Introduction
I really try my hardest not to be biased as my job is to be open and objective, but I do love me some be quiet! products! They always come with a very sleek and stylish look and have a very distinct aesthetic. I mean, even when they add RGB to products, they do it in such a way that it’s not overpowering and looks very stylish and will still fit in with any build, even if minimalistic. Today, we are taking a look at their Dark Power 12 750W 80 PLUS Titanium Power Supply. As you will soon see, this PSU looks amazing and the Titanium rating lets us know that this PSU is no joke and will do its job very well. If there was a question of how good it is, be quiet! have added in a 10-year manufacturer’s warranty. I personally can’t remember ever having the same PSU for 10-years, not for any particular reason, just normally upgrade and change my personal system around every couple of years. A 10-year warranty is absolutely great to see and speaks volumes on the faith that be quiet! has in their Dark Power 12 range of power supplies.
The Dark Power 12 range of PSUs comes in 750W, 850W and 1000W models while the Dark Power Pro 12 series comes in 1200w and 1500w. This range of PSUs offer some serious power and are going to give users the options they need to power and build almost any standard system out there! The Dark Power 12 750W comes with six PCI-e connectors for multiple high-end GPUs and even has the standard 8-pin EPS connector and an additional 4+4 pin EPS connector for those looking to overclock and put some serious power through their system. Again, we can’t forget about that massive 10-year warranty that shows be quiet! is putting their money where their mouth is and making sure their customers are covered on the off chance anything should go wrong.
Dark Power 12 750W Specifications
| Model | Dark Power 12 750W |
| Continuous power (W) | 750 |
| Peak power (W) | 850 |
| Form factor | Version 2.52 |
| Form factor EPS 12V | Version 2.92 |
| Modular Cable management | ✓ |
| Topology | Active Rectifier + Full bridge + LLC + SR + DC/DC |
| Wire-free design (DC-side) | ✓ |
| Voltage (Vac) | 100 – 240 |
| Frequency (Hz) | 50 – 60 |
| Input current (A) | 9 / 4.5 |
| PFC | active |
| Power factor at 100% load | >0.97 |
| Compliant to Intel C6/C7 | ✓ |
| Power consumption in standby (W) | <0.06 |
| Average lifetime (h / 25°C) | 200,000 |
| Operating temperature up to (°C) | 40 |
Dark Power 12 750W Closer Look
If you’ve ever seen the packaging for a be quiet! PSU, the Dark Power 12 box will look quite familiar. be quiet! go with a nice black box with an image of the PSU on it with the 80 PLUS Titanium logo in the top left! Simple and to the point, just what we would expect.
On the back up the box is very limited information but there is a QR code you can scan to take you to the be quiet! website to find more info on the Dark Power 12 power supply.
There are a few things inside the box to help you get up and running and make sure things stay as tidy as possible. Alongside the user manual, be quiet! have included some normal PSU screws and some Thumbscrews depending on which you prefer. They have also gone ahead and included some standard zip ties and some velcro ones as well! It’s not much but it is more than enough to get you going and make sure your cables are managed nicely!
Now, here is where things get serious! be quiet! have included an overclocking switch that can be installed into one of the PCI expansion bays on your case. This is going to allow you to switch from the default four 12 rail mode to a single-rail mode for better overclocking. The best thing is if this is not something you’re interested in but you still want this Dark Power 12 PSU, you don’t have to install this at all! Not installing this will not cause any adverse effects to the operation of the PSU and it will just run at its default four 12V rail mode.
Here we go, the Dark Power 12 in all its glory! This is one of those power supplies you really need to see in person to appreciate as pictures just don’t it justice. If I had to be blunt, I would say this is the best looking be quiet! we have seen and that says a lot. While we can’t see it in the image below, be quiet! have gone with a split fan inlet to help increase airflow to the internal components of the Dark Power 12 power supplies. They have also gone with a wire-free design so the internal components get more of the cool air which should help improve longevity.
All of that air will no doubt need somewhere to escape. be quiet! have ventilated the backside of the PSU which in most builds, will allow the air to escape out the back of the case and into the room instead of recycling it back through the case itself. This is going to be one of the best ways to expel the hot air from a PSU and is a fairly standard feature these days.
The Dark Power 12 has plenty of connections and hopefully more than you will need. On the power supply they are all nicely labelled though as you will see, they are all different sized plugs so you shouldn’t be able to plug anything into the wrong port. The image below will show you what connectors come with the DArk Power 12 and will also show you the length of the cables so you can make sure they will fit where you need them!
As always, there has to be that one annoying side of the PSU with the info companies are forced to include on such products! However, worry not as this will likely be the side you don’t see once the PSU is installed into your case.
The side you will see looks very elegant and no doubt, most will have no problem showing this off in their builds! Sleek, subtle and without colour should allow it to fit right in with your PC.
With a power supply of this calibre, you surely need the cables to match and be quiet! has done a good job with the included cables. While I know plenty love some custom cables, when you are getting ones similar to those included with the Dark Power 12, it makes justifying the need for custom cables that much harder. These all-black cables with all black connectors look quite nice and surely won’t cause an eye-sore in your PC.
I mean, honestly though just look at that cable! For a standard cable that comes with the PSU, it doesn’t get much better than that!
Each cable comes with its own velcro zip tip on it, which you could also use inside your case if you need some more help with cable management. While be quiet! did include plenty of extra zip ties, you can never really have too many, can you?
Final Words
Currently coming in at £178.11 on Amazon UK or $199.90 on Amazon US the Dark Power 12 is not for those who are just looking for any old power supply to power their PC. Rather, it is for those that want to take the best care of the PC as possible and make sure it has the power it needs and deserves. The Dark Power 12 not only comes with an 80 PLUS Titanium rating, but it also has a 10-year warranty which is almost worth the asking price alone! Over the course of 10-years, you’re looking at less than £20/$20 a year for a top-tier power supply, hard to beat that in our opinion. This PSU is worth every penny of the asking price and will not let you down.
You’ll notice that there is no official testing done and that is because we don’t personally have a PSU load tester and while we used to use a multimeter to do the minimal testing we could, we feel it’s now best to leave this to those who have the proper equipment. What we can say is that the Dark Power 12 750W power supply had no problem powering an X570 based rig with a Ryzen 5950X CPU and a pair of RX 6800 GPUs. Yes, a pair of 6800’s! Why you may ask? Well we do like to try and test the hardware we review to the best of our abilities and as mentioned, this Dark Power 12 750W was able to keep both of them running even at 100% load without issue.
The design is second to none and the overall aesthetic is amazingly sleek and will fit in well with most colour schemes. As mentioned, this is probably the best-looking power supply we have seen from be quiet! and it is a shame that it gets hidden in a case! It would be amazing to use this in a build where it gets shown off and has the fan side on display as it really just looks that good. The Dark Power 12 ticks all the boxes for us, value for money, performance and design and has been a pleasure to use.
Many thanks to be quiet! for sending in a sample of their Dark Power 12 power supply for this review.
