INTRODUCTION

   Whenever i get to build a new PC system for myself, a friend or family member i always try to use the highest quality components i can, something which is not always possible due to cost. Now, as some of you know I’m a strong believer of the you get what you pay for saying (at least most of the times) so having to compromise is not clearly not my favourite thing in the world. Still one can find quality hardware at lower price ranges, yes, it's not nearly as easy/fast to do (and in the end higher-end hardware always offer something more, if not in quality, then in features) but if you know where to look things usually work out just fine. Be quiet! today launches their latest System Power 10 line of power supply units and with me i have the 850W variant.

   be quiet! is a premium brand of power supplies, PC cases and cooling solutions for desktop PCs. The products of be quiet! offer legendary quiet operation and first-class performance thanks the passion for quality and precision. Attention to detail is the key to perfection. Which is why our very own experts lead product conception, design and quality control from our headquarters in Germany. be quiet! sticks to its name: More than 15 years’ experience in the field of noise reduction and silence make be quiet! products probably the most silent ones on the market.

   The brand new System Power 10 line of power supply units includes 450/550/650/750/850W models all of which feature their cables hardwired onto the board (not modular – two 8pin motherboard and 4 PCIe cables are included) and are 80 Plus Gold (850W) and Bronze (450/550/650/750W) efficiency certified (up to 93.4% electrical efficiency for Gold and 89.1% for Bronze). The System Power 10 model which I’ll be testing today can deliver up to 850W of continuous power (988W peak) and features two +12V rails (40A/36A) which can deliver the units entire power output (849.6W), active PFC, advanced stability and voltage regulation (via LLC, SR and DC-to-DC), ATX v2.52 and EPS v2.92 support, silence optimized 120mm fan and several electrical protections including OVP (over-voltage), UVP (under-voltage), SCP (short-circuit), OPP (over-power), OCP (over-current) and OTP (over-temperature). As with previous lines the System Power 10 models are all covered by a 5-year limited warranty.

SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES

PACKAGING AND CONTENTS

As in the past the black box be quiet! uses has a large product picture at the front right beneath the company logo and the 80 Plus Gold certification and just over the product name and output.

At the rear we find the units electrical table, several certifications, the serial numbers and barcodes, unit output and of course a 2D barcode which points potential buyers to product information.

Inside the box we see that the PSU is wrapped inside a bubble wrap and placed beneath a piece of cardboard.

Along with the System Power 10 850W PSU and its power cord you're also getting 5 cable ties, 5 mounting screws and the user manual.

THE SYSTEM POWER 10 850W EXTERIOR

Once again be quiet! used a round braided power cable for the motherboard (24pin) and flat low-profile power cables for everything else.

The chassis of the System Power 10 measures 160mm in width, 150mm in length and 86mm in height.

A 120mm fan is placed at the top (or bottom, depends how you see it) of the chassis right beneath a grill.

On the right side we find a large sticker containing the electrical specifications table.

Turning the chassis around we find the typical honeycomb perforation, power on/off switch and the power port.

THE SYSTEM POWER 10 850W INTERIOR

Be quiet! has used an 2000RPM fan with the System Power 10 850W model which according to them can go as high as 30.7dBA at load (probably from 1 meter away however).

According to OEM numbers this unit is manufactured by HEC and in terms of quality everything seems to check out.

Once again for the primary capacitors we see TEAPO ones, this time however they are certified for use up to 105 degrees Celsius.

Secondary capacitors are also manufactured by TEAPO and are certified for use up to 105 degrees Celsius.

TEST BED

TESTING METHODOLOGY

     Using a dedicated measurement instrument such as a Chroma or a SunMoon to test power supply units is without doubt the most ideal and accurate way (not to mention the fastest) to do that currently. However, it's certainly not the only way there is and so pretty much anyone can test a power supply unit just by using a test rig. Certainly, limitations do apply and so you can't really push a 1000W power supply to its limits if your system only uses 500W at peak loads and that's why over the years we saved certain hardware components for the purpose of building a dedicated PSU test rig. True it may not be as accurate as the above mentioned solutions but it comes really close and is in fact much closer to real world usage. So as always, we ran several games with maximum graphic options enabled at a resolution of 2560x1600 in order to stress every hardware component and increase the overall power demands of the system. The Passmark BurnIn Test was also used to overstress the components in an effort to provide the most accurate results possible. As a final test we also used the latest OCCT 4.4 software and its dedicated PSU testing suite since it can really bring a power supply to its knees after inside a few minutes.

   Rail stability was checked/measured with the CPUID Hardware monitor and a Metex multimeter which also recorded the system load in idle and in load. As always try to remember that the power consumption numbers listed in the graph are the highest (Peak) ones recorded during the entire duration of the tests and not the average ones. Noise levels coming from the fan were recorded using the high precision HD600 ExTech Sound dBA Meter from the rear of the unit and at a range of no more than 5-10cm. Readings under load are recorded the exact moment we manually switch the fans of all graphics cards from full speed to almost zero, that way the fan of the power supply does not have enough time to slow its RPM and so by doing this we get very accurate noise level readings. Needless to say, in order to get 100% accurate readings, you need to have a noise isolated room for that exact purpose, something which is quite impossible unless you are working inside a real lab (some people use very small noise insulated boxes but due to their size both heat and noise exceed normal levels and so the results can't really be considered to be 100% accurate, nor realistic for that matter). Also do take into account that since all noise measurements take place from just 5-10cm away the final noise levels to reach your ears will be considerably less.

* After well over 10 years of testing PSUs the Intel Core i7-920 CPU of this rig failed and so we replaced it with a Xeon X5660 (we also swapped the GA-X58A-UD7 for the G1. Assassin).

TEST RESULTS

CONCLUSION

   Even though be quiet! has quite a few PSU models in their product lines aimed towards consumers on a budget the System Power 10 is a welcome addition, one which i expect quite a few people out there to choose for their systems. Yes, it may not be semi or fully modular but flat power cables don’t take up too much space and so i doubt this will be an issue in most cases. In terms of performance the System Power 10 does very good in terms of rail stability and as for its efficiency certification i won’t lie, the 80 Plus Bronze of the 450/550/650/750W models does seem a bit low to me (again, should be plenty for most people on a budget) but the 80 Plus Gold of the 850W model is more than just fine by me. As for noise levels surpassing 47dBA at load (from 5-10cm away) may not be whisper quiet operation (and if you push the PSU to its maximum output of 850W it could climb a bit higher) but it’s certainly not noisy either.

    Seeing as the System Power 10 line of power supply units was announced just today (System Power 10 U for the USA market) i was unable to find them on any online store/distributor. Still, with an MSRP (manufacturer suggested retail price) of 107.9Euros the System Power 10 850W model is priced just a tad higher than what i was expecting (isn’t everything nowadays however?). Price aside however the System Power 10 850W model by be quiet! delivers on everything consumers on a budget will be looking for and for that i strongly recommend checking it out.

PROS

- Good Build Quality
- Good Rail Stability
- 80 Plus Gold Certified
- Electrical Protections
- Peak Output (988W)
- 5 Year Limited Warranty

CONS

- Non Modular
- Price (For Some)