BeQuiet! Pure Power 12, DC2 and DC2 Pro
Shortly after the Dark Power 13 power supplies, BeQuiet! is releasing significantly cheaper alternatives from the Pure Power range (12 M), in up to five output variants starting at 550 W. In this instance too, these are PSUs that are designed to meet the more stringent ATX 3.0 standard. In addition, BeQuiet! is expanding its range of thermal pastes, one of which is actually a liquid metal with a higher stated thermal conductivity than TG Conductonaut.
New, cheaper power supplies…
If you find the prices of the high-end Dark Power 13 power supplies to be high, but you’re drawn to the benefits of the ATX 3.0 standard, there are now cheaper options with 550, 650, 750, 850, and 1000 watts. And also from BeQuiet!, only from the Pure Power 12 M series.
The main difference from the Dark Power 13 is that the Pure Power 12 M has an efficiency certification of “only” 80 Plus Gold. This means that the efficiency is (compared to 80 Plus Titanium) relatively quite a bit lower, but at the same time it is higher than ATX 2.x power supplies in some situations. Especially at low loads, which is one of the basic points of the new standard (ATX 3.0). In loads that typically correspond to web interface work or multimedia use, the Pure Power 12 M power supplies should always have an efficiency above 70 %, starting from a 2 % load, with a minimum of 85 % at 10 %. For the 1000-watt variant, which uses the highest quality components, the specification is as high as 88.4 %. In the most efficient spectrum, BeQuiet! claims an efficiency of 92.8–93.1 % at 50 % load.
All power supplies are equipped with the 12VHPWR connector, which is so far only used for external power supply of Nvidia graphics cards in the current generation, Ada Lovelace. For compatibility with Radeons and older graphics cards in general, 6+2-pin connectors can also be connected to the power supplies. Output variants up to and including 750W have two, while the more powerful ones (850 and 1000W), with more powerful 12-volt branches, have four of these connectors.
The difference in connector selection across output variants is also in the number of connectors for CPU power. While the lowest, 550W variant has only one 4+4-pin, the Pure Power 12 M power supplies from 750W upwards have an additional 8-pin. The 650-watt variant has three 4-pins.
The fans used bear some resemblance to the Light Wings models, especially the white trim around the rotor that resembles an ARGB LED light guide. These fans don’t glow though, and in this case it’s just a sort of contrasting element. It is worth praising the Pure Power 12 M’s grille, which is made of wires with a circular cross-section, so with rounded edges significantly reducing microturbulence, which is stronger – noisier – on the grilles of most competing power supplies.
The Pure Power 12 M power supplies start from 95 EUR (basic, 550W model) and end at 170 EUR (for the 1 kW variant). The 650W model then has a suggested price of 110 EUR, the 750W one 120 EUR and the 850W one 140 EUR. The sale of these power supplies starts on 7 February 2023.
… and two thermal pastes
In parallel with the power supplies, BeQuiet! has also announced the two DC2 and DC2 Pro thermal pastes (sales will also start next month). The cheaper DC2 paste is based on silicone and builds on the DC1. The thermal conductivity will probably be very similar, with the DC2 BeQuiet! quotes 7.5 W/mK and for DC1 the same value was given, but with a “>” sign in front of it. So it’s possible that DC2 has even lower thermal conductivity, but with better other properties, e.g. it may be thinner and thus better at filling the smallest joints, which will make for a faster heat transfer from the cooled chip due to the larger surface area of contact with the cooler.
BeQuiet! does not reveal many details of these pastes but at least we know the ingredients. The ingredients used are the same as for DC1, but in a slightly different ratio. Only the silicone content is the same (10%), whereas in the DC2 BeQuiet! reports a higher balance of metal particles to zinc oxide (45/45 %). For the older DC1 a 60/30 % ratio is quoted.
The most demanding users will be interested in the second paste, or liquid metal DC2 Pro.
According to the parameters, it is supposed to have 7 W/mK higher thermal conductivity (80 W/mK) than the Thermal Grizzly Conductonaut, which once beat Coollaboratory Liquid Ultra in this way years ago.
The suggested retail price for the BeQuiet DC2 Pro liquid metal is 12 EUR. This is a 1g pack, which is what Conductonaut Thermal Grizzly sells for similar money (10–14 EUR depending on the retailer). You should not pay significantly more than 8 EUR for the DC2. It is only available in a tube with 3 grams of the compound.
English translation and edit by Jozef Dudáš
