be quiet! Dark Power Pro 1500 W Review - Better than Corsair AX1600i?

Name: be quiet! Dark Power Pro 1500 W
Brand: be quiet!
Price: 450 USD

crmaris

on Oct 13th, 2020,

in Power Supplies.

Manufacturer: be quiet!

Voltage Regulation Stability & Ripple »

Component Analysis

Before reading this page, we strongly suggest a look at this article, which will help you understand the insides of a PSU better.

be quiet! Dark Power Pro 12 1500 W Parts Description
General Data
Manufacturer (OEM)	CWT
PCB Type	Double-sided
Primary Side
Transient Filter	6x Y caps, 2x X caps, 2x CM chokes, 1x MOV, 1x Champion CM02X (discharge IC)
Bridge Rectifier(s)	2x WeEn WNR2560M
Inrush Current Protection	NTC thermistor (SCK-037) (3 ohm) & relay
APFC MOSFETs	2x On Semiconductor FCH040N65S3 (650 V, 41 A @ 100 °C, Rds (on): 40 mOhm) 2x On Semiconductor FCPF067N65S3 (650 V, 28 A @ 100 °C, Rds (on): 67 mOhm)
APFC IC Drivers	2x On Semiconductor NCP81071
APFC Boost Diode	2x Infineon IDH10G65C6 (650 V, 10 A @ 140 °C)
Bulk Cap(s)	2x Nippon Chemi-Con (400 V, 680 uF each or 1360 uF combined, 2,000 h @ 105°C, KMW) 1x Nippon Chemi-Con (400 V, 470 uF, 2,000 h @ 105°C, KMW)
Main Switchers	4x Alpha & Omega AOTF29S50 (500 V, 18 A @ 100 °C, Rds (on): 0.4 ohm)
IC Drivers	2x Silicon Labs Si8233BD
Digital Controllers	2x Texas Instruments UCD3138A
Topology	Primary side: Semi-digital, interleaved PFC, full-bridge & LLC converter Secondary side: synchronous rectification & DC-DC converters
Secondary Side
+12 V MOSFETs	12x On Semiconductor NTMFS5C612N (60 V, 160 A @ 100 °C, Rds (on): 1.6 mOhm)
+5 V & +3.3 V	DC-DC Converters: 6x FETs PWM Controllers: 1x
Filtering Capacitors	Electrolytic: 4x Nichicon (2–5,000 h @ 105 °C, HD), 2x Rubycon (6–10,000 h @ 105 °C, ZLH), 2x Nippon Chemi-Con (4–10,000 h @ 105 °C, KY), 1x Nippon Chemi-Con (1–5,000 h @ 105 °C, KZE) Polymer: 22x FPCAP, 18x United Chemi-Con
Supervisor IC	Weltrend WT7502R (OVP, UVP, SCP, PG) & Weltrend WT7518 (4x OCP channels)
Fan Model	be quiet! BQ SIW3-13525HF (135 mm, 12 V, 0.56 A, fluid dynamic bearing fan)
5VSB Circuit
Rectifier(s)	1x IPS ISD04N65A (650 V, 4 A, Rds (on): 2.2 ohm) FET & 1x PS1045L (45 V, 10 A) SBR
Standby PWM Controller	On-Bright OB5282

This platform is by CWT and looks familiar because all semi-digital CWT platforms use the same controllers. Although the design is modern, it still does not compare to the cutting-edge technology used in Corsair's AX1600i, which is weird since the AX1600i is the main competitor of the P12-PRO-1500.

The transient filter is complete, and to save energy, it includes a discharge IC for the bleeding resistors of the X caps.

There is an NTC thermistor supported by a bypass relay for protection against large inrush currents. Moreover, an MOV handles surge voltages.

The two bridge rectifiers can handle up to 50 A of current.

The APFC converter is an interleaved design, which minimizes input/output current ripple and lowers conduction losses, thus increasing efficiency and doubling the effective switching frequency.

Two On Semiconductor NCP81071 ICs drive the PFC FETs.

The bulk caps have a combined capacity of 1830 uF.

Four Alpha & Omega AOTF29S50 FETs are the main switching FETs, and a pair of Silicon Labs Si8233BD driver ICs handle them.

One of the digital controllers handles the interleaved PFC converter and unit's protection features. The other MCU is responsible for the primary switching FETs, LLC resonant converter, and FETs regulating the +12 V rail. It also controls fan speed and some of the protection features.

Instead of a single large transformers, two parallel ones are used. This design offers higher efficiency since the load is equally distributed on the transformers.

Twelve On Semiconductor FETs generate the +12 V rail.

The DC-DC converters that generate the minor rails are controlled by an analog IC provided by Anpec. Moreover, six FETs in total are used by both converters.

Most electrolytic caps are of high quality. A large number of polymer caps are also used.

Besides the digital controllers, CWT used two Weltrend ICs for the PSU's protection features. The one installed on the modular board handles +12V OCP.