I'll be honest... I really had no intention of buying a SilverStone Technology 300W SFX Form Factor 80 Plus Bronze Power Supply with +12V Single Rail, Active PFC (ST30SF). The thing is that I was putting together my first mini-ITX build since the Via Eden days. While I wanted a small system, I specifically bought a Cooler Master Elite 110 RC-110-KKN2 so I could use a standard size PSU. The problem was that the CPU placement on the motherboard, combined with the height of the Ryzen 5 3400G's OEM Wraith Spire cooler, and the PSU placement in the case resulted in a pretty small gap between the CPU fan and the PSU. Maybe it would have been fine, but I really just didn't like the idea of half of my heatsink not being able to efficiently shed heat. So, I decided to swap out the OEM cooling unit with a SilverStone Technology RL-KR01. That solved my clearance issue, but it was WAY louder than the stock unit, which didn't really work for me. After a little digging, I decided to get the SilverStone Technology ST30SF, and use the included adapter plate. Theoretically, that would let me go back to the stock cooler.
I've had proprietary PSUs before, but not very often... stuff like Shuttles, or microATX builds. I was only vaguely aware of the SFX form factor, but was excited when I found out about adapter plates you could use for a regular ATX PSU mount. The ST30SF wasn't the cheapest option, but it was the lowest cost unit that had a brand I trusted and had the adapter bracket (otherwise you'd have to spend like $10 to get one). As you might imagine, the unit is tiny. The bracket centers the unit within the ATX cavity, so it's not necessarily optimized for clearance, but that wasn't an issue for me. As my build is an R5 3400G, 32GB of RAM, and an NVMe drive on an x4 card, it really doesn't need anything bigger than 300W (it doesn't even need that, really). The build quality of the PSU appears to be up to the level I expect from Silverstone, despite being a lower-priced product. The adapter plate is grey/silver, so you may want to hit it with some spray paint, if you care about aesthetics. The 24 and 8-pin mobo power cables are long enough for whatever small case you may be using.
In operation, the PSU can be completely silent. There was a sash-type notice on the power supply, warning the user that the PSU fan doesn't always spin, as it's temperature controlled. Even when it's spinning, the fan isn't that loud. It is a little weird for the sound floor to change that much for a running computer, though. In operation, I didn't have any stability problems, and I had solid 3.3, 5, and 12v line voltages.
If you know you're going to stay within a 300w power budget, this power supply is a great choice. It's solid and quiet. The only thing that's kind of janky is the color of the adapter plate, which I'm guessing most purchasers won't use, anyway. Recommended.
| Brand | SilverStone Technology |
|---|---|
| Series | PS-SX700-LPT |
| Item model number | SX700-LPT |
| Item Weight | 5 pounds |
| Product Dimensions | 9 x 3 x 8 inches |
| Item Dimensions LxWxH | 9 x 3 x 8 inches |
| Manufacturer | Silverstone |
| ASIN | B01G26SMTQ |
| Is Discontinued By Manufacturer | No |
| Date First Available | May 23, 2016 |
