Introduction

The year 2023 in hardware will also be characterized by the advent of power supplies with support for the ATX 3.0 standard. The increasingly large power requirements for modern processors and graphics cards call for quality power supplies that users can rely on. be quiet! has introduced the Pure Power 12 M for gamers, the brand’s second power supply series with ATX 3.0 specifications support. The ATX 2.0 standard does not include maximum limits above the power supply load, but ATX 3.0 changes this. With the ATX 3.0 standard, the PCIe connection for GPUs is required to allow load changes up to three times compared to the maximum power load. Therefore, the latest power supply from be Quiet! can handle transient loads without any problems. Furthermore, the new power supply supports a large variety of products. It includes the new 12VHPWR connector for current and future-generation flagship graphics cards and up to four traditional PCIe 6+2 connectors. The entire Pure Power 12 M series is 80 PLUS Gold certified, featuring high-class technology such as LLC topology and up to five PCIe connectors for both PCIe 5.0 GPUs and GPUs with PCIe 6+2 connectors. Here we find capacities from 550W right the way up to 1,000W for more demanding machines.



The product comes with BSMI, CB, CCC, CE, cTUVus, CU, FCC, RCM, TÜV, UKCA certifications and OTP (over-temperature protection), OCP (over current protection), OPP (over-power protection), SCP (short circuit protection), OVP (over Voltage protection), UVP (Under Voltage protection), SIP (Surge & Inrush Protection) features.




Packaging & Contents

If you’ve bought cases or coolers from be quiet! before, you’ll instantly recognize the classy black box. A glamour shot of the PSU dominates the front, with nothing but its name, certificate, and wattage to distract you.



The back contains some info on rail power as well as a QR code with a link that lets you find out more about the specs. An overview of the supplied cables would have been nice, but it’s not something to dwell on.



The contents are neatly organized. The be Quiet! Pure Power 12 M takes up the right side and is encased in bubble wrap. You’ll find a basic multi-language manual on top of it and a stack of all-black cables to the side.



The bundle includes fixing bolts, zip ties, the user manual, and cables.



A total of eight modular power cables are included out of the box. All modular cables other than the ATX 20+4-pin cable are flat and easy to bend, making them extremely easy to work with. The ATX 20+4-pin cable is sleeved rather than flat. 16 AWG wires are found on the ATX 24-pin, ATX/EPS 4+4-pin, and PCIe 6+2 pin bundles. Everything else is 18 AWG, which is standard and to be expected.

The following modular cables are included out of the box:
- 1x ATX 20+4 pin, 55.0cm
- 1x ATX 4+4 pin, 60.0cm
- 1x EPS 8 pin, 60.0cm
- 2x PCIe 6+2 pin, 2 connectors each, 50.0cm to first connector, 15.0cm spacing thereafter
- 1x SATA/Molex/Floppy, 5 connectors, 50.0cm to first connector, 15.0cm spacing thereafter
- 1x SATA, 4 connectors, 50.0cm to first connector, 15.0cm spacing thereafter
- 1x SATA, 3 connectors, 50.0cm to first connector, 15.0cm spacing thereafter
These are specified measurements from the manufacturer. Most users should have no problems with be quiet's Pure Power 12 M - 850W in modern cases. 50cm to the first connector is the general standard, and this power supply met or exceeded this recommendation in all counts.




A Closer Look Outside

The external build quality of Pure Power 12 M - 850W power supply is excellent. Α good indication the company is serious about the product they are selling. We will take it apart in just a moment. Fit is done well with minimal panel gaps, and all edges are nicely finished off. The level of refinement with regards to the external build quality is right up there with all the other high-quality PSUs I have used in the past. It's classical SECC construction is conservative and pragmatic, and a detachable fan white-rimmed grille guards the primary and only cooling fan installed. The fan grille is has 17 horizontal bars spaced approximately 1/4" apart, making it very low air resistance. The 120mm fan generates airflow by drawing air from the bottom of the power supply over its internal components to keep the temperatures in check. Meanwhile, four screws secure the power supply case together. A warranty seal extends over one edge of the power supply, so you cannot open the Pure Power 12 M - 850W without voiding its 10-year warranty.



