INTRODUCTION
I recall a time long ago when you would walk into a computer store and the only power supply units you'd find were low-cost OEM models which surprisingly enough would last long if you were lucky. Fast forward to today and if you visit a computer store chances are that you will find yourself in front of a wall of power supply units from a very large number of manufacturers, with power outputs ranging anywhere from 250W and up to 1500W and various 80 plus efficiency certifications. Low-cost OEM models do exist even today aimed towards casual users who don't wish to spend much on one such device but today you can also find models that cost even more than a brand new laptop. Today with us however we have something more affordable and more specifically the latest offering by our friends over at be quiet! the Straight Power 10 800W power supply unit.
be quiet! is a premium brand manufacturer of power supplies and cooling solutions for your desktop PC. be quiet! products are convincing which is proved by reaching and defending the market leadership in PSU business in Germany for five consecutive years *. This is validated and accompanied by numerous awards for both power supplies and cooling solutions. be quiet! is awarded for five times in a row as manufacturer of the year in the power supply category by the readers of the well-known German hardware magazine PC Games Hardware. Another first and second rank in the categories “fans” and “cooler” underline the high acceptance of our products. be quiet! sticks to its name: Ten years’ experience in the field of noise reduction and silence make be quiet! products probably the most silent one on the market. Undoubted fans have a large impact of the noise levels of be quiet! products. Due we are using our specially developed Silent Wings fans in nearly all of our range. They are equipped with various noise reducing features. Thanks to these we ensure a really silent operation - our products reach the best balance between cooling performance and a virtually inaudible operation. If you choose be quiet! you can be sure to get premium quality and second to none silent operation from the quietness experts.
The Straight Power 10 line of power supply units actually consists out of two subcategories, one with semi-modular models and one with non-modular models (cables hardwired into the chassis) all of which are 80 Plus Gold Certified. Both lines have a total of four different models available beneath them but whereas the semi-modular line includes 500/600/700/800W models the non-modular line includes 400/500/600/700W models. Moving to the sample at hand the 800W model features a total of 4 +12v rails (can deliver just over 97% of the units total power output), 4 PCI-E connectors, 135mm SilentWings PWM Fluid Dynamic Bearing fan, ErP 2014 support, ATX v2.4 support (Intel Haswell ready), Energy Star v.6 support and a full set of electrical protections (OCP/OVP/UVP/SCP/OTP/OPP). So time to see just how all these translate to real world performance.