Be Quiet Dark Power Pro P8 1000w Review

Conclusion

Published: 29th April 2010 | Source: Be-Quiet | Price: £172.36 | Author: James Napier

Be Quiet P8 1000w ATX PSU

I think it's fair to say that the review of Be Quiet! latest PSU has been quite a roller-coaster ride today. To start with, the use of plastic casing on the outside of the PSU came as quite a shock. However, when you consider that this not only helps to dampen noise, insulate against heat escaping into your PC case and prevent the PSU looking like it's got a few rounds with Freddy Krueger after it has been swapped between a few systems, it actually becomes quite an innovative idea.

Performance-wise, the P8 delivered exceptional voltage stability on the +5v and +12v rails, with the +3.3v rail only letting the team down a little by dropping to 3.21v when the unit was running at 1000w load. The cross-load results proved to be excellent with the PSU not being fazed in the slightest by the unusually uneven loads that were thrown at it. In the max load test the unit managed to run continuously at 1276w with only minor differences in the voltage output to the 1000w load results.

Efficiency and temperature results were also above expectations and allowed the unit to keep the speed of it's 120mm fan at a minimum resulting in extremely quiet operation. At last, a product that lives up to its name!

Unfortunately the biggest negative point for me was the ripple output on the +12v rail. Don't get me wrong, because by no means is it 'terrible' or a total deal breaker. But with 136mV ripple at full load (16mV above ATX recommendations), it wouldn't have taken Be Quiet much at all to bring it down to more reasonable levels with a little bit of extra filtering. Then this PSU could have potentially a gold award winner.

The Good
- Very stable +5v and +12v output.
- Efficiency exceeds 80PLUS Silver requirements.
- Silent....very silent.
- Plastic outer-casing has several advantages.
- Usual mass of modular connectors expected from Be Quiet.
- Managed to hold close to 1300w load.
- Ability to switch between single & multiple +12v rails (if you feel the need to!)

The Mediocre
- 3.3v rail not quite as stable as the others.
- 12-Pin Modular connectors not the easiest to insert.

The Bad
- Not exactly 'bad', but worse than mediocre - the +12v ripple results.