be quiet! Dark Power Pro 430W examination
Before we get into testing, we must at least have a brief look at the PSUs and what (if anything) they come with. We'll start with the be quiet! Dark Power Pro 430W.
The be quiet! Dark Power Pro is... dark... in appearance, although it has a brushed metal appearance which is quite nice. be quiet! says the casing (probably internally) is coated with 'EMV protector', a special alloy designed to reduce EMI from the unit. There's also some lovely gold on the fan grille. Does it beat having silver/chrome fan grilles? We guess it's a matter of personal preference.
Bundled with the PSU are the modular cables, as you'd expect. These include two PEG (PCI-Express Graphics) power cables, so SLI and CrossFire won't be a problem. The PEG power connectors feature a 'PCI Express VGA Protector' that's intended to reduce 12V ripple. There are also options including the regular array of 4-pin molex connections, along with SATA and fan connections, as stated on the specifications page.
The fan connections can be used as part of the be quiet! Dark Power ECASO (Enhanced Cooling After System Off) system. The PSU fan and up to three others can be regulated while the PSU is on, and kept running three minutes after shutdown (providing there's still mains power). This feature only operates if necessary (i.e. if things start getting a bit warm). We can't quite decide whether after-shutdown cooling is a useful feature or not. That said, it certainly doesn't do any harm and will continue to remove heat from a computer after it is shut down. We'll let you decide whether you desire this feature or not.
Keeping with the tidy theme that comes with a modular PSU, be quiet! has also bundled some wire ties and Velcro straps. The Velcro straps come in some lovely colours, for the extrovert PSU owner. Also provided is a fully-moulded 24-20pin ATX converter, along with the usual screws and mains power lead.
A nice bundle for the be quiet! Dark Power Pro, then, going a little bit further than other PSU bundles, including a couple of extras to help keep that case tidy.
