Are Silverstone PSUs worth a punt?

RadarHz

RadarHz

Level E
Not actually looking to buy either one, asking purely as I'm curious what the perception of Silverstone PSUs are compared to other low-end PSUs.

SilverStone Viva 550 Bronze 550W 80 Plus Non-Modular ATX SMPS Power Supply​


SilverStone ST60F-ES230 600W 80 Plus Switched Mode Power Supply​

Amazon.in: Buy SilverStone ST60F-ES230 600W 80 Plus Switched Mode Power Supply Online at Low Prices in India | SilverStone Reviews & Ratings

Buy SilverStone ST60F-ES230 600W 80 Plus Switched Mode Power Supply online at low price in India on Amazon.in. Check out SilverStone ST60F-ES230 600W 80 Plus Switched Mode Power Supply reviews, ratings, features, specifications and browse more SilverStone products online at best prices on Amazon.in.
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General rule of thumb for PSUs I follow is to buy those with at least 5yrs warranty, or highest warranty in a given budget. Silverstone's PSUs often have lower warranty than the competition at the same price range, hence I avoid them, altho some of their stuff is actually pretty good - the Decathlon and SFX Gold series are well reviewed and have long warranties.
 
Its better to go with Coolermaster MWE V2 Bronze PSUs as they have a better design. If you cant get the CM PSUs, silverstone should work just as well.
 
Undoubtedly, the CM MWE v2 units are the top of my list. I'm trying to figure out if I should recommend any of the above Silverstone units if someone else on a very tight budget where I'm looking at the bottom of the barrel.
 
I've only used two of these, but I'm very pleased with them. I briefly tested the 650W one alongside a Corsair CX450 and CV450 and a Seasonic Prime 850W Gold and at full CPU load, the Silverstone drew the least amount of power from the socket, making it the most efficient of all four. The quality and gauge of cables is way better than Corsair, about on par with the Seasonic. I like this series, they're my new favourite for budget conscious non-gpu builds.

I have never used any Cooler Master power supplies though, so I can't speak about them. My experience with looking for quality power supplies started around the time when FSP and Seasonic were the only brands making Active PFC models in the early 2000's, and brands like Cooler Master were not yet established. Silverstone was more accessible in the Indian market back then so most enthusiasts at the time viewed them as a budget (but still 10x more expensive than the local stuff) alternative to Lian Li. From their cases, we gravitated towards other components and peripherals. They do so much unique stuff that I view them as a boutique brand, compared to the more mainstream Corsair & Cooler Master. I love their 180mm Air Penetrator fans.

But I do not have long term testing data on these, I got a 650W one back in March for 3475 and I have it inside a X299 system and is on 24/7 since then without any issues. The 550W at that time was 2900 and is powering a 5900x system. They both have 5 years warranty.

A vietnamese site did some standardized testing: https://www.f14lab.org/2021/04/review-silverstone-viva-550-550w.html
 
SunnyBoi said:
Its better to go with Coolermaster MWE V2 Bronze PSUs as they have a better design. If you cant get the CM PSUs, silverstone should work just as well.
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now that jonnyguru site is gone,is there any other site to check reviews of cm psu's that are indepth. after seasonics disappearance from the indian market,even i am psu hunting. but my previous experience with cm and acro has been bad.
 
fastapifastdisks said:
now that jonnyguru site is gone,is there any other site to check reviews of cm psu's that are indepth. after seasonics disappearance from the indian market,even i am psu hunting. but my previous experience with cm and acro has been bad.
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He was the first guy who reported Gigabyte exploding PSUs in October 2020, his reviews are pretty extensive.

He has also reviewed some SilverStone PSUs you can search in his channel.
 
They are Tier C low priority and Tier D, so I personally wouldn't get them. Maybe try to find something from Tier B (or C) that's in your budget. But rsaeon, as said above, is using it with 5900x without issues o_O

jonnyguru is active on LTT and even Tom's (I think?)
 
roofrider said:
But rsaeon, as said above, is using it with 5900x without issues o_O
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I have to clarify though, it's without a GPU. I wouldn't want to use the VIVA Bronze power supplies with any GPU that requires additional power. Both of the 5900x and X299 systems have GT710's since they're headless but still require a GPU to boot. It looks like the VIVA Gold power supplies are Tier B.
 
