be quiet! Straight Power 12 1500W 80+ Platinum ATX 3.0 Power Supply Review
Voltage Ripple and Efficiency Testing
When reviewing new power supplies at OC3D, we use our dedicated SunMoon PSU Tester, one of the most expensive (if not the most expensive) tools in the company’s arsenal. Here we can see exactly how well a unit functions. We look at both a PSU’s efficiency and power stability. To do this, we utilise bespoke PSU testing equipment to give us an in-depth look at each power supply’s performance. This kind of data collection is not possible when using a PSU with standard PC components.Â
Testing Limitations – 1200W
While our SunMoon power supply tester is a powerful piece of equipment, it is not all powerful. Our unit can only safely draw up to 1200W of power from PSUs, which is more than enough for most PSU testing, but too little to test the fullest capabilities of be quiet’s insane 1500W Straight Power 12. This means that the 100% load setting of this review will be limited to the maximum power that our SunMoon PSU tester can draw, not the maximum power than the Straight Power 12 can deliver.Â
Power Efficiency
be quiet’s Straight Power 12 1500W power supply is incredibly efficient, as should be expected from an 80+ Platinum rated unit. The PSU sits on the higher-end of our efficiency charts and is only surpassed by more efficient 80+ Titanium rated PSUs. In our testing this PSU was over 90% efficient at all times, which is an impressive result. Â
Voltage Ripple
Voltage ripple is often underlooked by consumers, being best described as the stability of specific voltages that the PSU delivers. A PSU with bad ripple will see voltages vary a lot more, which can damage components or shorten their lifespan in extreme cases. Voltage ripple stability is one of the many reasons why you should buy a high-quality power supply and avoid anything that isn’t 80+ certified.
An important thing to note here is that none of the PSUs in this graph are “bad”, even bottom of the chart units like the original Corsair RM1000 (2014) bring usable within your system without any issues. Even so, having low ripple is an important factor to consider when purchasing a new PSU. Cleaner power will help extend your PC’s components’ lifespan by placing each product’s power circuitry under less strain. Even if the RM1000 is usable in a modern system, though, we would expect all new high-end power supplies to perform better than this unit in terms of ripple. A lot has changed since the days of the RM1000.
In terms of voltage ripple, be quiet’s Straight Power 1500W unit sits on the higher end of the graph below, but voltage ripple remains at reasonably low levels. If you want a be quiet power supply that features less voltage ripple, the company Dark Power 13 PRO series exists to fill that niche. Remember, the Straight Power 12 1500W is not be quiet’s best power supply
