Deciding how much power your new PC build will need can be somewhat of a pain in the butt. Trying to figure out the wattage you will need to power up your system can seem almost impossible to some, especially those new to building PC’s. You can, of course, always look at the recommended specifications on things such as the Graphics cards and similar, but it won’t take into account all the other stuff going on inside your system. Companies like be quiet! have been kind enough to add PSU calculators to their websites to help us all make sure we are getting the power we need. By heading to http://www.bequiet.com/en/psucalculator, you will be able to choose what components you are putting in your build and be quiet! will be able to recommend the proper wattage of PSU you will need.

Now that you have the wattage figured out, next you will need to consider what type of 80 PLUS rating you will need. I personally would not recommend using a PSU without some sort of 80 PLUS rating ever. The 80 PLUS rating is referring to the efficiency of the PSU and as such, states it will be 80%+ sufficient at full load. There are, of course, different levels that offer better performance, but the price tags come along with these: Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum and Titanium are the ones I can think of off the top of my head. So for example, say you need 500W of power to run your PSU, you will need to figure in that if using the lower tier, the PSU may only output 80% of the given wattage. a 650W PSU running at 80% would put out roughly 520W of power at full load, so would be the sufficient size to go for. (This is just an example and any individual power requirements may differ). It’s also worth noting that having a PSU that is over powerful is not recommend either, so if you need 500W of power, don’t buy a 1200W PSU.

• Manufacturer Website: http://www.bequiet.com/en/
• Product Page: Straight Power 10
• Purchase on Amazon UK: £89.99 At the time of review
• Purchase on Amazon US: $161.99 At the time of review

Today I am taking a look at the be quiet! Straight Power 10 600W Power Supply. This PSU features a semi-modular design (everything aside from the 24 pin is modular) a 80 PLUS Gold rating and comes equipped with one of be quiet!’s own Silent Wing fans to offer maximum cooling with the least amount of noise as possible. The Straight Power 10 features an all black design and comes with plenty of connectors for the wattage, which we will take a look at shortly.

On the outside of the box should be enough info for most users to make an informed decision on whether or not this PSU will be adequate for their needs. be quiet! have included a power usage breakdown, a guide showing which cables come with it and other relevant information to help you decide if this PSU will do the trick for your build.

As mentioned, this is a semi-modular PSU and as such, some of the cables are removable. Alongside the cables you will need to power your system, the Straight Power 10 also comes with a mains plug and a small pack of screws so you can install it in your case properly. The cables included are listed below:

Inside the box users will also find the user manual should they need a bit more info or help getting everything going.

Even though it won’t be seen in most cases, be quiet! have made sure the bottom of the PSU where the fan will pull its air from looks amazing. I would love to be able to mod a case and show this bad boy off as such as it just looks amazing. The nice bars protecting the Silent Wings fan from damage are quite pleasing to the eye.

The below image is the side of the PSU that should hopefully be inside the case and will allow users to plug in any of the modular cables they will need to power up their system. Everything is labelled properly and the plugs are different sizes to make sure you get everything plugged into the correct location.

One side of the Straight Power 10 features a nice be quiet! logo while the other has all the technical information regarding the power usage and all those lovely FCC and government logos companies have to put on products of this type.

Last but not least, we have the back of the power supply which should be on the outside of the case in most situations so we can plug our mains lead in. You will also notice this area is heavily ventilated to help with airflow and cooling of the PSU itself as we wouldn’t want it to overheat and cause any problems.

Unfortunately, I do not have an ATE load tester so I was not able to fully test out the Straight Power 10 from our friends at be quiet!. However, I have been using it for a good few weeks now on my X99 system, which I have done some overclocking on my 5820K and GTX 770 and the SP10 hasn’t skipped a beat. Again, I wasn’t able to test for things such as the ripple in the lines, but from my experience and the testing I can do, I have no issues recommending the Straight Power 10.

From a design aspect, the Straight Power 10 is aesthetically pleasing and designed to perform just as well as it looks. It comes with an 80 PLUS gold efficiency rating, semi-modular design and is equipped with one of be quiets!’s own Silent Wing fans. The SP10 is also designed using premium quality capacitors that are rated up to 105°C to offer maximum performance, reliability and operating life.

The price is the Straight Power 10 is decent for what it has to offer. For just under £90, you are getting a 600W 80 PLUS PSU that is mostly modular, looks amazing and is backed by a 5-year warranty. When you throw that warranty in, you are pretty much looking at paying £22.50 a year which is less than £2 a month for a power supply you know you can rely on as companies don’t just hand out 5-year warranties for anything.

While I may not have been able to fully test out the Straight Power 10, I did what I could with it and it held up to its end of the bargain. be quiet! are also a very reputable brand and the 5-year warranty should help offer a piece of mind if there are any doubts involved when purchasing this PSU.

I would like to thank be quiet! for sending in today’s test sample.