Be Quiet! Dark Power Pro 10 550W CM Review

Final Thoughts

Pricing

In the UK the Be Quiet Dark Power Pro 10 550W CM power supply can be had for £119.99, £118.49, £119.99 and £118.26 at some of our preferred UK retailers. In the USA we are seeing pricing of $159.99 at Newegg and $159.99 at NCIX USA. In Canada we are seeing pricing of $159.99 CAD at NCIX Canada.

Conclusion

The Be Quiet Dark Power Pro 10 550W CM power supply has done nothing but impress me. I think the results speak for themselves with exceptional regulation of +- 1% on all of the main rails under normal loads and +-1.5% under crossload. Only the minus 12 volt rail fell outside these zones but considering modern computers rarely use the minus 12 volt rail this isn’t of importance or concern. In terms of ripple the Be Quiet Dark Power Pro 10 550W held up astoundingly well under any form of loads across all the main rails, the stability of the power is just top-notch. In true Be Quiet form the noise levels were exceptional with the fan never exceeding 520 RPM in our testing which is totally silent to the point where you might be inclined to check of the fan is even spinning.

In terms of aesthetics the Dark Power Pro 10 550W looks amazing, it is one of the best looking power supplies on the market. The attention to detail on the power supply unit is exceptional and the innovation of having fan controls and the rather novel OCK, which allows you to switch between one or four 12 volt rails, is quite a nice touch. The rubber trimming at both ends is a real smart addition from Be Quiet, what better way to prevent vibration than with rubber? My only concern is with respect to the cabling. While the quality of the sleeving is above average it still doesn’t do the job properly because all the main PSU cales are only partially sleeved and the sleeving doesn’t fully hide the cabling beneath. Be Quiet’s OCK and fan cables are also not sleeved at all and both stand out with bright red and white colouring respectively. I think Be Quiet need to pay more attention to the cabling design because it does not live up to the exceptionally high standards of the rest of the product.  That said the cabling is still impressive, the amount of cables Be Quiet provide for such a “low wattage” of 550W is surprising and you’re unlikely to ever run out of cables.

Pros

• Generous provision of modular cables
• Exceptional voltage regulation
• Slightly above rated efficiency
• High PFC
• Great ripple/noise suppression
• Totally silent
• Looks great
• Anti-vibration trimming
• Integrated fan controls
• 5 year warranty

Cons

• Cable sleeving could be better
• Fan cables and OCK cable are not sleeved at all
• A very pricey unit for a 550W PSU

“Be Quiet’s Dark Power Pro 10 550W CM power supply is a beautiful piece of craftsmanship both in terms of its mind-blowing performance and its beautiful aesthetics. If having the absolute best-of-the-best is important to you then the Dark Power Pro 550W is a must-have. It definitely isn’t a cheap power supply for its wattage but you certainly get what you pay for. It is easy to see how Be Quiet have become so popular because this PSU just oozes quality, finesse and excellence.”

Thank you to Be Quiet for providing this review sample.