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

How Much Does it Cost?

Of the three models set to be released from this range, be quiet! has confirmed the following MSRP prices:

• $199.90 / £205.99 / €214.90 (750W)
• $239,90 / £239.99 / €249,90 (850W)
• $279,90 / £269.99 / €279,90 (1000W)

So, sticking with the 850-watt model here, as per our review, while £239.99 certainly isn’t cheap, you do, of course, have to remember three key factors. Firstly, this is, without a doubt, a premium design. Secondly, this provides 850 watts of power with a fully-legitimate 80-Plus Titanium efficiency rating. Thirdly, with that 10-year warranty, you can easily look at this power supply as a long term investment rather than as an individual purchase!

Performance

It’s usually at this point in the review where I might list a bunch of good things and then perhaps pick out one or two individual concerns. With the be quiet! Dark Power 12, however, we can’t do that. Why? – Well, because as clearly visible throughout all of our testing, this power supply is just fantastic!

Every result provided was entirely acceptable, as good as, or better than we expected. The highlights, however, undoubtedly have to go to the amazing efficiency performance, it’s remarkably low ripple noise, and, of course, that practically silent fan operation.

Practicality & Functionality

There is absolutely nothing I can think of that would limit you from using this power supply within your system. Well, expect how much power you need presuming 850w isn’t enough. An output that, by my thinking, is more than enough for the vast majority of gaming systems. It’s fully-modular, meaning you don’t have to utilize the cables you don’t need, the cables themselves are nice and flexible allowing for good management, and the PSU itself runs so quietly I promise you that you will not hear this at all unless you’re really trying to pick it out!

Should I Buy One?

The only real caveat the be quiet! Dark Power 12 has is that, when compared to a lot of other models currently on the market, it isn’t cheap. As we said right at the beginning of this review, however, going cheap on power supplies rarely rewards you and, given the fantastic level of performance this PSU provides on practically every conceivable level, if you can afford the expense, you’d be hard put to find a better performing power supply than this!