Exhaust heat is allowed to leave at the back of the power supply through the secondary honeycomb mesh opening. What you will find here is a vertically aligned male connector for power input on the western edge along with an on/off switch next to it. You will also find a sticker with be quiet!'s logo here. The low resistance honeycomb mesh design is implemented to maximize airflow and minimize air resistance. This is done as heat needs to leave the power supply as easily and efficiently as possible, because the Pure Power 12 M - 850W incorporates only one 120mm fan at the bottom. The connector could be implemented in a more efficient manner in my opinion, as the power input connector and switch took up a bit more room than average at the back. As with all active PFC power supplies, the be quiet! Pure Power 12 M - 850W has automatic full range 100V to 240V AC line voltage selection, so the user does not have to worry about manually selecting input voltage.



From our view below, you can see the full branding is implemented on one side, where you can spot be quiet's logo prominently embossed.



The other side is the specifications label. To make sure you will always see the text right side up, the orientation of it is different on both sides, so whatever side facing the user after installation will always be correct.



Like many power supplies we cover here at Xtremesystems.org, the Pure Power 12 M - 850W is a fully modular power supply. This means all cables are completely detachable from the main unit. While it is somewhat questionable with regards to why this is necessary, since cables such as the ATX 24-pin and ATX 4-pin/EPS 8-pin have practically an 100% chance of being always connected, it may prove to be beneficial to an extent when building your computer initially. The Pure Power 12M carries the same port layout as the Pure Power 11 FM, just adding the new 12VHPWR connector which is found on all of Nvidia’s recent RTX graphics cards. In other words, we find a single 12VHPWR, a motherboard 24-pin, two 8-pin EPS (CPU), four 6+2-pin PCIe, and three long cables probably made of 10 SATA plus two Molex for your drives and LED lighting. Even though they’re entirely black, clear labeling on every cable means you shouldn’t have trouble connecting them correctly. Only the ATX cable for motherboard power has a thick cylindrical shape, while the rest are flat for a more appealing look.




A Closer Look Inside

As always, we opened up our be quiet! Pure Power 12 M - 850W power supply to take a detailed look at what is going on inside. Please note that doing this at home may void your 10-year warranty thanks to a seal that extends over one edge of the power supply. But for the benefit of you, we cracked ours open so you do not need to, haha. There are no user serviceable parts inside. Disassembling the be quiet! Pure Power 12 M - 850W is quite straightforward with the removal of four screws next to the fan mount. We see a 120mm fan that provides cooling to the be quiet! Pure Power 12 M - 850W's internal components. It is connected to an add-in board using a 2-pin connector. A 120mm fan is rather small nowadays for a power supply with a bottom mounted fan, but if not a lot of heat is being generated, it should not be much of an issue. The fan is a be quiet! BQ QF2-12025-HS, as shown in our photo above. The BQ QF2-12025-HS is a rifle bearing fan specified at 0.30A for a maximum of speed of 2000 RPM. Fans with rifle bearings are quiet and have much longer lifespans compared to sleeve bearing fans and is quite suitable for this application.



Our photo above shows an overhead view of its internal components. Its OEM is HEC, a reputable OEM. At first glance, the build quality appears to be excellent. There are three main heatsinks inside. Despite the large heatsinks, there is ample space between parts for better airflow. There are no surprises internally. Heatsinks are attached well and soldering is decent.



The transient filter starts on the AC receptacle and continues on the main PCB.



The APFC converter uses three Infineon FETs and a CREE boost diode.



On the primary side, we can see two Taiwanese-made Teapo capacitors. Japanese-made capacitors are not specified on the marketing material, and as you will see, you will not find any Japanese-made capacitors in this power supply. Our version of be quiet's Pure Power 12 M - 850W series power supply incorporates two 400 V / 470 µF , 105c-rated capacitors in parallel. That said, the Pure Power 12 M - 850W is priced competitively for a fully modular 80 Plus Gold unit, so the money savings have to come from somewhere, haha.



The APFC controller is a Champion CM6500UNX, supported by a CM03AX IC.



The resonant controller is a Champion CM6901T6X.



Six Hunteck FETs regulate the +12 V rail. They are installed on the solder side of the main PCB.



Three heatsinks above these keep operating temperatures under control.



Teapo electrolytic filtering caps.



Many polymer caps are also used.



Two DC-DC converters generate the minor rails.



The supervisor controller is a Weltrend WT7527RT.




Instrumentation used


It’s time for our be Quiet! Pure Power 12 M - 850W review to shed some light on several key traits that will most impact your purchasing decision. We’ve split this part into smaller chunks to focus on each aspect better. Below we report the instrumentation used in the test phase for the Pure Power 12 M - 850W.



