Epilogue
be quiet decided to switch OEMs for the high-end Dark Power 14 line, so it went from FSP to CWT. Compared to the previous Dark Power 14 850W model, the new one clearly offers higher overall performance while maintaining the same high efficiency levels, earning it a Cybenetics Titanium badge. The unit also received an ATX v3.1 pass from the same certification agency, proving it can meet current and future GPU requirements.
Some might argue that $230 is a lot for an 850W PSU, even a Titanium one, but in my opinion, spending that much on a PSU you will keep for many years and use in several system builds is totally justified. We are at a point now where RAM kits can easily exceed $500, high-end GPUs are well over $2000, and some believe spending over $100 on a PSU is crazy! This is entirely beyond my understanding! You have to understand that for some parts of your system that you will keep for a long time, including the PSU, chassis, keyboard, and others, it is worth investing as much as you can!
Back to the Dark Power 14 850W: this is a competent unit with terrific build quality and dead-low noise output. be quiet! is well known for its silent products, and this model shows that well. It has some shortcomings, mostly the 3.3V rail’s transient response and the 5V OCP triggering point under hot conditions that need to get lower than the respective one at normal conditions, but what will probably matter more to users is that at the same amount or even less, they can find other similar or higher performance PSUs. It all comes down to your needs.
If you need one of the quietest and most efficient units in the 850W category, consider the Dark Power 14 850W. If you are after the highest overall performance or the best performance per dollar product, there are other options.
- be quiet! Dark Power 14 1200W ATX v3.1 PSU Review
- be quiet! Dark Power 14 1000W ATX v3.1 PSU Review
- be quiet! Dark Power 14 850W ATX v3.1 PSU Review
It would be ideal if CWT implemented fan-failure protection on this platform. I know it isn’t as easy as it sounds, but it’s achievable. About the multi-12V rail setup of this PSU. If you combine it with a “strong” graphics card, (e.g. RTX 5090) make sure to use the OCK button to convert the PSU to a single 12V rail one, else you might encounter issues (sudden restarts).
Before investing in a new power supply, read my article on the Best ATX v3.x PSUs to compare all alternative PSU offerings. You help me a lot by using my affiliate links, which don’t increase the price of the product. I receive a commission from Amazon every time you do it, which can make a significant difference for me, especially now that I am working independently, exclusively for my media, rather than for someone else.
- Delivered full power at 46°C
- ATX v3.1 and PCIe CEM 5.1 compliant
- Cybenetics Titanium rated
- Silent operation
- Vast improvement in all areas over its predecessor
- High overall performance
- Properly set OCP (12V, 3.3V) and OPP triggering points
- High build quality
- High efficiency on all load ranges
- High enough PF readings at 230V
- Within 1% load regulation on all primary rails
- Good transient response at 12V
- Good ripple suppression
- Efficient 5VSB rail
- Alternative Low Power Mode (ALPM) compatible
- 135mm Fluid Dynamic Bearing fan of high quality
- 12+4-pin PCIe connector set at 600W
- 5V hot OCP triggering point needs to be lower than the “cold” one
- Mediocre transient response at 3.3V
- No fan failure protection
Leakage current graph is for the 1000W models so wrong graph used here, too bad your graphs don’t include Pure Power 13 M , that model seems to be a better value and maybe better unit than this.
BQ can snatch loyal Seasonic and Corsair users with these 2025 models, good job from them. Thanks for the review!
Do you think that the Dark Power 14 worth the premium over the Pure Power 13 M?
…in addition, Pure Power has more compact dimensions 160 vs 175 (Dark Power) and fits into e.g. Lancool 207, or Sugo 14, while Dark Power does not 😉