Review on BeQuiet PURE POWER 11 600W Gold BN294 Power Supply
5 min readSuddenly, the time to upgrade came, and since the old configuration on the LGA775 socket did not give in to him, it was understood that almost all the hardware would have to be taken new and modern, which (probably) would last for 5-10 years. The old power supply provided maximum power on the main 12V line now of only about 360 watts, being nominally 500-watt. As a result of this, a strong understanding arose that in the future, in any case, one would have to take something more powerful and with a margin, since in the future the possibility of installing a video card with a consumption of about 200-250 watts is not ruled out.
A three-day study of power supplies on the domestic market in different price categories showed that choosing a high-quality and relatively inexpensive unit is not an easy task. In addition, it is complicated by the fact that there are much more brands of power supplies than manufacturers that are actually time-tested. As a rule, Taiwanese companies are engaged in the production of power supplies, among which the most famous are FSP, Seasonic, the names of others are almost unknown to the mass buyer. Among these, it is worth mentioning CWT, which produces good mid-range solutions for a reasonable price.
What do you need from the power supply?
- Safety: the power supply must have all possible protections (from short circuit, from the issuance of incorrect voltages along the lines, from overcurrent, overheating and the like),
- The maximum possible silence in the work,
- Minimum heating in operation,
- Maximum efficiency
- Sufficient power output,
- High stability of output voltages: +5 V, +3.3 V, +12 V must have minimal differences from the nominal values, which fit into the tolerances of the ripple standard, minimal changes in the average values of the indicated voltages when the consumption changes along the main line +12 V,
- The time-tested element base, especially for capacitors: it is preferable to use branded Japanese components, it is unacceptable to use cheap Chinese components, the golden mean is the use of Taiwanese components,
- The ability to disconnect unused wires from the unit,
- The ability to automatically turn off the cooling fan under light load and low heat.
All worthy manufacturers have low-cost product lines for undemanding users, mid-range product lines with balanced qualities, and top-end product lines that incorporate all the best technical solutions. Everything is determined by the budget: decent low-cost power supplies cost around 3,500 rubles, mid-range models cost around 5,000 rubles, top-level models cost 8,000 rubles and above.
Opening the box, we see this:
The model I selected belongs to the middle level: everything is fine with security, with silence (brand obliges), with decent efficiency (80 Gold certificate), high output voltage stability (thanks to the DC-DC conversion circuit, which is luxurious for this price!), Taiwan’s Teapo capacitors are used, which have proven themselves well, it has long braided wires that allow you to easily connect systems in the Miditower package with the bottom location of the power supply, there is an option (slightly more expensive) with detachable wires.
On the photo there is a complete set: a block in a “pimple”, network cable, couplers, mounting bolts, instructions (did not drop in).
This block uses a reliable FSP production platform with a good elemental base, when disassembling by experts, it becomes clear that they didn’t save anything, unlike cheaper alternatives where they save on everything (capacitor quality, converters, Active PFC, circuit solutions). Laboratory reviews (easy to find on the Internet) showed excellent voltage stabilization quality (thanks to a DC-DC conversion circuit).What is missing:
- Japanese capacitors: they can actually be found in Seasonic blocks,
- fan shutdown at low loads: this is not the case in this price category, double the budget for this,
- disconnecting the cables: I deliberately refused so as not to store them in boxes and not to … lose them after a few years.
Photos from different angles:
What alternatives:
- The cheaper FSP PNR-I series are simpler in circuit design, they lose by the mass of points, but they are a proven solution when the budget is generally scarce;
- Some series of Chieftec are somewhat cheaper (not much), while they lose in several ways, you can’t save significantly;
- Seasonic: often has short wires, but good capacitors; in a comparable price category it has simpler technical solutions, due to which it generally loses in terms of stabilization, power, etc .;
- The Corsair CX series is the only competitor in fact, has a simple circuitry, but a good time-tested platform (produced by a worthy CWT company) and a good fashion brand: prices are comparable, but bequiet offers more for the same money, much more.
Choosing a power supply by capacity: on many websites of manufacturers there are “calculators” where you can drive in a configuration, and you will be advised of an estimated capacity with a margin. The scheme is approximately as follows: summarize the typical consumption (TDP) of the processor (usually 65-100 W, 130 W for powerful), video cards (50 W initial, 120-150 W average, 200-250 W close to the top ones), add 20 watts each on the motherboard, each hard disk or optical drive, 5 watts per fan, and then multiply the resulting amount by one and a half to two, since you need to take into account the margin for TDP inequality and maximum consumption, as well as the fact that most power supplies increasing consumption above 2/3 of maximum power start p Drive the fan and make noise.
What really can be saved: on detachable wires, plus a power supply with a smaller margin, in this case, a 500-watt honest pure power is enough for the absolute majority. The 600-wattnik was taken more in reserve, now I think that a 500-wattnik would be enough, only you need to check the length and number of wires, low-power wires usually have less and they are shorter.
Short summary: take it, you will not regret it! For the money the block is gorgeous! An alternative is to order expensive Sisonics in foreign online stores, in general, there is no other reasonable alternative. Well, or focus on the StraightPower 11 series from the same manufacturer, it is more interesting, but more expensive, and noticeably.
The article is written on the basis of materials of this site.