PowerKiller 2.0. Test bench designed for power supplies up to 2185W.
Stingray DS1M12 USB Oscilloscope
PCE-PA 6000 Wattmeter
Range 1W ~ 6kW
Accuracy ± 1.5%
Multimeters
3 x HT81
1 x ABB Metrawatt M2004
1 x Eldes ELD9102
1 x Kyoritsu Kew Model 2001
1 x EDI T053
Multi-Channel Datalogging Digital Thermometer PCE-T 1200
Center 325 sound level meter


Voltage Regulation

Voltage regulation tests are performed by connecting all power lines to our PowerKiller simulating the behavior of the power supply with loads comparable to those of a real location.
Line +3,3V
Average voltage 3,358 volt
Deviation from the ideal value (3,33 volt) = +0,85%



Line +5V
Average voltage 5,063 volt
Deviation from the ideal value (5,0 volt) = +1,26%



Line +12V
Average voltage 12,138 volt
Deviation from the ideal value (12,0 volt) = +1,15%



Given the excellent premises of the first test, we were sure of finding new confirmations with the linear load test. The average tension remains slightly higher than the reference one on all three lines, both for the excellent stability and for skilfully increased starting values. It therefore appears clear that all powered peripherals will receive adequate voltage over the entire range of use.


Efficiency

The efficiency demonstrated by be Quiet! Pure Power 12 M - 850W during our tests confirms the 80plus Gold certification by an appreciable margin.




Ripple

If you were thinking the ripple results were going to be the Achilles heel of the be Quiet! Pure Power 12 M - 850W, then you’re set to be (pleasantly I hope) surprised. On the whole, the results are surprisingly low and particularly so in both the 3.3V and 5V channels with the highest score recorded, from both of them, only being 5.8. And just to put this into context, the maximum allowed under EU standards is 50. Admittedly, the 12V rail is a little more excitable, but still hugely within acceptable limits. – On the whole, while it might not be listed among the be Quiet! Pure Power 12 M - 850W’s key features, a low ripple noise is definitely present here!






Cross Load

Line +3,3V
Maximum Vdrop 0,06 volt (1,76%)





Line +5V
Maximum Vdrop 0,10 volt (1,96%)





Line +12V
Maximum Vdrop 0,22 volt (1,80%)





The Cross Load is archived by the Pure Power 12 M - 850W with excellent results: the Vdrop remains contained within 2% on all lines of interest.


APFC

The power factor control system behaves appropriately for the product range, the progression is excellent and the power supply reaches the almost absence of phase shift between voltage and current already at 75%. We have observed better behaviors in the recent period, but the differences are so small as to be largely negligible, which is why we can only be satisfied with the electrical performance ensured by this power supply.




Final Thoughts

It’s great to see be quiet! keeping up with the latest specifications, as this Pure Power 12 M - 850W unit utilizes the latest Intel 3.0 ATX specification and PCIe Gen 5.0 GPU power connector. The overall aesthetic is excellent, and plenty of ventilation cutouts are on the top, front, and rear. With its fully modular cable design, this in itself clearly provides the user with a lot of functionality and particularly so when it comes to keeping a tidy case. The length, in addition, is also more than generous to ensure that even the bulkiest or unforgiving of chassis designs shouldn’t represent a problem. The cables you need are flat and all completely black. Crack it open, and you will find out it is built by HEC with a reasonably good selection of internal components. The bulk caps are by Teapo. They are rated for 2,000 h at 105 °C, so they are pretty good on paper. That said, I would prefer Chemi-Con or Rubycon Japanese caps here. Also the electrolytic filtering caps are made in Taiwan. Our testing clearly shows throughout all of the results that the Pure Power 12 M - 850W is not just a good power supply, it’s an excellent one! – Every single result was highly impressive and more than indicative that this is a quality PSU design. Although it might sound like we’re bordering on waxing lyrical, every single score provided in our testing was highly-impressive and with an exceptionally solid and professional design both inside and out, there is, quite honestly, nothing to fault here.



At a retail price of €150 at press time, the Pure Power 12 M - 850W is a reasonably priced. The be quiet! Pure Power 12 M - 850W is a power supply that lives up to what the name claims it is: Quiet, pure power. Not to mention the fact as well that our testing clearly showed this is a quality design that should easily outlive its already impressive 10-year warranty. Admittedly though, the key highlight when it comes to practicality is undoubtedly seen in its support for PCIe Gen5 and ATX 3.0.