Fwiw, CLEAResult.com only lists the ST-xxF-ES230 model in its certificate database. Viva Bronze models aren't listed, although Viva Gold models are.
 
rsaeon said:
I'm very pleased with them.
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Two of three have now died. A Viva 550 Bronze purchased in March of 2021 died last month, and a Viva 750 Bronze purchased in December of 2021 died today. They just shut off and refuse to power on. They were both used in non-GPU systems that never drew more than 100w.

I'll report back after I figure out the RMA situation. In any case, they're no longer recommendable.
 
rsaeon said:
Two of three have now died. A Viva 550 Bronze purchased in March of 2021 died last month, and a Viva 750 Bronze purchased in December of 2021 died today. They just shut off and refuse to power on. They were both used in non-GPU systems that never drew more than 100w.

I'll report back after I figure out the RMA situation. In any case, they're no longer recommendable.
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I had SILVERSTONE DA850-G Gold Model. One night i turned off the pc after some gaming and next morning it didn't turn on .
Had it in a box for 3 months . Finally went to service center today. First the guy tried to reject the PSU saying they only RMA products sold by their sellers.
After a couple of minutes and informing him that i bought this from Electrobot which is listed on SilverStone's website . He agreed to accept the PSU and gave me a receipt.
Gigabyte was easier to claim warranty for PSU.
 
The Viva (Bronze) series is garbage (in my experience). One died within two months ( 550W bought May 2022) - refused to power on. The RMA replacement died in 3 months. Never bothered RMAing that.

This was with a 2600K + GT 1030 system (not overclocked)
 
My experience with Silverstone is horrible. I bought three of their Viva Bronze, mostly going off their reputation from the early part of the century.

I acquired two Viva 550 bronze and one 650. The 650 is still fine so far. Both 550s have failed. One failed after I gave it to a friend's son, who managed to get the unit RMA'ed.

Mine failed a year or so ago and I am trying to get an RMA done, but the distributor (Fortune) is silent and does not respond to emails. Silverstone support is also unusually rude and unhelpful. I wouldn't touch the brand with a bargepole after this. Threw away too much money behind them - the list does not include more fans and the PSU I bought from Flipkart.

silverstone.jpg
 
cranky said:
My experience with Silverstone is horrible. I bought three of their Viva Bronze, mostly going off their reputation from the early part of the century.

I acquired two Viva 550 bronze and one 650. The 650 is still fine so far. Both 550s have failed. One failed after I gave it to a friend's son, who managed to get the unit RMA'ed.

Mine failed a year or so ago and I am trying to get an RMA done, but the distributor (Fortune) is silent and does not respond to emails. Silverstone support is also unusually rude and unhelpful. I wouldn't touch the brand with a bargepole after this. Threw away too much money behind them - the list does not include more fans and the PSU I bought from Flipkart.

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This viva series is absolutely terrible. they are tier c list. on PSU tier list . I suggest always avoid white and bronze of any PSU brand.
 
I think Tier C is being generous. The fact is parts sometimes fail. At least there should be reasonable quality of service, which is also missing.

CX-M from Corsair is usable, but who knows in the long run. When you have nine rigs like me, it's not always possible to go for top tier PSUs for all of them.
 
NikhilSingh25 said:
This viva series is absolutely terrible. they are tier c list. on PSU tier list . I suggest always avoid white and bronze of any PSU brand.
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Their quality control (at least for the Viva series) is garbage. The 550, in particular. Not all Tier C are bad. I have a 7-year-old Corsair VS 450 that's still running, and that thing has seen a lot of abuse (Overlocked 2600K + R9 290). I've tripped it to hell, but it's survived. :woot:

I even have a 13-year-old Cooler Master Elite 460 (Which is actually just a 320-ish-watt unit) that still works. It was considered as a garbage unit at launch (probably F-Tier), but I got lucky. Still works (It's even powered an 8350 + GTX 570 system)
 
cranky said:
Silverstone support is also unusually rude and unhelpful.
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Yup and as abrasive as they come. I just dropped the idea to buy their da1650 and went with Antec sp1300. Even though I don't have much experience with Antec, but at least the distributor/dealer was approachable and was ready to answer my queries.
 
I might just add that things started moving a bit yesterday. I was contacted by the Delhi office of Fortune (the distri) and they asked me to get the supply to the local office.

Will update once the whole thing is completed.
 
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