be quiet! Dark Power Pro 10 850W Power Supply Review

be quiet! Dark Power Pro 10 / 850 Watt Overview
The German’s have always been known for exceptional engineering and low profile style that does not over power the unit with glamour and false bravado. This be quiet! Dark Power Pro 10 series follows the tradition of most German engineering which is “Let the engineering speak for itself.” be quiet! follows it own name sake’s advice by being a extremely quiet and a truly very efficient product in all aspects of workmanship, styling and efficiency. It is easy to see how a dozen years in the business of engineering power supplies have really shown through every piece that comes inside the box.

The Power Supply
Dark Power Pro 10 850W

The badges on both sides are protected by a self sticking film that leaves no sticky residue and is very good at keeping dust and scratches to the unit while you are installing it. System builders tend to remove these only in the end of the build so that no harm comes to the label during the build process.

Dark Power Pro 10 850W side with no plastic cover

Both sides are identical except for the standard Power supply emblem flip/flop. The Power supply companies know that all cases and applications are unique so they have the case badges set in different orientations on each side depending on whether your system will be pulling air from the top or bottom of the Case. So they make the Badges to fit both applications. Simply this, you see one side you see the other identically except for the orientation.

Dark Power Pro 10 850W Top part of PSU

The fan is a Silent Wing 135 mm be quiet! design that is detached mounting from the power supply case to keep any sound resonating and being amplified by the case housing itself. Then it has an optimized control speed of the fan allows it to stay incredibly quiet throughout the working range of the of the power delivery demands of the computer. The Silent Wing 135 mm Fan also employs a Fluid Dynamic Bearing that is part of almost every quiet fan on the market saying that it is one of the best systems of allowing controlled spin without internal breakdown throughout the life of the unit and further. Also the Power supply controls the fan’s speed as the temperature requires and the “Silent Wings” fan blade design is made specifically to keep noisy turbulence from making air noise. I notice my sample was barely audible at all during the full entirety of my tests. Actually I had to get my ear about an inch away from the PSU to hear it running at full load.

Dark Power Pro 10 850W Modular part of PSU

The business end or the Modular connection ports are thoughtfully laid out in a logically categorized arrangement that shows the German Character of this unit. The Power supply should be called Semi-modular since the 24 pin plug is internally connected and cannot be removed for two good reasons.

One: Every ATX motherboard requires this key connection for use.
Two: Direct connections never have the ability to be loosened after years of being used as a connector could get over years of use.

Dark Power Pro 10 850W Bottom of PSU

The bottom or top of the power supply depending on the orientation you use has the necessary data plate that every electrical appliance has to have legally. This is not an option. You can put it anywhere on the outside of an electrical device that you want but, it has to be readily available for study at a moment’s notice. Also as you can see both of the sides are lined with a Rubberized shield for anti-vibration needs.

Dark Power Pro 10 850W Back of PSU

The back of the be quiet! Dark Power Pro 10 / 850 Watt power supply is very well done with honeycombed air holes for maximum aerodynamics. While we humans copied this technology from the Bee’s they still have not filed any copyright infringements against us so we humans love using the amazing geometric shape to keep wind turbulence to a minimum and air velocity to a maximum. Also one thing that I might add about this side of the unit is the over sized plug wire that plug into this side of the power supply are very large and fitting for a powerful professional 850 Watt and above power supply unit.

Dark Power Pro 10 850W Screws and wire ties

The screws and wire ties are even special with this unit. They include 5 screws (in case you lose one) and 5 very nice large steel thumb screws and enough wire ties to finish any build you may want to complete. Every part here even as plastic and steel are very well built to high tolerances.

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