While power demands in modern computers have risen slowly but surely, not much else has changed in the current switch mode power supply, and even 10 year old power supplies are still valid and capable, often only lacking full modularity - a term used to describe power supplies where you plug in the cables you need, and nothing else, unlike your old one that had a bunch of red, yellow and black cables going in and out, despite you only needing a few of them. The ATX standard is twenty years old, so if it's built to spec, it will fit - but it's remarkable that the standard has remained unchanged for two decades.
With the emergence of Nvidia's RTX 40 Series, an upgrade overall could no longer be kept back, and while there are a few other things to note, the main thing is that there is a specific 600 Watt output for graphics cards, eliminating the need for odd tri-connector converter cables for use with mainly high-end Nvidia GPUs that unlike their AMD rivals can eat more power than a modern laptop. So, a PCIe 5.0 12VHPWR connector is the main attraction as it uses a 12+4 pin connector instead of three individual 8 pin connectors.
There are a few extra updates, like changes to the 12V rail, higher efficiency on low load scenarios, and faster system wake up/power on, but honestly, for 99% of users, the PCIe 5.0 connector with its 600 Watt connector is the main feature. That being said, the modern CPU's are also becoming more and more demanding with the latest Intel CPUs drawing around 300 Watt at maximum load, while we at Gamereactor usually only detect about 50-60 Watt of power being used by the motherboard for the rest of the computer, we are aware that some readers experience 100+ Watt - meaning that if you have a factory overclocked RTX 4090, which can easily pull 580+ Watt from a power supply, you need more than 1kw of power for your ultra high-end rigs already today. And that is actual power usage, and given that your power supply unit can never be 100% effective, you will draw even more power than that from the wall socket.
On top of this, with previous generations of Nvidia RTX 3090 cards, power spikes were a big problem, as these spikes ask for up to 3x the nominal power, meaning that your PSU must allow for up to 1800 Watt, although for a very small amount of time, usually less than 100 microseconds.
This is in short, why we need extremely, over-the-top, overpowered, high quality power supplies that are very expensive. But let's be honest, it has always been like that, and anyone who bought a 1kw PSU more than a decade ago can remember the agony of paying what was roughly twice that of a good midrange graphics card for one power supply. Keeping that in mind, the asking price today isn't that horrendous.
We were given the opportunity to try out the smallest of the Be Quiet! Dark Power Pro 13 range, and while small might not be the right word as it's rated at 1300 Watt and almost weighs 2.5 kg, it does feature all of the best Be Quiet! has to offer. It's fully digitally controlled, peaks at 94.4% efficiency, and is Titanium 80 Plus certified. While cheaper series such as the Pure Power and Straight Power also feature a lot of the same technology, and in the case of Straight Power also can use Full Bridge mode (double transistor mode), the Dark Power Pro is just slightly better and has slightly better specs, even to the point where it's using a 6-pole fan motor and fluid dynamic bearings for the 135mm Be Quiet! Silent Wings fan.
It's noteworthy though that the three beforementioned series all have the same level of user protection, both in relation to temperatures, over current, over power, over and under voltage, surge and inrush.
The Dark Power Pro 13 is visually a tad different from other Be Quiet! products as it has an impressive 6x 12V rails, and even has an overclocking key, combining multiple 12V rails into one. There are also small things that are just really nice, like the sleeved cables, extra cables, no less than six 6+2 pin outlets, and a whopping 16 SATA connections. And the build quality of this thing is just extreme. My only problem with it is the external power cable. The sockets are made to match, meaning that you can't plug in whatever cable you like, you need to use the one supplied by Be Quiet!, and being somewhat messy like me with cables, that could spell disaster in the future.
There is no doubt that this is a premium offering, aimed at hardcore gamers who might want to overclock, which, let's be honest, most of us do if given the option. The entire box and the packaging is really nice, and even the coating on the aluminium chassis of the unit is finished nicely. And it comes with a 10-year warranty, which is pretty impressive. So, is the price, which my local dealer "only" wanted a bit over 400 Euros for it. I honestly expected the price to be at least 150 Euros more. Yeah, it's the same price as an RTX 4060, but still cheap for a high-end PSU made for overclocking with every single feature available.
The layout of the output for the cables actually does need some praise, unlike most others, they are spaced out nicely, and very clearly marked. And to my surprise, there are two PCIe 5.0 connectors, each with a dedicated 12V Rail providing 55A continuous current, furthermore, each output is marked with a corresponding 12V rail number. However, one should always consult the manual to avoid unbalanced loading of the PSU. Also, overclocking your PSU using all the 12V rails in one, I can't recommend it for daily use, it's meant to avoid the protection mechanisms during heavy overclocking, which is very useful as you avoid overloading a single 12V rail, but for daily use, you want all the protection you can get.
Inside, filtering is done with eight capacitors and two inductors and a dual rectifier bridge configuration. The passive components include three massive "Japanese" capacitors, and yes, two from Nippon Chemi-Con, and one higher capacity one from Nichion, all 400 volts.
We managed to get some high level loads, even hitting the 1300 Watt mark, because the fans are completely silent until then. Heat also isn't an issue due partially to large heatsinks, and we never saw temperatures go above 37 degrees. While I didn't manage to break it during testing, I also didn't manage to put maximum pressure on the over-current protection, simply because my household circuit breakers can't deliver that much.
So, should you buy one? Well, there are cheaper options, even at this wattage, and even from Be Quiet!, but the price isn't that scary at this level of performance, and the build quality is just excellent, and the overclocking button is really handy if you are serious about your overclocking.