BeQuiet! Pure Power L8 530W CM Review

1. Introduction2. BeQuiet! Pure Power L8 530W CM (Bundle & Cables)3. BeQuiet! Pure Power L8 530W CM (Exterior)4. BeQuiet! Pure Power L8 530W (Internal)5. BeQuiet! Pure Power L8 530W CM (Super High Res Gallery)6. Testing Methodology & Results7. Closing Thoughts8. View All Pages

Today we are looking at the BeQuiet! Pure Power L8 530W CM, which has recently enjoyed some price reductions in the United Kingdom. We have reviewed many of the BeQuiet! L8 power supplies in the last year and we felt it was time to have another look at this popular range. The pricing of the L8 range is so competitive – you can in fact pick this 530W unit up for around the £65 mark now.

As a quick recap it is worth looking at the L8 range again. There are four 80 Plus Bronze Certified power supplies in this range –  the 430W, 530W, 630W and 730W. The 530W is actually the only unit we haven't reviewed to date.

BeQuiet! have been using FSP as a partner now for many years, but this range is focused around HEC designs. The ‘CM' tag stands for ‘Cable Management' – meaning these are modular units.

The company offer a full three year warranty with this range of products, for peace of mind.

BeQuiet! Pure Power L8 530W CM Overview:

• Exceptionally quiet operation achieved through an array of careful optimizations, including use of a custom-designed, quiet-optimized 120mm Fan.
• 530 Watts of continuous power provide massive power reserves for those times your PC really needs it all.
• Cable management with long cable reach simplifies component installation and reduces annoying clutter, increasing airflow and improving cooling.
• 80PLUS Bronze certification and up to 88% power conversion efficiency let you do more work with the same power and reduce your power bills.
• AMD CrossfireX certification readiness allow you to build powerful Multi-GPU systems with confidence.
• German product conception, design and quality control.

BeQuiet! box artwork is immediately recognizable. The designers really do deserve some credit as these stand out in a crowded market.

Inside are the modular cables, a regional specific power cable, a user manual, screws for installation and some cable tidies for enhancing the appearance of the build.

This is not a pure modular design, with the main system cables hardwired into the unit (above left). The modular cables are all high grade and sleeved (above right).

Cable	Connectors
MB 20+4 pin	x1
CPU 4+4 pin	x1
PCI E 8 pin (6 pin +2)	x2
PCI E 6 pin	/
SATA	x5
MOLEX	x4
FDD (floppy)	x1

The cable configuration is decent for a 530W rated unit, with two PCI E 6+2 pin cables supplied. This means the BeQuiet! Pure Power L8 530W CM can be used with a reasonably high end single graphics card, or two lower specified models in Crossfire or SLi.

The BeQuiet! Pure Power L8 530W CM is finished to very high standards, identical to the other units we have tested in this series before. The paintwork is hard to scratch and it passes our ‘rough handling' test, which involves running a screwdriver head along the surface with a little pressure. It does however attract fingerprints, although they can be removed easily with a cloth.

The top of the power supply looks great, with the large fan hidden behind a black grill, with orange ‘racing trim'. 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 help improve airflow. There is a power button and connector at the side.

The modular panel is colour coded for ease of installation. There are only a handful of cables however so it would be difficult to get confused.

Be Quiet! Pure Power L8 530W
DC Output	+3.3V	+5V	+12V1	+12V2	-12V	+5Vsb
Max Output	24A	15A	28A	20A	0.3A	3A
Total Power	120W		480W (40A)		3.6W	15W
	530W

Both +12V output can deliver 40A of power in total, enough for a high powered graphics card.

Be quiet! are using one of their proprietary sleeve bearing fans – the Silent Wings BQT T12025-MS-16. This is a 120mm unit which is rated to a maximum of 23.8 dBa at 100% load (1,455 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 but the design is capable and soldering quality is excellent. The PCB supports two +12V rails. There is a daughter card shielded behind a protective strip. 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 stage capacitor is a CapXon unit rated 400V 330uF @ 105c. This is interesting as previous Pure Power L8 supplies we have looked at (430W and 630W versions) used 85c rated Teapo capacitors. Secondary capacitors are by Teapo. A modular PCB also houses some of the capacitors.

