Box & Bundle
The front of the box features a photo of the PSU along with two badges highlighting its efficiency certifications. I appreciate that be quiet! avoided cluttering the packaging with an overload of icons, opting instead to display only what truly matters. They could even streamline this further by using a single badge for efficiency and another dedicated to noise certification.
Inside, everything is neatly arranged, with the PSU securely protected. The modular cables are packed in a separate, smaller box, and the accessory bundle is generous, including multiple Velcro straps, zip ties, mounting thumb screws, and standard mounting screws.
Product Photos
The PSU’s exterior and overall build quality clearly place it in the premium category. While the fan grille features a high number of perforations, their small diameter impose some restriction on airflow. That said, the relaxed fan-speed profile largely offsets this, supported by the platform’s high efficiency and the large heatsink surrounding the cooling fan.
At the front of the unit, two additional switches are provided: one enables the zero-RPM fan mode. At the same time, the other—the OCK button—combines all 12V rails into a single rail, which I consider the preferable configuration. The Dark Power branding on the sides looks excellent, and at the rear, the modular panel spans nearly the entire surface, greatly simplifying cable management.
The modular panel has eleven sockets, including a native 12V-2×6 header. The 1200W model has 13x sockets, including two native 12V-2×6 headers. It is a nice detail that be quiet! lists the 12V rail’s power distribution on the unit’s modular board.
| Modular Cables | ||||
| Description | Cable Count | Connector Count (Total) | Gauge | Cable Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ATX connector 20+4 pin (600mm) | 1 | 1 | 16-18AWG | Tinned Copper |
| 8-pin ATX12V (700mm) | 1 | 1 | 16AWG | Tinned Copper |
| 4+4 pin ATX12V (700mm) | 1 | 1 | 16AWG | Tinned Copper |
| 2x 6+2 pin PCIe (750mm) | 4 | 4 | 18AWG | Tinned Copper |
| 12+4 pin PCIe PCIe (600mm) | 1 | 1 | 16-24AWG | Tinned Copper |
| SATA (600mm+155mm+155mm+155mm) | 2 | 8 | 18AWG | Tinned Copper |
| SATA (600mm+155mm+155mm) | 1 | 3 | 18AWG | Tinned Copper |
| SATA (605mm+155mm) / 4-pin Molex (+155mm+150mm) | 1 | 2 / 2 | 18AWG | Tinned Copper |
| AC Power Cord (1380mm) | 1 | 1 | 18AWG | – |
The cables are long. The ATX and high-power cables use thicker 16AWG gauges for lower voltage drop at high loads. Contrary to the 1200W model, which has two, the 1000W and 850W models uses a single 12V-2×6 cable, with the PSU set to 600W max power on this cable. According to Intel, even a 1000W PSU should be set at 450W for its 12V-2×6 header, but nobody follows this rule to avoid compatibility issues.
The number of peripheral connectors is more than enough. There is no need anymore for more SATA or a load of 4-pin Molex connectors, since most mainboards can take two or more NVMe drives, and the distance between the peripheral connectors is adequate.
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 😉