SilverStone Strider Plus 500 W Power Supply Review

Primary Analysis

On this page we will take an in-depth look at the primary stage of the SilverStone Strider Plus 500 W. For a better understanding, please read our Anatomy of Switching Power Supplies tutorial.

This power supply uses one GBU1506 rectifying bridge, attached to the same heatsink used by components of the active PFC circuit. This bridge supports up to 15 A at 100° C, so in theory, you would be able to pull up to 1,725 W from a 115 V power grid. Assuming 80% efficiency, the bridge would allow this unit to deliver up to 1,380 W without burning itself out. Of course, we are only talking about this particular component. The real limit will depend on all the components combined in this power supply.

Figure 10: Rectifying bridge

The active PFC circuit uses two STF22NM60 MOSFETs, each supporting up to 22 A at 25° C or 12.6 A at 100° C in continuous mode (note the difference temperature makes), or 80 A at 25° C in pulse mode. These transistors present a 250 mΩ resistance when turned on, a characteristic called RDS(on). The lower the number the better, meaning that the transistor will waste less power, and the power supply will have a higher efficiency.

Figure 11: Active PFC transistors and diode

The electrolytic capacitor that filters the output of the active PFC circuit is from CapXon and labeled at 85° C.

In the switching section, two FDPF18N50 MOSFETs are used in the traditional two-transistor forward configuration. Each transistor supports up to 18 A at 25° C or 10.8 A at 100° C in continuous mode, or 72 A at 25° C in pulse mode, with an RDS(on) of 265 mΩ.

Figure 12: Switching transistors

The primary is controlled by the popular CM6800 active PFC/PWM combo controller.

Figure 13: Active PFC/PWM combo controller

Let’s now take a look at the secondary of this power supply.