German component manufacturer be quiet!, creators of PSU, chassis and CPU coolers, aren't letting a CES pass without a major announcement. Last year they revealed the Dark Rock TF and Shadow Rock LP low-profile CPU coolers (the former of which we rated pretty highly), but this time around they're turning their attention to the PSU arena.
Normally major PSU announcements at CES are for 1000W+ monstrosities, so we should be forgiven for being a little surprised that in this case be quiet! are instead focussing on the oft-ignored entry-level sector. Marketed under the Pure Power 9 brand, and with designs starting from a rated power of just 350W, they're intended to add a touch of class and ease of use to systems without complex multi-GPU configurations.
be quiet! highlight four areas of improvement over the previous Pure Power range: noise level, performance, reliability and look.
To address noise level a new 120mm fan has been incorporated into the design. be quiet! themselves claim it's the quietest PSU fan in its class, and we wouldn't be surprised to see a certain amount of magic being used on the fan controller to improve noise still-further under low load conditions.
Pure Power 9 models have two 12V rails and incorporates active clamp technology to improve both efficiency and stability. Addressing performance, be quiet!'s new designs are rated at either 80PLUS Bronze (300W & 350W models) or 80PLUS Silver (400W+) efficiency. This level of efficiency is still a relative rarity in mainstream PSUs, in semi-modular models, so it's always nice to see as a feature.
Each of the Pure Power 9 models will be fitted with standard safety features, i.e. OCP, OVP, UVP, OPP, OTP and SCP.
Looking purely at aesthetics, be quiet! has once again opted for their now-customary black exterior with orange highlights in addition to thick black braiding on the main cable bundle. Sheathing goes all the way to the connectors, which means that the PSU and its cables are unlikely to detract from the overall aesthetics of your system build. Furthermore, the overall cable set has been improved to include:
More SATA connectors for HDDs, SSDs and additional internal system components such as fan controllers.
A longer 8-Pin CPU power connector cable, helping you feed it behind the motherboard tray of a larger than usual chassis.
A longer 24 pin power cable - 450mm on 300-400W models, 550mm on 500W+ models. Once again, this should make cable management all the easier.
Cables are all black for a relatively neutral aesthetic in most modern systems.
Flat drive cables for easier management
A longer 8-Pin CPU power connector cable, helping you feed it behind the motherboard tray of a larger than usual chassis.
A longer 24 pin power cable - 450mm on 300-400W models, 550mm on 500W+ models. Once again, this should make cable management all the easier.
Cables are all black for a relatively neutral aesthetic in most modern systems.
Flat drive cables for easier management
The release of the whole Pure Power 9 range will be split in two: 400W, 500W, 600W and 700W semi-modular designs, which have modular SATA and PCI-E power connectors, will be available from March 2016; 300W, 350W, 400W, 500W, 600W and 700W models with integrated cables will be released in May. All models will come with a full 3-year warranty.
For more information on be quiet!'s product line visit bequiet.com/.
