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Today we are looking at the latest Pure Power 630 watt supply from German market leaders, BeQuiet. This company focus on creating a quality power supply with the lowest possible noise emissions. The ‘L8' version is the 8th iteration of the series which is 80 Plus Bronze certified with a very high quality, custom designed fan called the ‘Silent Wings'.
Be Quiet! have actually built up a well earned reputation as an ideal choice for a media system build, thanks to their class leading fan production. There are four power supplies in this latest range, a 430 watt, 530 watt, 630 Watt and 730 watt. We are analysing the 630watt model today. Be Quiet! have used FSP as a partner for a long time now, but this range is an HEC design.
Be Quiet! have expanded their product awareness in the United Kingdom recently with stores such as SCAN offering their products at competitive prices. They offer a full three year warranty with this range of products, for peace of mind.
- 120mm fan with flow-optimised fan blades for enhanced airflow and exceptionally quiet operation. Especially quiet thanks to optimised rotational speed throughout the working range. Quiet operation and long lifespan of up to 100,000 hours thanks to a high-quality bearing and an individually balanced fan wheel.
Quiet operation through be quiet! fan using SilentWings technology
- Two independent 12V rails. Suitable for SLI and Crossfire multi-GPU operation. Supports the latest generations of processors from Intel® and AMD.
High performance and stability for CPU and GPU
- 80PLUS bronze certification for top efficiency of up to 88%. ErP ready. Stand-by energy consumption 0.3W.
Efficient and economical operation
- 12V P8 connection (P4+4). Four PCI express connections.
Very high compatibility with older and future components
- Modular cable management system with numerous connection options. Modular, coated cable. All-in-one cable with S-ATA, HDD and FDD plug on one wire.
Convenient to use. Cable management
- Maximum protection of components (OCP, OVP, UVP, OPP, OTP and SCP). Certified based on international safety standards.
Top safety and reliability
- 3 years manufacturer‘s warranty
Service
Be Quiet! opt for a very stylish, predominately black box with the product nicely presented in the center.
Inside, the box is compartmentalised with the cabling and power cable in a separate section of the box.
Inside are the modular cables, a region specific power cable, a user manual, screws for installation, and some cable tidies for cleaning up the system build.
The modular cables are high quality and sleeved. The image above right highlights the hard wired cable, which contains the CPU and main ATX connectors.
Above a diagram of cable lengths for the 630W version in this range. The box includes the following cables:
| Cable | Connectors |
| MB 20+4 pin | x1 |
| CPU 4+4 pin | x1 |
| PCI E 8 pin (6 pin +2) | x2 |
| PCI E 6 pin | x2 |
| Sata power connectors | x5 |
| Peripheral 4 pin (molex) | x4 |
| Floppy connector | x1 |
We do feel they could have made the cables a little longer to accommodate larger chassis.
The Power supply is attractive, finished in a nice black paint. It is certainly one of the nicer looking designs in this price range. It measures 280 x 105 x 230 mm (LxWxD).
The fan certainly grabs attention, thanks to the gold/orange accenting underneath the grill section. Be Quiet! have ensured that their logo is displayed proudly on the fan itself. The orange trim is not just an appearance oriented inclusion as it is elastic, to reduce vibrations.
We love the ‘be quiet!' logo on the side of the chassis. It is subtle but under certain light it can be clearly seen, as shown above.
The rear of the power supply is vented to aid airflow. There is a power button and cable connector set to the side of the chassis.
Only the essential power cables are hardwired – the 20+4 ATX cable and the 4+4 EPS. The other cables are clearly labeled and even colour coded for ease of installation.
| Be Quiet! Pure Power L8 630W | ||||||
|
DC Output
|
+3.3V
|
+5V
|
+12V1
|
+12V2 |
-12V
|
+5Vsb
|
|
Max Output
|
25A
|
20A
|
30A
|
30A |
0.3A
|
3A
|
| Total Power | 150W | 564W (47A) | 3.6W | 15W | ||
| 630W | ||||||
Both +12V output can deliver 30A of power individually, with a maximum draw of 47A across both.
Be quiet! are using one of the proprietary sleeve bearing fans – the Silent Wings BQT T12025-MS-18. This is a 120mm unit which is rated to a maximum of 29.6 dBa at 100% load (1,800 rpm).
This is an HEC Active PFC design, which is unusual for Be Quiet! who tend to work with FSP. It isn't the cleanest finished build we have seen in recent months, but the design is capable and soldering quality is excellent. The PCB supports two +12V rails. There is a daughter card shielded behind a white protective strip, this is a Weltrend 7527. This IC supports OCP for a dual +12V rail configuration and all other protection standards. Over Temperature Protection is handled by an additional circuit.
