Is it wrong that I’ve come to expect German engineered technology to last? One of my older gamer systems still has a 2007 be quiet! power supply still running strong. I have a couple newer units here that served a couple demo systems flawlessly even coming back after a grounding issue. None of the components were damaged which points to a good unit. And, it didn’t take several hours of dissecting and overkill lab testing to know the unit was built right for the job.
As it stands, I find myself holding yet another be quiet! PSU that promises to keep my upgrades humming. It’s rated at 80Plus Bronze efficiency, and is ready to support your single or CrossFireX and SLI systems. Join me for a quickie, no-technical boredom, close look at the affordable be quiet! Pure Power L8 700 Watt power supply.
Features and Specifications
The be quiet! Pure Power (L8) series ranges from 300 to 700 Watts. It’s designed to provide a continuous and reliable 700 Watts at full load without dropping below its 80Plus Bronze efficiency rating (which tops out at about 88%). Like all power supplies in their arsenal, the 700 Watt model has voltage added in all the right areas in regards to the dual 12V rails. A total of 150W is provided from the 3.3 and 5V rails while 636W powers the 12V rails. (If you do the math, that’s a max of 785W which means the PSU has heart.)
- 3.3V rail – 25 Amps
- 5V rail – 20 Amps
- 12V1 rail – 35 Amps
- 12V2 rail – 30 Amps
- 5VSB rail – 15W and -12V rail 3.6W
The unit has OCP, OVP, UVP, SCP, OTP, and OPP protection to help ensure failure isn’t an option. The 120mm cooling fan is rated roughly 14dB at 20% to 31dB at 100% speed. This doesn’t mean the unit will get that loud as it really depends on temps and time span of output.
The be quiet! Pure Power 700W starts at around $90 US/CA if you find it on the shelves because it’s a popular level unit. If you need a modular unit, the similarly rated Pure Power CM units (marked by the x30 in the model number) are about $20 more. All of them are currently available exclusively at NCIX.
A Closer Look at the be quiet! Pure Power 700
The be quiet! Pure Power 700W doesn’t come with anything other than screws, the power supply itself, and documentation (unlike their top end Dark Power Pro series which comes with a ton). When browsing the be quiet! website, you’ll notice the even number Pure Power series all have permanently attached wiring. Thus, the 700 Watt PSU will require just a little cable management. This is why I insist these kinds of power supplies all come with Velcro straps. It’s easy, cheap, and something any DIY or system integrator will appreciate.
At any rate, the unit is jet black sporting a matte finish. Only a white contrasting ring catches the eye around the ribbed 120mm fan. If you’re wondering, the fan is rated 13.8 dB(A) at lowest RPM and 30.8 at highest RPM. Typically, this means about 75 CFM (cubic feet per minute) of air is being pushed through the unit at full load. Let’s see just how loud the unit gets as well as how much power it provides.
Test System Setup
O-scopes come in very hand when measuring voltage and looking for ripple. Too much ripple or too little voltage and components can fail. But given our lab experience with be quiet! power supplies so far, we’ve come to expect their units to measure up, even if it isn’t their top of the line. We also have a test system that should push the unit to its maximum.
The system has an Intel Core i7-4770K Haswell Processor, GIGABYTE GA-Z87-OC Force motherboard, Kingston 8GB HyperX Beast memory, Dual NVIDIA GTX 770 video cards, and dual 1TB Western Digital Velociraptor hard drives. Yes, this puts the PSU on the hairy edge of full power but it should handle it none the less – right? Let’s find out!
Test Results
The unit was tested under two profiles: artificial and system load. Keep in mind that an artificial load does not draw power as a computer system. Instead, it pulls a steadier load for the most part. However, the system test is performed using the previously mentioned test system to check real world performance. It is not recommended that you power your system using “just enough” power but rather with at least 150 or more watts.
Voltage output and ripple is actually quite respectable. There is a little variance in power output between the artificial full load and test system load. The artificial load maxes out the unit in a steady fashion while the other is drawing a less steady, more random current through the load test suite. Maximum ripple reached just about 45mV which is perfectly fine. At 25 to 50%, the PSU was close to 87% efficient. At 100% load, the unit was 85% efficient. The unit eventually did its job up to nearly 800 watts before shutting down as expected. The bottom line is that you’re not going to lose any any components to dirty power.
Is the Pure Power 700 Noisy or Not?
The purpose here is to see how audible the PSU is when plugged in to just the test system with and without enclosures. The artificial load can create unrealistic results so this is only the test system results. At 25% load, we have essentially a desktop idle system. At 50% load, we would be doing just a little extra work. At 100% load, we’re getting some serious gaming on!
When idle, the PSU is essentially a low whisper but loud enough to hear from 30 inches away. It’s inaudible in the case. It’s during medium to full load situations that you will hear the PSU, especially at full load when more vibrations tend to assist in creating noise. This is a standard results for most any PSU on the market.
Final Thoughts
To summarize, the be quiet! Pure Power L8 700W Power Supply in a phrase, this is a strong little 80Plus Bronze unit. The voltage output is more than clean enough to power peripherals for years without unnecessary wear and tear. Its 84% efficiency is almost enough to score a Silver efficiency rating. The heat exiting the unit really doesn’t seem to be all that warm indicating that perhaps the fan’s RPM rating is just a bit much. Still, it’s nice to err on the side of caution than sacrifice the unit’s life. Either way, you won’t easily hear the unit inside your enclosure at 50% or even 70% load.
It’s not common to find 80PLUS Bronze level units that are so robust ,which puts this product in a rare position to satisfy an enthusiast that requires nothing less. Unfortunately, programmed consumers don’t often see the value past the sale price or lack of modular cabling. At the same time, I can say with certainty that you will get a very strong “power plant” that is worth far more than modular cabling. I would definitely recommend investing in the Pure Power L8 700 well before buying something cheaper, unproven, and modular.
The be quiet! Pure Power L8 700 can currently be found exclusively at NCIX (US and CA) for about $90-99.
Pros
- Robust 80Plus Bronze power plant
- Heart of an 800 Watt Unit
- 84% full load efficiency (better at lower loads)
- Clean power and voltage
- 3 Year warranty
Cons
- Not the most affordable (but definitely worth the price)
- Permanent cabling requires management
Overall Rating: 8.5 / 10.0
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