Be Quiet! Dark Power Pro 10 650W & 850W PSU Review
by E. Fylladitakis on February 2, 2015 11:40 AM ESTDark Power Pro 10 850W Hot Test Results
The tables below depict the superiority of the be quiet! Dark Power Pro 10 850W PSU compared to the 650W version of the same series. The output power quality is exceptional, with the maximum voltage ripple recorded on the 12V line being just 20mV with the unit running at maximum capacity – less than a third of the ripple we recorded with the 650W version at a lower power output. Cross-loading does not affect the power quality significantly either. Voltage regulation on the 12V line is at just 0.9%, but the minor lines are less tightly regulated, at 1.6% and 1.7% for the 3.3V and 5V lines respectively.
| Main Output | ||||||||
| Load (Watts) | 171.83 W | 428.51 W | 638.14 W | 849.97 W | ||||
| Load (Percent) | 20.22% | 50.41% | 75.08% | 100% | ||||
| Line | Amperes | Volts | Amperes | Volts | Amperes | Volts | Amperes | Volts |
| 3.3 V | 4.06 | 3.35 | 10.14 | 3.34 | 15.21 | 3.32 | 20.29 | 3.3 |
| 5 V | 4.06 | 5.06 | 10.14 | 5.03 | 15.21 | 4.97 | 20.29 | 4.97 |
| 12 V | 11.36 | 12.12 | 28.4 | 12.1 | 42.6 | 12.02 | 56.8 | 12.01 |
| Line | Regulation (20% to 100% load) |
Voltage Ripple (mV) | |||||
| 20% Load | 50% Load | 75% Load | 100% Load | CL1 12V |
CL2 3.3V + 5V |
||
| 3.3V | 1.6% | 6 | 8 | 12 | 12 | 8 | 14 |
| 5V | 1.7% | 6 | 10 | 10 | 14 | 8 | 16 |
| 12V | 0.9% | 10 | 12 | 16 | 20 | 20 | 12 |
High ambient temperatures have virtually no impact on the electrical performance of the be quiet! Dark Power Pro 10 850W PSU. The average nominal load (20-100%) efficiency drops by just 0.2% for an ambient temperature increase of about 23°C and the peak efficiency is 94.3% at half load. These figures are well above the 80 Plus Platinum certification limits and at a far higher ambient temperature than required, as 80 Plus testing takes place with an ambient temperature of 25°C.
The high efficiency of the be quiet! Dark Power Pro 10 850W PSU allows for a less aggressive cooling profile, with the unit maintaining comfortable noise levels across most of the load range. Only if the load is greater than 700 Watts will the fan of the unit reach levels uncomfortable for continuous use; however, a computer that draws that much power is not performing a casual tasks and its cooling systems are bound to be generating significant levels of noise as well.
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Howard - Tuesday, February 3, 2015 - link
phase != fazeHrel - Tuesday, February 3, 2015 - link
44db at 500W? Seasonic blows this crap out of the water. I'm really surprised, normally stuff made in Germany is top quality.ShieTar - Tuesday, February 3, 2015 - link
be quiet! were one of the first companies to provide silent components. They had the top quality a decade ago, but the Asian and American companies caught up in the meantime.Also, 50% of the German population have a significantly lower income now than they had 15 years ago, so be quiet! started to put more focus on having cheap products as well. That should not have affected their top-line, but apparently it does.
Cpt. Obvious - Tuesday, February 3, 2015 - link
I've owned one PSU from be quiet! It was about a decade ago and they were one of the few companies that tried to market quiet components at the time. Unfortunately that PSU didn't last long. After only a few months it blew up and I ended up replacing it with a top of the line CoolerMaster unit. This was a bad move as CM just didn't know anything about the design of PSU's at this time. So less than a month later I had another dead PSU and took to frankenstein together a few PSU's I had laying about about just so I got my machine up and running. The day after I got myself a Zippy/EMACS 460W PSU. (HP2-6460P)If you've never heard of them it's fine. They have next to no presence in the retail market, but are very well known for their server PSU's. If you read between the lines you will realize that this means they are built like tanks and about as stealthy as a M1 Abrams. It also cost about twice as much as the retail brand PSU's but they are nearly impossible to kill and can deliver way more current than what's specified, and they are still in production today...
sawe - Wednesday, February 4, 2015 - link
Main reason for buying one these are low noise and fan controller. There was no mention of the controller ?