Overall
The new Dark Power Pro 13 models are a great example of what be quiet! can do when keeping costs down isn’t a concern. Which is funny because all of their products feel the same way, only this time around this really is the tip-top of the market. Once you look past miners, the market for high-wattage power supplies like this is going to be overclockers and for crazy hold nothing back PC builds and be quiet touches on features for both situations. The Dark Power Pro 13 is a multi-rail design that when using the included jumper or the PCIe bracket-mounted switch, overclockers can switch over to a single-rail design. Then for high-end builds, the build construction with the brushed aluminum housing and the custom Silent Wings fan offers a very premium feel and look. Real brushed aluminum does pick up skin cells that it sands off of your hands when you handle it so keep in mind you will need to wear gloves or clean it up when you install it. That premium styling is also carried on into the individually sleeved cables which look great. Speaking of cable, for overclockers and crazy builds you have all kinds of flexibility in connections with two of the new 12VHPWR cables capable of 600 watts each or 1000 watts when both used. You also have six 6+2 PCIe cables with a design that allows you to hide the extra 2 pins if you don’t use them and also no daisy chaining for the best possible power connection. So there is support for new Nvidia cards with 12VHPWR or AMD and some aftermarket cards with the traditional PCIe options allowing for a mix of both if needed. All with the most efficient design possible, premium components, and an impressive 10-year warranty which with the latest standard should be usable for those 10 years and more. While the 10-year warranty is impressive, the direct competition to this is the Seasonic Prime TX 1600 Watt and that power supply has a 12-year warranty, be quiet may need to step it up to keep up with the competition there. Overall though, every step of the way gives a high-end experience from the completely unique packaging design, custom cables, overall construction, and even with the accessories where you get cable ties, the overclocking switch bracket, and cable combs for the individually sleeved cables. They even include two sets of mounting screws, one being thumbscrews.
As I mentioned at the start of our coverage, I do still recommend hitting up a few of the outlets that have the capability to confirm the power regulation performance. But beyond that aspect, the Dark Power Pro 13 covers everything else. I do think that the 1600 wattage is a little crazy especially now that SLI isn’t really a concern. But with CPU and GPU power usage going up every year the lower-end 1300-watt model isn’t out of range for someone who wants to make sure they never have to worry about power with a long-term investment in a quality high-end power supply. The 1600-watt Dark Power Pro we have here sells for $459.99, which is a LOT for a power supply. For comparison though, the Seasonic Prime TX 1600 watt is its direct competition and is $529.99, so it isn’t out of line with the competition. It is just in that range of high-end stuff that people with a lot of extra spending money can afford, which is a category that is well beyond my means normally lol.
Live Pricing: HERE
