Thank you be quiet! for sending us this power supply to review!

Power Supplies are the unsung heroes of any PC build. Without one, your PC probably won't do much. Cheap ones can work, or they can fail unexpectedly and take other stuff with them, possibly even destroying other precious components in the process. While I would never recommend buying a cheap, low-end power supply, many PC owners are happy with mid-range models. This be quiet! Dark Power 14 1000W Power Supply is anything but that, as it sits firmly in the high end of the quality spectrum. While it's certainly expensive, it also meets some of the highest quality and efficiency standards out there, making it an excellent choice for a high-end build, or for someone who wants a power supply that can last them well through and beyond the ten-year warranty period.

Most PC builds using mid-range parts can comfortably get by with an 850W or perhaps a 750W power supply. For most of the last decade, that's what my PC used. As system components have started to require more and more power draw, PSU's (power supply units) power ratings have crept up to follow. For example, Intel and AMD make some desktop CPU models that can draw over 250W in intense workloads, though AMD's rarely exceed 200W. GPU load can be a bit more variable, as the Nvidia RTX 5080 is rated for 360W, though peaks have been recorded as high as 500W. Whatever the case, the 1000W on offer with this power supply is likely overkill for most people; on my build it offers a bit of headroom and perhaps makes sense, since I have a 16-core AMD Ryzen 5950X CPU and a high-end RTX 5080, along with seven drives (only one is NVMe). On top of that, I have a water cooler and thirteen case fans. All of that to say, a 1000W PSU is a perfect fit for me, but most users can likely get by with a smaller one. Only if I upgraded my GPU to an RTX 4090 or 5090 would a larger PSU make any sense, and even then it might not be necessary.

The be quiet! Dark Power 14 1000W is a great-looking component when taking it out of the box. Yes, you aren't likely to see it when it's powering your PC, as most cases hide the power supply. Even if yours doesn't, it's sharp looking with real heft and a feeling of quality. This model doesn't feature any RGB lighting, as that would no doubt belie it's 'Dark Power' nomenclature. On one side of the PSU there is a grill and a Silent Wings 4 fan to allow air into the power supply. The Silent Wings fans are be quiet!'s top-of-the-line fan module. I have three of those on my Silent Loop 3 CPU cooler and that is one of the quietest coolers I've ever (not) heard. The same can no doubt be said about the fan on this power supply.

This power supply is what is often called modular, which means that each included cable is not attached out of the box, but the PSU has many plugs on the inside where you can connect the cables you need. The main downside of modular power supplies is you can lose them if you misplace them. There is also slightly more room for human error if the PSU end is not connected properly. Fortunately, there are far more positives than negatives with modular power supplies, which is why they are so popular.

The main benefit is that you only need to plug in what you are using at that moment. For example, this Dark Power 14 includes enough SATA plugs for 13 drives. What if you are only using onboard NVMe drives that don't require separate power? Or, what if you don't need a GPU (unlikely with this power supply)? One more common case is that you are using either only the 12V-2x6 connector and don't need the many PCIe 6+2 pin connectors the PSU has available, or vice-versa. Whatever the need or use case, you can make sure that the PSU has only what you are actually using connected, which can dramatically reduce clutter and even improve airflow.

Another less significant but still nice benefit of modular cables is in case the installer (a.k.a. you) manage to accidentally break one of the included cables. If it's one of the many drive cables like the SATA ones, you can just swap it for one of the other included options. But if it's not, let's say it's a PCIe cable or even a motherboard one? Then, you can contact be quiet! support and have them send you only the replacement that you need. They also sell replacements if the fault is not covered under warranty. Whatever the case, the flexibility of modular PSU designs has taken over the market for a large number of PC builds today.

The included cables are quite an assortment, and should be enough for most builds. As you would expect, there are three cables meant for motherboards. The main motherboard block and two extra 12V cables drive the often exhorbitant needs of modern CPUs. There are two cables with two connectors each of the PCIe 6+2 pin cables. These are often used on older Nvidia as well as AMD GPUs. Most GPUs require one or two of the 6+2 connectors, though some higher-end GPUs need three. While it's a shame that there aren't three home-run 6+2 GPU power cables, it shouldn't cause a problem most of the time. My older Nvidia RTX 3080 used two of those connectors, and my brother's Radeon 9070 XT uses three. This tried and true GPU connector works great, and is generally worry-free.

The newest power connector for GPUs was pioneered by Nvidia, and that's the 12V-2x6 connector, which was formerly called the 12VHPWR connector. This connector is designed to supply up to 600W to a GPU, and it does so through twelve smaller wires and pins. This connector unfortunately makes many gamers sweat, since its failures (on high-end GPUs especially) are common enough to make news headlines. Thankfully, it's been working great with my RTX 5080, and I pray it stays that way. Whatever the case, it's not the fault of be quiet! that Nvidia chose to promote such a connector. And, given the high power rating of this Dark Power 14, even an RTX 5090 is likely to be powered just fine by a Dark Power 14 1000W. And if not, be quiet! also offers a 1200W model, which should be able to handle all but the most extreme overclocks.

Speaking of overclocks, this power supply has a unique feature that is certainly not common in the market. This PSU defaults to quad-rail mode, where the 12V power is delivered to various parts of the system through four different rails. For example, the CPU is given rails 1 and 2, while the GPU is given 3 and 4 by default. This should be enough for most, since just those two GPU rails should be able to deliver up to 480W, which is enough for all but the highest-end GPUs. However, if you need that last bit if juice, you can power the system off and flip a switch on the back of the power supply to enable 'OCK' mode. This mode combines all four rails into one, which means all 1000W are on tap. This is likely less efficient, and it also bypasses some current limiters. But if you need the power, it's ready and waiting for you - with just one flip of a switch.

Outside of this awesome OCK mode, what also really sets the Dark Power 14 apart is its power efficiency and tested excellence by third-parties. You see, this power supply meets and exceeds both 80 Plus Titanium rating, as well as the much stricter Cybenetics Titanium rating. This power supply was measured to be up to 95.5% efficient! That means that over 95% of the power drawn from the wall is converted to the expected voltage and delivered to the components, with only a very small amount of loss (presumably then converted to heat). This is extremely impressive! Cybenetics actually offers on their website a full testing report about this model of power supply, and you can compare it against the others they have tested as well. It ranks near the top of their list, depending on how you sort the results. Here are the detailed test results.

One thing to note here is the A++ noise rating. This is their highest rating for silence! According to their standardized testing, it has an average noise level of 10.34dBA! To put this in perspective, that is just about as loud as the average person's breathing. 10dBA is virtually inaudible, and right on the edge of detectable by humans. The background noise level in my basement is higher, so I could never measure this.

If that's not enough, just like with the OCK mode, there is also a switch on the back of the PSU for '0 RPM' mode. What this does is turn off the fan entirely if the PSU has not generated enough heat to require the fan to spin. I imagine it will kick on when gaming or performing a more power-hungry workload, but having the option to be completely silent when doing more idle tasks on your PC is a fantastic feature. be quiet! sure is living up to its name!

be quiet!'s Dark Power 14 1000W Power Supply is a near top-of-the-line offering for a price that reflects that. The Dark Power line is some of their best, with only their Dark Power Pro line offering more power while maintaining Titanum-level efficiency (up to 1600W). Whatever the case, this power supply offers high-end features, efficiency, and performance. It's also quite expensive. If you are looking for some of the most efficient power supplies on the market, give the Dark Power 14 a good, close look. Highly Recommended for the right customer!