Z68-ITX) and the Core i3-2100."

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Source: Hardware Heaven