Many people want or need a completely silent PC for their home or work. Unfortunately, as computers become faster, their power requirements and heat dissipation also grows higher. Both of these problems affect the power supply units, which have to provide more power while remaining quiet and cool. Cheap power supply units have to use powerful fans for cooling, which makes them rather loud for using in HTPC systems or other systems which need to be quiet. Thus many companies strive to design more powerful and efficient power supply units, which not only are able to provide great amounts of power but also to dissipate less heat and require less cooling. Be-Quiet is a rather new German company, subsidiary of Listan, which focuses on creating computer related products, like coolers and power supply units, made to reduce the noise output of your PC without compromising quality and/or performance. Today we have the latest version of their power supply unit line, the P6 DarkPower PSU. Let us take a close look at it.

There are 3 units which the DarkPower PSU line consist of, a 470W unit, a 520W unit and finally a 600W unit. We received the least powerful unit of them all, the 470W unit. There is no difference between the units, except their maximum power output and MSRP of course. All of the units share the same design, cables and features. That being said, you only have to choose how powerful you need your unit to be, so choose wisely.

Overall product features:

EFFICIENCY

The Dark Power power supply unit from be quiet! provides excellent efficiency values exceeding the new Intel ATX 12V 2.2 specification. The advantage for users: power savings while supplying at the same time power-greedy components with the energy required. The power supply unit is equipped with two independent 12V lines and achieves a much higher degree of stability. “Dark Power” offers particularly high reserves, especially on 12V lines.

NEW LAYOUT

The Dark-Power power supply unit exhibits an entirely revamped design, thus providing effective cooling and maximum stability. The frame is made of a glass-fiber reinforced plastic material and not only offers a significantly longer service lifetime, but also a high degree of mechanical stability. The cooling system has been basically revamped to fit the glass-fiber reinforced plastic frame layout and is characterized by efficient air circulation as well as lower temperatures. In addition, a new 80 mm fan inside the “cover” of the power supply unit is used and achieves higher air flow rates at the same noise level with an overall height of 25 mm.

ECO PLUS

All electronic components inside the power supply unit are in line with the new Environmental Ordinance asper RoHS (Restriction of Hazardous Substances).

FEATURES

Be Quiet! presents with its Dark Power Series, a particularly efficient, noiseless and high-performance power supply series. These power supplies exhibit both tried-and-tested and new features ensuring current-saving, noiseless and high-power PC operation.

The ECASO (Enhanced Cooling After System Off) technology protects the hardware against overheating even after the PC has been switched off. This technology involves a follow-up control unit which continues to supply the system’s fan connected to the power supply unit with current for 3 more minutes after the PC has been switched off. As a result, sensitive components like graphic boards or hard disks are protected against overheating.

The „Silent Wings“ fans integrated into the power supply unit are extremely silent and their service lifetime is twice as long as that of traditional fans. The thermo-controller, integrated to the power supply unit, controls the thermal conditions and the sound volume inside the case via the connected system fans, thus reducing the sound effects within the system as a whole. The system fans are connected via a separate wiring harness by means of three Molex plug-in connectors.

The new „Dark Power“ power supply unit also offers a wide range of possible connections for all PC components. It incorporates four SATA connections, six 4-pin HDD connections, two FDD connections as well as two PCI-Express (SLI backup) and one 4-pin VGA connection. The VGA connection as well as the PCI Express and HDD connections provides special connections for enhanced hard disk and graphic board power supply.

The connection with the mainboard is ensured by the 24-pin connector which can also be operated with older mainboards by using the 20-pin adapter included in the scope of supply. There are also one P4 and one P8 plug to supply the mainboard with additional power. Dual Server mainboards (E-ATX) can be operated with the P8 EPS plug.

SERVICE

Replacement service on the spot for 1 year, manufacturer’s guarantee for 3 years.

When buying a be quiet! power supply unit from series 1.3 upwards, you will not only acquire a high-quality and reliable device, but also a 3-year guarantee for each individual power supply unit, plus replacement services on the spot for 1 year. In case of defect, your power supply unit can usually be replaced by a unit of equivalent quality and delivered free domicile within 48 hours only. This service applies to Germany only.

Technical Data (from the manufacturer):

Technical Data 470W:

- MODEL - BQT P6-470W, ATX
- 470 W Power
- ATX12V Version 2.2
- 24 Pin Mainboard Connector with adapter to 20 Pin
- 2x PCI-Express Connectiors (SLI compatible)
- 4x SATA Connections on two wiring harnesses
- 1x protected VGA/HDD 4 Pin Coonnector
- 6x 4 Pin Connectiors (HDD)
- 2x 3 Pin Connectiors (FDD)
- 2x 80mm SilentWings fans
- Active PFC with PF up to 0,99
- 2 separate 12V Connections
- P4 and P8 Connnector
- 3x 3 Pin Molex fan Connectors
- Specification: 3,3V: 26A, 5V: 33A, 12V1: 20A, 12V2: 20A, -5V: 0,5A, -12V: 0,8A, 5VSB: 2,5A

Technical Data 520W:

- MODEL -BQT P6-520W, ATX
- 520 W Power
- ATX12V Version 2.2
- 24 Pin Mainboard Connector with adapter to 20 Pin
- 2x PCI-Express Connectiors (SLI compatible)
- 4x SATA Connections on two wiring harnesses
- 1x protected VGA/HDD 4 Pin Coonnector
- 6x 4 Pin Connectiors (HDD)
- 2x 3 Pin Connectiors (FDD)
- 2x 80mm SilentWings fans
- Active PFC with PF up to 0,99
- 2 separate 12V Connections
- P4 and P8 Connnector
- 3x 3 Pin Molex fan Connectors
- Specification: 3,3V: 26A, 5V: 33A, 12V1: 20A, 12V2: 20A, -5V: 0,5A, -12V: 0,8A, 5VSB: 2,5A

Technical Data 600W:

- MODEL - BQT P6-600W, ATX
- 600 W Power
- ATX12V Version 2.2
- 24 Pin Mainboard Connector with adapter to 20 Pin
- 2x PCI-Express Connectors (SLI compatible)
- 4x SATA Connections on two wiring harnesses
- 1x protected VGA/HDD 4 Pin Connector
- 6x 4 Pin Connectors (HDD)
- 2x 3 Pin Connectors (FDD)
- 2x 80mm SilentWings fans
- Active PFC with PF up to 0,99
- 2 separate 12V Connections
- P4 and P8 Connnector
- 3x 3 Pin Molex fan Connectors
- Specification: 3,3V: 26A, 5V: 33A, 12V1: 20A, 12V2: 20A, -5V: 0,5A, -12V: 0,8A, 5VSB: 2,5A