Introduction
Be Quiet is a German company making PC components which focus on silence and performance. The company has also become synonymous with superb build quality and stunning aesthetics. With over 10 years experience in noise reduction their products are some of the quietest on the market. Their product range includes power supplies, CPU coolers and case fans.
Following on from my reviews on the Dark Rock Pro 2 and the Silent Wings 2 120mm Fan we are going to be looking at the Be Quiet Pure Power L8 530w PSU. This is part of Be Quiet’s essential line-up of products and is an ATX power supply. The specific model is the BQTL8-CM-530W, the CM in the model number stands for cable management as this edition has a part-modular design. The pure power line-up comes in many variations; the L8 denotes the cable management series and the L7 where all the cables are fixed to the PSU.
The L8 pure power series comes in four different variations; 430W, 530W, 630W and 730W all of which are part modular. The L7 pure power series comes in six variations; 300W, 350W, 430W, 530W, 630W and 730W and all have fixed cables.
Specifications and Features
For full specifications of the pure power L8 530w please visit the product page on the Be Quiet website here.
You can also view other wattage units in the pure power range from the link above.
Features:
- Exceptionally quiet operation achieved through an array of careful optimizations including use of a custom-designed, quiet-optimized 120mm fan
- 530 watts of continuous power provide massive power reserves for those times your PC really needs it all
- Cable management with long cable reach simplifies component installation and reduces annoying clutter, increasing airflow and improving cooling
- 80PLUS Bronze certification and up to 88% power conversion efficiency let you do more work with the same power and reduce your power bills
- AMD CrossfireX certification readiness allow you to build powerful Multi-GPU systems with confidence
- German product conception, design and quality control
Packaging and accessories
The Pure Power unit comes in a compact, printed, cardboard box. The print has a matt finish as we have seen with other Be Quiet products and follows the same dark theme; which I really like. On the front of the box we get a glimpse of the power supply. Key features of the unit are highlighted such as the cable management, 80 plus bronze certification and power supple wattage (530W).
The rear of the box explains a bit about Be Quiet as a company and there is also a wire-frame image showing all the cables on the power-supply and their lengths which I think is a useful addition to the packaging. There is also a table highlighting the amps and voltage per rail, an area where a serial number stick fixes to the box, a diagram showing the power supply dimensions and an explanation of the features in German. The power supply does come sealed, so you will know if anybody has been at the product before you.
The sides of the packaging have an explanation of the features in English, French, Spanish and Polish.
Opening the box we find the power supply in bubble wrap helping it to be protected during shipping. You also find in the box a black 1.7m three pin UK mains power cable, bundle of modular cables, user’s manual, black power supply screws and a few black cable ties. The user’s manual comes in five different languages; German, English, French, Spanish and Polish.
Be Quiet have included everything in the box to get you going with your new power supply. I really like the inclusion of black fan screws compared to silver ones and some cable ties to aid cable management.
Closer look
Picking up the power supply you instantly feel how heavy the unit is (1.77KG incl fixed cables), which is a good thing and is usually the sign of a quality built unit. Be Quiet back the unit with a 3 year warranty.
The black finish is really good on the power supply, very smooth with no blemishes. The matt finish can pick up fingerprints but these can be easily removed with a wipe of a dry cloth and it is substantial enough to withstand scratches when trying with a coin.
The units dimensions are 160 x 150 x 86 mm (L x W x D). On one side of the power supply you will see an embossed Be Quiet logo, this side will be seen if the fan is facing up in the case.
On the opposite side is a sticker with detailed specifications of the power supply and the different voltage the rails on the power supply are capable of. This side will be visible if the power supply fan is facing down. We see that the two 12v rails are able to deliver (40A) 480w, which is sufficient for a mid to high end graphics card.
| AC Input | 100 – 240Vac 50 – 60Hz 10 – 5A | |||||
| DC Output | 3,3V | 5v | 12V1 | 12V2 | -12V | 5VSB |
| Max. Current | 24A | 15A | 28A | 20A | 0,3A | 3A |
| 40A | ||||||
| Max. Combined Power | 120W | 480W | 3,6W | 15W | ||
| 530W | ||||||
The top of the power supply is a plain black surface with a sticker showing the serial number. This should match the serial number sticker found on the back of the box.
Taking a look at the back of the power supply we find a vented area to exhaust air out of the power supply. There is also a power switch and mains input here along with the screw holes to mount the PSU in a case.
On the bottom of the unit we see the 120mm silent wings cooling fan with the model number BQT T12025-MS-16. The fan spins up-to 1600RPM and draws 0.2A at 12v. The fan features the ribbed fan blades which Be Quiet claim offers reduced air turbulence allowing for silent operation and good airflow.
The fan is thermally controlled depending on the temperature of the power supply which helps to keep the balance right between good cooling and silence. The fan grill is black and there is a hard plastic ‘Be Quiet’ orange ring surrounding the fan that adds to the aesthetics of the unit. I really like the orange ring, it adds a unique touch and makes the unit stand out.
