Final Words & Conclusion

Final Words & Conclusion

The Deepcool PQ1000M is a good product. The platform for this ATX power supply unit has been taken from Seasonic (similar to the Focus Plus Gold). The size (first and foremost) and the low-load fanless mode (switchable) make this power supply a choice to be seriously considered in all high-performance builds made in small-format homes. The exterior looks original, but some may find the grill ugly. Well, it’s controversial for sure. The internals are excellent. The unit comes with a 10-year warranty. It’s an 80 Plus Gold certified PSU, and that’s a typical choice for even the high-end systems (maybe a bit more) from the consumer’s point of view (in terms of efficiency/price of the unit). The 1000 W variant should be enough for most users with a single graphics card in their system. In reality, even a setup like the one used in this test (i9 12900K + Geforce RTX 3080) rarely exceeds 500-550 W of power draw. On the quality side, all is great, and the stability tests also went well. Load regulation is good, and there was no noticeable droop on the +5V and +12V rails. Ripple suppression is within tolerance. The 120 mm fan (from Hong Hua) does its job very well. It becomes audible close to 75% load, so there’s no reason for complaining. You get a lovely set of accessories in the package, including mounting screws, a power cord, a manual (so a rather typical set), but also there are velcro straps and a jump-start ATX connector. The provided flat cables are now fashionable can be neatly and beautifully placed inside the PC case.

A word about efficiency

Same as with any other power supply, 50% of the maximum load is where the device is most efficient. The sweet spot of the Deepcool PQ1000M is a bit over 93% (at 230 Volts). In the case of this particular unit, half of the maximum wattage is 500 W. The average gaming PC with a single graphics card (at least those usually spotted in Steam hardware polls) won’t exceed this value under normal conditions. Don’t overestimate the savings (on your electricity bill) that you can make by going from 80 Plus Bronze to even Titanium. You can assume that the build quality of more expensive PSUs will be higher, but the differences in efficiency are not that significant. So, summing it up, an 80 Plus Gold PSU like the Deepcool PQ1000M reviewed here is a good enough solution. The price is about 160 EUR for the 1000 W variant, which is reasonable for a high-wattage PSU.

Stability

There isn’t much to say about stability. The voltages hold, and this doesn’t change under higher loads. The 1000 W version should be enough for dual-GPU setups with cards like an Nvidia Geforce GTX/RTX 1080/2080 (or even a dual RTX 3070Ti/3080) or a single GPU like an RTX /3090.

Aesthetics

This Deepcool PSU looks nice with its all-black cabling. The PQ1000 M’s approach with modular cables lets you plug in only the leads you need, which will undoubtedly improve your build’s looks. Additionally, this makes the installation process is quite simple.

Final words

The PQ1000M retails at 160 EUR, which is a reasonable price. The unit is all black. It will probably be hidden inside the chassis shroud anyway, so this is not important. The PQ1000M offers pleasant acoustics (as it becomes noisy only above 75% load) and good build quality. According to the standards, the efficiency is like it should be for the 80 Plus Gold award. You also get a 10-year warranty, which is good in this price segment and wattage. If you still need to absorb all the 1000W in complete tranquility, you can request the supply of three other PCI-E 8pin cables free of charge. The free PCI-E cable upgrade can be requested until 31 March 2022 or at DeepCool’s discretion. This offer is only valid for Europe and the United Kingdom. In our opinion, this should have already been provided in the original bundle. Overall, we think that this PSU deserves the “Approved” award. The overall package is good, and that’s it. This product ticks all the essential boxes, but it’s nothing extraordinary, and it doesn’t stand out in the market (which is not really a bad thing after all). And a final word - soon, the manufacturers will need to adjust to a new ATX specification and Gen 5 PCIe GPUs, so maybe it’s not the best time to buy a PSU.

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