Be Quiet Dark Power Pro 10 550 W

[crmaris]

Be Quiet's Dark Power Pro 10 550 W is built on a completely new platform from FSP. It promises low noise, 80PLUS Gold efficiency and high build quality. A unique feature is an overclocking mode which lets users combine all 12V rails into a single more powerful one.

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[Assimilator]

- C(r)apXon capacitors on an alleged "high-end" PSU? Seriously FSP?
- On page 3, the photo of the OCK connector clearly shows that the filter caps are visible through the clip holes for the drive cable connectors. I'd be worried about accidentally knocking those caps when inserting the cables.
- OCK connector is white which clashes with the colour scheme. I would rather have made it red so it's still visible, but less obvious.
- No mention of the 12V power distribution when used in quad-rail mode (i.e. which connectors are powered from which rails).
- Fan connectors are a nice touch.
- Would have preferred to see the 4+4pin P4/EPS cable fixed, not just the 24pin ATX.

 

[Sin]

- C(r)apXon capacitors on an alleged "high-end" PSU? Seriously FSP?

Nothing wrong with solid CapXon caps.

- On page 3, the photo of the OCK connector clearly shows that the filter caps are visible through the clip holes for the drive cable connectors. I'd be worried about accidentally knocking those caps when inserting the cables.

That's nonsense, being visible doesn't make them "knockable"

- OCK connector is white which clashes with the colour scheme. I would rather have made it red so it's still visible, but less obvious.

I disagree, red would have been cheesy.

- No mention of the 12V power distribution when used in quad-rail mode (i.e. which connectors are powered from which rails).

There's nothing wrong with the rail distribution, it's excellent actually.

- Fan connectors are a nice touch.

Indeed, a nice feature.

- Would have preferred to see the 4+4pin P4/EPS cable fixed, not just the 24pin ATX.

And why is that?.. personally, I would have preferred a full modular layout, adding fixed cables to a highly modular design makes Zero sense, and it's really unappealing.

ps. excellent review Crmaris, nice unit too.

 

[heky]

Nice review crmaris. It would be nice though if you would mention that the models from 850W and up are made by Seasonic and not FSP!(If you knew that)

 

[de.das.dude]

WOW! that was a fast review!

 

[crmaris]

Nice review crmaris. It would be nice though if you would mention that the models from 850W and up are made by Seasonic and not FSP!(If you knew that)

So far I don't have solid proof in my hands about this so can't make this statement/assumption

 

[Assimilator]

Nothing wrong with solid CapXon caps.

CapXon is guilty until proven innocent in my books.

That's nonsense, being visible doesn't make them "knockable"

I didn't say it does. I would, however, appreciate it if crmaris would confirm or deny if it's a possibility.

I disagree, red would have been cheesy.

Maybe, but less obtrusive than white.

There's nothing wrong with the rail distribution, it's excellent actually.

How can you say that when you have no idea what rail feeds what connector(s)? be Quiet! could have stupidly fed all PCIe connectors off one of the fours 12V rails and no-one would know until they tried to use all those connectors and tripped the OCP (assuming the OCK wasn't set to bridge all the rails).

And why is that?.. personally, I would have preferred a full modular layout, adding fixed cables to a highly modular design makes Zero sense, and it's really unappealing.

Why produce a fully modular PSU when ALL motherboard ALWAYS need at least a 24pin ATX and a 4pin ATX12V (or a 4+4pin with newer/high-end boards)?

 

[Sin]

CapXon is guilty until proven innocent in my books.

I won't comment on the value of that approach... though I'd like to see some dead solid caps from CapXon.

How can you say that when you have no idea what rail feeds what connector(s)?

That's a baseless assumption... you could have assumed the exact opposite but for some reason you're more comfortable with my presumed ignorance than my presumed knowledge on the subject.. I wonder why.

be Quiet! could have stupidly fed all PCIe connectors off one of the fours 12V rails and no-one would know until they tried to use all those connectors and tripped the OCP (assuming the OCK wasn't set to bridge all the rails).

Another baseless assumption... I don't quite get why you'd think that these PSUs are designed by Down's stricken, brainless earthworms.

Here you go:
12v1: 20+4pin, all Molex and SATA connectors.
12v2: 8pin EPS and 4+4pin ATX(the second 8pin EPS).
12v3: 1'st and 2'nd PCIe connectors.
12v4: 3'rd and 4'th PCIe connectors.

Why produce a fully modular PSU when ALL motherboard ALWAYS need at least a 24pin ATX and a 4pin ATX12V (or a 4+4pin with newer/high-end boards)?

Because this is a premium/high-end product, and those of us that usually buy such products are inclined to customize them, as so it would be nice to be able to fully sleeve the cables without voiding the warranty, or maybe shorten them or remake them altogether, again, without voiding the warranty.

 

[crmaris]

guys sorry about the rail distribution. I had limited time to prepare and post this specific review and totally forgot to make the corresponding table for this (and to figure the rails once I took apart the PSU)

As for Capxons don't forget that we have to do with polymer caps here and not elecs. Surely Japan made would be nicer but you can't call polymer caps from a known manufacturer (Teapo and Capxon are among the known Taiwanese/Chinese caps manufacturers) as crap.

Finally about the visible caps you can't hurt them with a connector, simply as that. Only if you put a screwdriver in there and deliberately want to do so.