Be Quiet! Pure Power 12 M - 850W ATX 3.0 PSU review - Certification and efficiency

Energy efficiency certification

be quiet! markets the Pure Power 12 M(ATX 3.0) as an 80 Plus Gold power supply. Certification is performed by an organization called 80 PLUS. But what does this mean “on paper”? It’s a pram introduced in 2004 to promote efficient energy use in computer power supply units (PSUs). Only products that offer more than 80% efficiency at 20, 50, and 100% load, and a power factor of 0.9 or more, are eligible. The PSU will waste 20% or less electric energy as heat, reducing power consumption and bills compared with less efficient designs.  

As you can see above, there are 80 Plus, Bronze, Silver, Gold (these three are from 2008), Platinum (2009), and Titanium (2012) certificates. As power consumption has dropped, most computers with a single GPU don’t need more than a 600-650 W PSU. The PSU tested today is the most efficient at 50% load (425 W), but the differences above and below this threshold are insignificant. You don’t need to keep it precisely at half load, but it’s best to stay below the maximum wattage for better noise performance, longevity, etc. The reviewed sample is 80 PLUS Gold certified – up to ~90% efficiency @ 115 V (at 20~100% loads) and 92% @ 230 V – and has active PFC with a power factor of up to 0.99. It consumes < 0.3 W in its off-mode, complying with the ERP standard.

There are no actual results possible to find on the 80 Plus website. Also, there are no Cybernetics results for the 850W variant.

Technical Specs below:

As for the provided cables, you’ll find detailed information in the unboxing section of the review.

The street price of the reviewed unit is about $134.90 / €139.90 / £138.99. Let’s see if it’s worth it. Next page, please.