SilverStone ET500-aRGB 80 Plus Bronze power supply launched

SilverStone is probably best known for its SFF cases and PSUs in PC gaming and enthusiast circles. Some of those niche products can be rather pricey, but the firm is expanding its offerings and here is another example of the spreading of its focus – the ET500-aRGB PSU.

From the name you will probably have already guessed this is a 500W PSU. It is a "class-leading single +12V rail" design and can deliver a max 38A (456W) via this connection. You can see the PSU output capability table below.

This PSU is 80 Plus Bronze rated which means that it is rated for >80 per cent power efficiency across the typical loads it will deliver. Moreover, at 50 per cent load, SilverStone says that the ET500 is up to 85 per cent efficient. This isn't a premium PSU, so the cables are captive, but SilverStone boats they are black flat cables for greater flexibility, cable management and thus better airflow.

Connectors available from the ET500 are as follows:

• 1 x 24 / 20-Pin motherboard connector (500mm)
• 1 x 8-Pin EPS and 4-Pin + 4-Pin ATX 12V connector (650mm / 150mm)
• 2 x 8 / 6-Pin PCIe connector (500mm / 150mm)
• 4 x SATA connector (500mm / 150mm x 2)
• 3 x 4-Pin Peripheral connector (500mm / 150mm / 150mm)
• 1 x Female aRGB 4-1 pin and 1 x Male connector (580mm / 100mm)

While we are doing the spec lists it is worth mentioning that the following protections are built-in: Over Current Protection, Over Power Protection, Over Voltage Protection, Short Circuit Protection, and Over Temperature Protection.

One of the headlining features of the ET500 is its aRGB frills. The RGB lighting comes via the 'silent' 120mm fan installed in the unit. Users can easily toggle though 17 lighting modes using the switch below the IEC. Alternatively and probably a better choice for most enthusiasts will be using the supplied adapter cable to connect the fan aRGB to your motherboard – it is said to be compatible with most standards for appealing system wide lighting sync.

Other specs worth noting are that the SilverStone ET500-aRGB 80 Plus Bronze measures 150 mm (W) x 86 mm (H) x 140 mm (D) and weighs in at 1.37kg. SilverStone hasn't provided a release date or pricing information yet but checking through the spec it should be quite an affordable PSU, probably under £75.