At the front of the power supply we find the modular connection points for the modular cables along with the fixed 20+4 pin and 4+4 CPU cables coming out of the power supply. The connections are colour coded and have a sticker to illustrate which connection is for which cable. I am pleased to see Be Quiet use black connectors across the power supply’s fixed and modular cables.
| Be Quiet Pure Power L8 530W PSU | |
| Cable Type | Quantity Of Connections |
| 20+4 Pin ATX | 1 |
| 4+4 Pin EPS | 1 |
| 6+2 Pin PCI-E | 2 |
| 4 Pin Molex | 4 |
| SATA Power | 5 |
| Floppy Connector | 1 |
The cables across the unit are coloured and come braided. Now while the braid on the cables is a nice touch, the braids weave is far from dense and shows the coloured cables though the braid. In my opinion this isn’t a good thing and think lets the aesthetics of the unit down.
I would like to see a better quality braid with a tighter weave used to hide the cables better. As this is an entry level power supply I wouldn’t expect to see black cables used however this is another avenue Be Quiet could opt for in the future.
The power supply is ’80 plus bronze’ certified meaning at 230v 20% load the unit is 85% efficient, 230V 50% load its 88% efficient and at 230V 100% load it is 85% efficient. It is nice to see an entry level unit having this certification, as higher efficiency correlates to less heat being wasted, cooler running and money saving in the long run.
Be Quiet say this unit has a standby drain of less than 0.3 watts. It meets Energy Star 5.0 guidelines, fulfils ErP 2013 guidelines and with its zero load design supports Intel’s Deep Down C6 mode.
The main advantage of a modular power supply is that only the cables you need are installed. This helps to make cable management easier and helps airflow in your case by not having loads of cables everywhere. If you only need a single PCI-E 6+2 pin GPU connector and a single SATA connector alongside your 24 pin and 8 pin connectors you only need to have those two cables plugged in.
Closer look (Continued)
In this part of the review we are going to take a look at the internals of the unit. Please do not try this, you could cause yourself harm and you will void the warranty on your unit!
We broke the seal on the unit and opened the casing up. We see the 120mm silent wings fan used in the power supply. As I mentioned above the model number is BQT T12025-MS-16, it spins up-to 1600RPM and draws 0.2A at 12v.
We see the 24 pin and 8 pin fixed cables braid is secured with cable ties inside the unit.
I was pleased to see when opening the unit that Be Quiet have used a dark PCB, although this is virtually invisible when the casing is on and it doesn’t make much difference to the aesthetics however it’s good to see anyway.
The general tidiness inside the power supply is very good. There is plenty of ridged heat-sinks across the internal components to help keep the components cool. We also find a large CapXon 330uF 400v capacitor rated to 105C and a separate PCB for the modular connections.
The power supply features, numerous protection methods built in these are listed below.
- OCP – Over Current Protection
- OVP – Over Voltage Protection
- UVP – Under Voltage Protection
- SCP – Short Circuit Protection
- OTP – Over Temperature Protection
- OPP – Over Power Protection
Please find below assorted images of the inside workings.
Performance
At present we are not able to test the power supply as thoroughly as we would like and therefore this section of the review is omitted.
Conclusion
We feel strongly that our readers shouldn’t be mislead and as such this review is to be used as a guide to the manufacture and quality of power supply and not its performance. No award will be given due to not testing the units performance.
I really like the way the power supply is presented. It comes in a really well designed and packed box. As with all Be Quiet products it follows the same theme of print on the packaging. The box has a nice weight to it and gives all the important information to a prospective buyer on the packaging.
The power supply unit itself has a black casing and either way you have the fan facing the information sticker or embossed logo sits the correct way up. The plastic orange ring around the fan which can be seen through the grill is a really nice touch and something I really like. The finish on the casing seems durable and not easy to scratch however it does pick up fingerprints.
The output options for a 530w unit are good, there are two 6+2 pin PCI power connectors which should be more than ample for mid to high range GPU, a number of hard drives and a mildly overclocked processor. It makes the PSU a very solid purchase for a single GPU gaming system. The modular interface of the power supply is a bonus and allows users to only plug in the cables they need, reducing unwanted cable mess and helping improve airflow.
One of the main advantages of this power supply is the inclusion of the 120mm silent wings fan and although I couldn’t test the unit with a power supply tester I did install and run the unit in our test system to give us an idea of how loud the unit was; I found the unit to be silent when running the system at both idle and loaded, stock and overclocked with the fan barely spinning at any setting.
The cables are long enough for your average system, however if you were to use this unit in a full tower case we would expect you to run into issues with the 8 pin not being able to fit when routed around the back of the case. This isn’t necessarily an issue as I think you wouldn’t be running an entry level power supply long term in a full tower case. The braids weave isn’t very thick and as such the cables show through, something I thought let the aesthetics of the unit down.
Overall the Be Quiet Pure Power L8 seems a good purchase for the price providing good functionality and features.
Pros:
- Quiet
- Modular cables
- Well packed
- 80 plus Bronze certification
- Reasonably priced within its power supply sector (around £60-£65 at the time of writing)
- Inclusion of cable ties and screws
Cons:
- Braid
- Casing has a tendency to retain fingerprints
