Be Quiet! Pure Power 12 M - 850W ATX 3.0 PSU review - Introduction

be quiet! Pure Power 12 M 850W (ATX 3.0 compatible) power supply

Today we’re putting the new be quiet! Pure Power 12 M 850W power supply on our test bench. The company is mainly known for its PSUs and Hilbert has recently reviewed the Dark Power 13 1000W. On the same day (24^th January), the Pure Power 12M series was officially announced.

We reviewed the predecessors, be quiet! Pure Power 11 (in 2018, it earned the “Recommended” award) and Pure Power 11 FM (in February 2022, also “Recommended), and we wonder what has changed in the meantime for the Pure Power 12M. The main difference is the full ATX 3.0 compatibility. What does it mean in practice? Mainly it’s the implementation of the PCI-Express 5.0 generation’s power connector. These new power supplies carry the latest 12VHPWR power connector designed to deliver up to 600W of raw (in 1000, 850, and 750W models, it’s 300W for the 550W variant and 450W for the 650W PSU) unhindered power to the graphics card. Compared to ATX 2.X, which supports high load peaks but does not define a maximum above the nominal power of the power supply, ATX 3.0 represents clear target values - specifically, the PCIe connection for the graphics card must allow load changes of up to three times the power consumption. Additionally, all Pure Power 12 M models offer up to four (in 1000 and 850W models, two for the less-wattage versions) “traditional” PCIe 6+2 connectors for complete compatibility with the graphics card.

Under the hood, we have an HEC platform with the high quality and reliability. Pure Power 12 M 850W (ATX 3.0) is an ATX power supply without a semi-passive mode. This time, it’s an 850 Watt model (in black) with an 80 PLUS® Gold certificate, which means that it’s 90% efficient at 50% load @ 115 V and 92% efficient @ 230 V (be quiet! is stating efficiency up to 93.2%). It is crucial because less consumed energy goes to waste (at least not in a significant amount), and that should affect your energy bill. It is essential in these wicked times, where energy prices skyrocketed recently. Speaking of the fan – it’s 120 mm with PWM control that allows lower noise and keeps thermals in check. There is no fanless mode. be quiet! Pure Power 12 M(ATX 3.0) is a fully modular PSU; even though the motherboard connectors are not permanently attached to the housing, you still have to use most of them. Nearly all cases have a power supply shroud now (at least ATX-sized ones do), so the unit and the cables (with ribbon design for enthusiasts) will be hidden in most scenarios. There are no colour variants, the only one available is black, but that’s typical for this kind of product.

There are also 550, 650, 750, and 1000-watt versions to choose from. The 850 Watts available in the reviewed unit should be more than enough for most users; even an i9 13900K combined with the Geforce RTX 4090 shouldn’t be a problem. be quiet! Pure Power 12 M(ATX 3.0) is built with 100% Japanese capacitors and other premium components to achieve 80 Plus Gold Certification; thus, that provides enhanced reliability and durability. Ok, let’s check out this PSU from be quiet! shall we? The unit is compact, measuring 160 mm x 150 mm x 85 mm. Pure Power 12 M is available from today at the following MSRPs: $164.90 / €169.90 / £168.99 (1000 W), $134.90 / €139.90 / £138.99 (850 W), $119.90 / €119.90 / £118.99 (750 W), $104.90 / €109.90 / £108.99 (650 W), $94.90 / €94.90 / £93.99 (550 W). A 10-year warranty backs be quiet! Pure Power 12 M.