Behind the AC receptacle is a small PCB with part of the transient filtering stage, two Y caps and a single X cap. On the main PCB are an MOV, one X cap, two Y caps and three chokes.
The primary capacitor is a Teapo unit, rated 400V, 470uF, 85c. All capacitors in the secondary section are Teapo branded and rated at 105c. On the modular PCB six Nippon Chemi-Con capacitors with a smaller Teapo are utilised for additional ripple filtering. There are two high quality Japanese capacitors soldered onto the cable management board to help reduce high frequency noise.
On this page we present some super high resolution images of the product taken with the 24.5MP Nikon D3X camera and 24-70mm ED lens. These will take much longer to open due to the dimensions, especially on slower connections. If you use these pictures on another site or publication, please credit Kitguru.net as the owner/source.
Additional technical assistance: Peter McFarland and Jeremy Price.
Correctly testing power supplies is a complex procedure and KitGuru have configured a test bench which can deliver up to a 2,000 watt DC load. Due to public requests we have changed our temperature settings recently – previously we rated with ambient temperatures at 25C, we have increased ambient temperatures by 10c (to 35c) in our environment to greater reflect warmer internal chassis conditions.
We use combinations of the following hardware:
• SunMoon SM-268
• CSI3710A Programmable DC load (+3.3V and +5V outputs)
• CSI3711A Programmable DC load (+12V1, +12V2, +12V3, and +12V4)
• Extech Power Analyzer
• Extech MultiMaster MM570 digital multimeter
• SkyTronic DSL 2 Digital Sound Level Meter (6-130dBa)
• Digital oscilloscope (20M S/s with 12 Bit ADC)
• Variable Autotransformer, 1.4 KVA
|
DC Output Load Regulation
|
||||||||||
|
Combined DC Load |
+3.3V
|
+5V
|
+12V
|
+5VSB
|
-12V | |||||
|
A
|
V
|
A
|
V
|
A
|
V
|
A
|
V
|
A | V | |
|
75W
|
1.03
|
3.36
|
1.43
|
5.13
|
4.95
|
12.27
|
0.50
|
5.08
|
0.20
|
-12.02
|
|
150W
|
2.04
|
3.34
|
2.94
|
5.06
|
10.04
|
12.23
|
0.50
|
5.05
|
0.30
|
-12.06
|
|
300W
|
4.28
|
3.30
|
6.12
|
4.98
|
20.42
|
12.18
|
1.00
|
5.02
|
0.30
|
-12.10
|
| 450W |
6.59
|
3.27
|
8.42
|
4.96
|
31.84
|
12.13
|
1.50
|
4.99 |
0.30
|
-12.11
|
|
600W
|
9.96
|
3.23
|
12.17
|
4.94
|
41.68
|
12.08
|
2.50
|
4.96
|
0.30
|
-12.12
|
The Be Quiet supply has minor fluctuation on the +3.3V and +5V output, but it doesn't raise any red flags and power delivery remains stable at all times.
| Be Quiet! Pure Power L8 630W | Maximum Load |
| 701W |
We managed to get 701W out of the PSU before it would shut down, gracefully.
Next we want to try Cross Loading. This basically means loads which are not balanced. If a PC for instance needs 500W on the +12V outputs but something like 30W via the combined 3.3V and +5V outputs then the voltage regulation can fluctuate badly.
| Cross Load Testing | +3.3V | +5V | +12V | -12V | +5VSB | |||||
| A | V | A | V | A | V | A | V | A | V | |
| 590W | 1.0 | 3.35 | 1.0 | 5.11 | 45.0 | 12.01 | 0.2 | -12.11 | 0.50 | 5.01 |
| 145W | 12.0 | 3.27 | 15.0 | 4.95 | 2.0 | 12.23 | 0.2 | -12.07 | 0.50 | 5.00 |
The supply maintained good stability under intensive cross load situations. There was drop with the +5V output from 5.11 to 4.95, but again this is within safe parameters.
We then used an oscilloscope to measure AC ripple and noise present on the DC outputs. We set the oscilloscope time base to check for AC ripple at both high and low ends of the spectrum. ATX12V V2.2 specification for DC output ripple and noise is defined in the ATX 12V power supply design guide.
|
ATX12V Ver 2.2 Noise/Ripple Tolerance
|
|
|
Output
|
Ripple (mV p-p)
|
|
+3.3V
|
50
|
|
+5V
|
50
|
|
+12V1
|
120
|
|
+12V2
|
120
|
|
-12V
|
120
|
|
+5VSB
|
50
|
Obviously when measuring AC noise and ripple on the DC outputs the cleaner (less recorded) means we have a better end result. We measured this AC signal amplitude to see how closely the unit complied with the ATX standard.
