be quiet! Dark Power 12 (850W) Power Supply Review

Packaging

The packaging is instantly recognizable as a be quiet! product with the black and silver highlights. In terms of presentation through, its certainly off to an excellent start at the front with a nice clear image of the power supply provided.

Unfortunately, when you turn to the rear, things get a little more drab and mundane. The information provided here is small, it poorly utilizes the available area, and quite frankly, it doesn’t tell you everything you might need to know about this PSU (such as what cables you get). My presumption is that be quiet! has provided that QR code to take you to the product website, but in all honesty, the box work and details could’ve been significantly improved for not much more effort.

Although not a point we often get to raise with power supplies, the internal components’ quality is truly excellent. Opening up the box, this really looks like a high-quality professional product and, while the exterior packaging might be a little disappointing, you forget all about that once you’re inside!

Accessories

In terms of accessories, be quiet! has you covered with everything you could possibly need right out of the box including some pretty useful additions.

Without a doubt, one of the most interesting inclusions is the overclocking performance adaptor which can be mounted directly onto a spare external (and empty) PCI-E mounting bracket. With one simply flick of the switch, you can tell your Dark Power 12 to keep the power coming because, if it’s a hefty overclock, you’re probably going to need it!

The product manual is of a very nice quality, albeit the information provided within is somewhat boring unless you really care about the power supplies specifications (we do!). Finally, we should also note that the modular cables are contained within a rather fancy cardboard box. While the quality is certainly good, there is a part of me that wonders whether a canvas bag (as you often see from other brands) would’ve ultimately have been far more practical. I mean, it’s great to have somewhere to keep your spare cables for another day or upgrade, but at least a bag can usually cram in some free cupboard space!