The IC on the board supports OCP for two +12V rails and all the other protections. (over voltage, under voltage, short circuit, over temperature, over power). The hardwired cables are all sleeved and tied well into the chassis to help protect against fraying.

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

We combine all +12V output for the results below.

DC Output Load Regulation
Combined DC Load	+3.3V		+5V		+12V		+5VSB
	A	V	A	V	A	V	A	V
110W	1.19	3.32	1.19	5.05	8.04	12.14	0.50	5.01
220W	2.07	3.31	2.08	5.04	16.12	12.08	0.50	5.02
340W	3.05	3.30	3.06	5.03	25.13	12.05	1.00	5.04
435W	4.02	3.29	4.07	5.02	33.17	12.02	1.50	5.05
530W	5.08	3.27	5.00	5.00	40.00	11.97	2.50	5.07

BeQuiet! Pure Power L8 530W CM	Maximum Load
	589W

Load regulation is very good across the output range. The power supply delivered 589 watts of power before it would shut down, safely.

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
493W	1.0	3.33	1.0	5.07	40.5	11.96	0.2	-12.04	0.50	5.01
153W	15.0	3.25	15.0	4.95	2.0	12.11	0.2	-12.06	0.50	5.02

The power supply coped well with the intensive cross load testing, especially when hit with 15A on both +3.3V and +5V output. The rails did dip a little, but not into a danger zone.

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
110W	10	10	20	10
220W	15	15	20	10
340W	15	15	25	15
435W	15	20	30	20
530W	20	25	40	20

Noise suppression from the unit is good, peaking at 40mV on the +12V output. +3.3V and +5V peak at 20mV and 25mV respectively. All well within industry rated tolerance levels.

Efficiency (%)
110W	82.23
220W	85.78
340W	86.87
435W	86.54
530W	83.35

Efficiency for an 80 Plus Bronze Certified unit is good, peaking at just under 87 percent at 50 percent load. This drops to 83.35 percent at full 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. That said, measuring lower than 28dBa proves very difficult, unless in strict laboratory conditions.

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 Refrigerator
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)
110W	<28.0
220W	<28.0
340W	<28.0
435W	30.2
530W	31.1

This is an exceptionally quiet power supply, with the fan barely spinning at all until the last 15% of load. Even at full load, you would be hard pressed to hear any noise emissions, especially from a normal distance of 1 to 2 meters.

Temperature (c)
	Intake	Exhaust
110W	36	39
220W	38	44
340W	41	48
435W	44	53
530W	46	58

The large fan doesn't spin very hard at all, although the internal temperatures never rise to anything we would consider troublesome.

Maximum load	Efficiency
589W	82.8

Pushing the supply above its rated limits generates an efficiency level of around 82.8%. This is not a viable ‘real world’ situation, but its interesting nonetheless.

BeQuiet! were one of the highest scoring companies in our 2012 end of year awards, and the Pure Power L8 530W CM reinforces their position as one of the finest enthusiast choices for a high grade power supply.

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. It is also quite resistant to damage.

The modular design helps to ensure that a new system build is kept as clean as possible. This power supply is ideal for a single graphics card gaming system and a high power media center.

Technically the HEC design has proven solid, passing all our stress tests without a hiccup. There is only minor fluctuation on the +12V output when loaded close to the maximum rated figure. Noise suppression is excellent with all rails holding well within the industry rated tolerance levels.

We have said before that one of the strongest selling points of these units is the Silent Wings fan which is without question one of the best on the market. This unit is basically silent, even when loaded to over 500W. We could only hear it when we placed our ear within 20 centimeters of the grill. The fan is good enough to produce a decent flow of air to keep ambient temperatures well within check.

This is a great product and well worth consideration for both a gaming system and media center. The company give a three year warranty with the L8 530W CM, for peace of mind.

You can buy direct from SCAN for £63 inc vat.

Pros:

• Modular design.
• very quiet.
• noise suppression is excellent.
• stable power delivery, even at full load.
• 105C capacitors

Cons:

• Positioned within an extremely competitive market sector.

Kitguru says: Definitely worth a look, especially for a new media center system build or single card gaming system.

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