Now we've come to the part of the review where we test ripple. Ripple is what you call the small fluctuations in voltage that happens every ms or so that may not affect performance, but may kill your components in time.

Ripple is measured at the load by an USB Instruments Stingray DS1M12 . I use the Stingray as a medium between the data being spit out by the SunMoon load tester's Waveform Monitor output and my laptop. Each change in voltage is collected and reported every .2ms. The time divide on the graphs is 2ms (every square being 2ms) The voltage scale on the graph is .05V, or 50mV.

Strider ST75F	+3.3V	+5V	+12V1&2	+12V3	+12V4
Test 1
Test 2
Test 3
Test 4
Test 5
Test 6
Test 7

Ripple on the +12V rails never really gets too bad.  ATX12V specification has a tolerence of 120mV For +12V rails and at the worst, during test 6, we're only seeing about 75mV.  What's interesting is that once the 3.3V and 5V loads are lowered to the point where a crossload is created, during test 7, the ripple on the +12V rails, even though the load on those rails reman the same, is only about 30 or 40mV.

The +5V rail doesn't look as good.  ATX12V specification's tolerance for +3.3V and +5V rails is 50mV.  We hit 50mV as soon as test 3.  And the ripple on the +5V is as much as 80mV by test 6.

Now let's take a look at some inside shots of the ST75F....

From overhead, the ST75F doesn't look too different than the ST60F.  Note the use of two main transformers instead of just one.  Note the large Teapo primary cap in the center of the PCB.

You could hurt someone with the large ferrite coil on the primary side of in this thing.

Now we move over to the secondary side of the ST75F. No doubt this is a very neatly laid out power supply inside.   Below, we can see we have a number of Teapo and Su'Scon caps on the secondary side.

So now that we got those "inner-beauty" shots out of the way, let's go ahead and score this thing...

Performance (weight of 40%):  The voltage regulation was very good, to a point.  There's a lot of power available here, and certainly enough to power a pair of 8800GTX cards in most people's builds.  After seeing the voltages bounce around under full load, I do hesitate calling this PSU a 750W.  Perhaps a 700W rating is more realistic.  Efficiency is good, although not fantastic, and the unit does have active PFC.  The fact that this PSU is very quiet helps this PSU score a 8.5.

What keeps the ST75F from scoring a 10 was the instability under full load and the lack of 80% and up efficiency

Aesthetics (weight is 10%):  Here the SilverStone ST75F scores an 8.5.  All of the cables are sleeved, and certainly the PSU being modular makes the inside of a computer have more aesthetic appeal.  The flat black finish lacks flash, but it still looks good.  It's too bad the "SilverStone" that's stamped into the steel faces up against the top of the case so it can't be seen when installed in most cases.

Value (weight of 30%):  The ST75F sells for around $140.  Sometimes less.  That's a very good price for a 750W power supply.   Even if you think in the back of your head that this power supply only a 700W power supply, even a Tagan 700W or Seasonic 700W cost more than $140!  For this reason, the ST75F gets a value score of 9.

Functionality (weight is 20%):  For functionality, I give the ST75F a 9.5.  Of course, the fact that the PSU is modular is a major plus in this category.  But more than that, the cables are sleeved nicely, long, easy to manipulate.  The only thing that keeps this PSU from scoring a 10 in this category is the over all size of the PSU, which is 180MM (just over 7".)

That gives the SilverStone ST75F an overall score of 9.  A 9 means the ST75F squeaks by with a "jonnyGURU Recommended".

SUMMARY:

The ST75F is certainly an excellent effort with some really good features.  The unit is far from the quality in construction of the SilverStone Zeus ST75ZF and may have fallen short on efficiency and it's ability to provide stable voltages when fully loaded, but this shortcoming could be measured in mere millimeters.  It's still very solid all of the way up to 700W, can handle a crossload and is modular with some very nicely sleeved cables.  Wrap this up with a $140 price tag and you've got a pretty good option for your new G80 SLI build.

The GOOD:

• Modular
• Nicely Sleeved Cables
• Very Quiet 120MM Fan
• Four PCI-e Connectors
• Lots of Power For The Money

The BAD:

• A Little Shaky at High Loads

The MEDIOCRE:

• Efficiency is "decent" but not Stellar
• Flat Black Finish Only Works for Some People

Please feel free to discuss this review in the forums.