Certification & Efficiency

Certification

Be Quiet! offers the 12 series PSU now as a Titanium 80 Plus product certified by the 80PLUS organization. We already explained a little what that literally means. But what does such a certification entail? Well, 80 Plus is an optional certification program intended to promote efficient energy use in computer power supply units (PSUs). Launched in 2004 by Ecos Consulting, it certifies products that have more than 80% energy efficiency at 20%, 50% and 100% of rated load, and a power factor of 0.9 or greater at 100% load. That is, such PSUs will waste 20% or less electric energy as heat at the specified load levels, thus reducing electricity use and bills compared to less efficient PSUs.  The higher the rating, the less power you will consume.

80 Plus test type	115 V internal					230 V EU internal
Percentage of rated load	10%	20%	50%	100%	10%		20%	50%	100%
80Plus		80%	80%	80%			82%	85%	82%
80Plus Bronze		82%	85%	82%			85%	88%	85%
80Plus Silver		85%	88%	85%			87%	90%	87%
80Plus Gold		87%	90%	87%			90%	92%	89%
80Plus Platinum		90%	92%	89%			92%	94%	90%
80Plus Titanium	90%	92%	94%	90%	90%		94%	96%	94%

There certainly is plenty to choose from, we have Standard, Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum, and thus Titanium certifications. A PSU that is certified 80 PLUS Titanium is more efficient than your regular unit. The Series 12 power supplies are certified by the 80PLUS organization to deliver a 96 energy efficiency at 50% load and still 90% efficiency when your PC is in idle. These days we suggest you get at least a 650 Watt PSU for any standard PC, but considering your PC / PSU is the most efficient and energy-friendly at half its load, it might be wiser to purchase a higher rated power supply. The 850W model tested thus is the most efficient at that region of 425 Watts, which is pretty spot-on for a modern powerful PC with a proper high-end graphics card. Listan released this power supply with the statement it will not only have a huge amount of power across all rails but does so with very little noise + the option to create one huge 12V rail - that is fairly unique. 

Titanium efficiency and advanced topology

Dark Power 12 features 80 PLUS Titanium certification. be quiet! has achieved this high-efficiency factor by implementing the advanced “Active Rectifier + Full Bridge LLC + SR + DC-DC” topology and a wire-free interior design on the DC side. Unlike the Pro models, Dark Power 12 does not rely on digital regulation: the active rectifier helps its topology achieve a high-efficiency rating on Titanium level. For maximum reliability and signal quality from the four 12V rails, Dark Power 12 relies exclusively on premium components such as long-lasting Japanese 105°C capacitors.

Patented Silent Wings 135mm fan for high air circulation and virtually inaudible operation
To make sure the high-end components in Dark Power 12 are optimally cooled even under extreme load, be quiet! has come up with an innovative method to integrate its award-winning Silent Wings 135mm fan. The result is a patented frameless fan, placed directly under a full mesh grill, surrounded by a funnel-shaped air intake for optimal air circulation and best-in-class cooling. The fan has a low startup rotational speed. It operates virtually inaudibly, negating the need to constantly stop and start the fan as such semi-passive solutions often place unnecessary stress on the fan components.

Extensive feature set
As a successor to the popular Dark Power Pro 11 and lower-wattage option to the Dark Power Pro 12 series, many beloved features from both series carry over into Dark Power 12, including the Overclocking Key. This switch allows users to change the power supply from multi-rail mode to single-rail mode with the flick of a button or an optional jumper, increasing the PSU’s stability under extreme overclocking conditions. To match the high-quality components inside the power supply unit, be quiet! has created a steel housing that elevates this power supply series's appearance and offers a complete set of modular, black sleeved cables. Thanks to its high component quality and the innovative cooling design, be quiet! offers a 10-year manufacturer's warranty.

We did warn about this, you need to pick a mental battle, as saving energy is more expensive to purchase, pricing is as follows; $199.90 / £205.99 / €214.90 (750W), $239,90 / £239.99 / €249,90 (850W), or $279,90 / £269.99 / €279,90 (1000W).

Warranty
The company will offer you a 10-year warranty.