| AC Ripple (mV p-p) | ||||
| DC Load | +3.3V | +5V | +12V | 5VSB |
| 75W | 10 | 10 | 15 | 10 |
| 150W | 10 | 15 | 15 | 10 |
| 300W | 10 | 20 | 20 | 15 |
| 450W | 15 | 25 | 30 | 20 |
| 600W | 20 | 30 | 35 | 25 |
Noise suppression is good, especially from the +12V output, which peaks at 35 mV at 100% load.
|
Efficiency (%)
|
|
|
75W
|
81.28
|
|
150W
|
84.54
|
|
300W
|
86.45
|
|
450W
|
84.31
|
|
600W
|
83.22
|
Efficiency is impressive for an 80 Plus Bronze rated power supply, peaking at 86.45 percent at 50 percent load.
We take the issue of noise very seriously at KitGuru and this is why we have built a special home brew system as a reference point when we test noise levels of various components. Why do this? Well this means we can eliminate secondary noise pollution in the test room and concentrate on components we are testing. It also brings us slightly closer to industry standards, such as DIN 45635.
Today to test the Power Supply we have taken it into our acoustics room environment and have set our SkyTronic DSL 2 Digital Sound Level Meter (6-130dBa) one meter away from the unit. We have no other fans running so we can effectively measure just the noise from the unit itself.
As this can be a little confusing for people, here are various dBa ratings in with real world situations to help describe the various levels.
KitGuru noise guide
10dBA – Normal Breathing/Rustling Leaves
20-25dBA – Whisper
30dBA – High Quality Computer fan
40dBA – A Bubbling Brook, or a Refridgerator
50dBA – Normal Conversation
60dBA – Laughter
70dBA – Vacuum Cleaner or Hairdryer
80dBA – City Traffic or a Garbage Disposal
90dBA – Motorcycle or Lawnmower
100dBA – MP3 Player at maximum output
110dBA – Orchestra
120dBA – Front row rock concert/Jet Engine
130dBA – Threshold of Pain
140dBA – Military Jet takeoff/Gunshot (close range)
160dBA – Instant Perforation of eardrum
|
Noise (dBA)
|
|
|
75W
|
28.0
|
|
150W
|
28.0
|
|
300W
|
28.5
|
|
450W
|
30.0
|
| 600W | 31.3 |
The power supply is extremely quiet and only becomes slightly audible at around 80% of the rated output. Up to 280W output it doesn't register on our test equipment, measuring around 28dBa. Even at full load, it is quiet, peaking at just over 31 dBa. Fantastic results and ideal for a media center system build.
|
Temperature (c)
|
||
|
Intake
|
Exhaust
|
|
|
75W
|
35
|
39
|
|
150W
|
35
|
41
|
|
300W
|
37
|
43
|
|
450W
|
41
|
51
|
|
600W
|
44
|
56
|
The Silent Wings fan pushes a reasonable amount of air, even if it is extremely quiet. The temperatures rise to a maximum of 12c above intake ambient.
|
Maximum load
|
Efficiency
|
|
701W
|
80.13
|
At 701W the Be Quiet! Pure Power L8 650W rated just over 80% efficiency. This is not a viable ‘real world’ situation, but its interesting nonetheless.
Be Quiet! might not immediately come to mind when considering a new power supply, however the Pure Power L8 630W is a value for money investment, especially for an enthusiast user who is in the market to build a powerful, quiet, media center.
We love the styling of Be Quiet! products, the quality finish belies the modest pricing and the orange elastic trim around the fan enhances the appearance while reducing vibration based noise emissions. The modular design helps to ensure that a new system build is kept as clean as possible.
Technically the HEC design is solid, passing all our stress tests, with only minor fluctuation on the +3.3V and +5V output under heavy load. Noise suppression while not class leading, is well within the tolerance guidelines. +12V is particularly noteworthy, peaking at 35mV under full, sustained load. Other HEC units we have tested haven't performed quite as well regarding noise suppression, so this is a good indication that their designs are improving.
The crowning jewel in the design however has to be the Silent Wings fan, which is one of the best on the market. Up to 50% load it is almost silent, spinning at very low speed, in fact it only becomes audible within the last 20% of total power output. The fan may be quiet, but it produces enough airflow to keep ambient temperatures within check.
Overall, we feel this is an excellent product and well worth consideration, especially if you are in the market for media center components. The three year warranty should also bring peace of mind, long term.
You can buy direct from Scan for £68 inc vat.
Pros:
- Modular design
- very quiet
- noise suppression is excellent.
- stable power delivery, even at full load.
Cons:
- Not rated for sustained 50c operation.
- Positioned within an extremely competitive market sector.
Kitguru says: Definitely worth a look, especially for a new media center system build.
