be quiet! Dark Power Pro 12 (1500W) PSU Review

Packaging

As this is a more ‘enthusiast’ level product, the packaging is rather sleek and plain. This isn’t any criticism either as this is professional power supply and certainly looks the part from the clearly quite expensive box work. In comparative terms, it’s not dissimilar to that seen with the Oculus Rift.

The main box does carry a sleeve (that is very tightly fitted and, by proxy, hard to remove) that does highlight the product’s main features as well as containing a QR code linking to its main website. It tells you everything you could want to know while not significantly impacting on the overall aesthetic be quiet! is clearly aiming for!

Inside, you can clearly see the quality be quiet! has put into this packaging. You immediately know that your money has (almost certainly) been well-spent on a sleek and professional product.

With the power supply held in a nice quality canvas sleeve, the main highlight is the documentation and power cables which are all stored within a very sturdy cardboard box (that sits recessed into the main packaging). Put simply, you’re going to want to take care of this packaging as a whole as not only is it very nice, but it also gives you plenty of storage solutions for the parts you perhaps don’t (yet) require.

Accessories

Usually with power supplies, you don’t expect too many parts and accessories. What be quiet! has done, however, is provide you with everything you could possible need or want and in a surprisingly generous quantity.

Zip ties, Velcro cable straps, cable tidy strips, screws to attach it to your case, you literally have everything (and more) you could ask for and all looks to be of a much better than usual (when compared to what you get with other PSUs) quality.

As we have noted, the be quiet! Dark Power Pro 12 is a professional grade PSU. That being said, however, I have personally never encountered one that gave you the option to ‘up the performance’ via a manual rail switch controller. This connects to your power supply and is accessible (attachable) to/via your PCI-E ports.

Through a simple ‘on/off’ switch interface (with a light indicating its operation) this is a hugely useful tool for those among you who take your extreme levels of overclocking very seriously!

“Dark Power Pro 12 1500W is particularly suitable for overclocking, thanks to its strong and stable 12V rails. The overclocking key empowers you with full control for overclocking by manually switching between the default six 12V-rail mode and the alternative massive single-rail operation.” – be quiet!

Finally, we should note that you are (of course) provided with a manual for your new and fancy PSU purchase. Admittedly, manuals for power supplies are not often required as they generally contain information that would only be relevant to a tiny portion of consumers. That being said, however, the manual is of exceptionally quality both in terms of its feel and the information provided within.