be quiet! Straight Power 10 CM 600W Review

Allan 'Zardon' Campbell September 16, 2014 Featured Tech Reviews, Power Supplies

The be quiet Straight Power 10 CM 600W is using the Silent Wings 3 135mm fan (model BQ SIW3-13525-HF). This fan is rated to run up to 1,500rpm although it is going to run much slower under most situations. At maximum speed it can push 70.2 CFM.

This power supply looks like an FSP OEM design and the overall build quality is quite high. There are a few heatsinks to help with heat transfer. The company are using an Active Clamp + SR (Synchronous Rectifier) design.

This uses IC controllers instead of older style passive components, so the power conversion is constantly monitored and always being kept at optimal efficiency level. Active Clamp + SR is a cost effective topology to create power supplies with an 80 PLUS Gold certification in Watt ranges up to 800 Watts.

They are using a DC to DC system to generate +3.3V and +5V voltages. All of the Straight Power 10 power supplies offer four +12V rails except the 400 watt unit, which has three. The Straight Power 10 can handle 97% of the available power to the +12V rails.

The design is using a Chinese TEAPO capacitor in the primary stage. It is rated 420V 330uF @ 105C. We were a little disappointed to note that be quiet! didn't instruct the OEM to use a higher grade Japanese capacitor (Nippon Chemi Con, Rubycon etc) for the primary stage, but clearly they are working to fairly tight margins. Second side capacitors are also Chinese 105c rated.

Above, the modular PCB board.

The hard wired cable is sleeved into the chassis and protected within a grommet. This will ensure the cable won't fray against the metal chassis over many months of use.