be quiet! Introduces The System Power U9 PSU Series

Every PSU brand has to include in its portfolio a number of affordable offerings for people with tight budgets. Today be quiet! introduced the System Power U9 line, which includes four members with capacities ranging from 400W to 700W. All of the units are 80 PLUS Bronze certified. In order to keep the production cost low, there are no modular cables, which are usually the first luxury to go in budget-oriented PSUs. There is no information on the original manufacturer, however so far be quiet! has preferred FSP for the majority of its products.

Be quiet! said the System Power U9 line is ideal for office, entry-level gaming, and home theater systems because of the models' quiet operation (surprise!). We can't independently confirm this without an official rating, however, especially since these units have low efficiency ratings and small (120mm) fans. That means the fans will have to spin at higher feeds to cope with the thermal loads.

On another note, it is nice to see DC-DC converters being utilized in mainstream PSUs, and with the four PCIe connectors that the 700W and 600W models have, multiple graphics cards are supported. The 500W and 400W models have a couple of PCIe connectors, with the first hosting them on dedicated cables while the 400W unit has a single PCIe cable with two respective connectors attached. Finally, the dimensions of the System Power U9 models are compact, thanks to the reduced depth of 140mm.

The suggested retail prices in the U.S. start from $45 for the smallest System Power U9 model with 400W max power and go up to $75 for the 700W model. With the current pricing scheme, the System Power U9 units face strong competition in all wattage categories. For example, the Corsair CX450 costs $45 and uses a more advanced platform, while it is backed up by a five-year warranty. (It only has a single PCIe connector though.) The CX750 costs $70 and it is also supported by a five-year warranty. That means the main advantage of the System Power U9 models is their silent operation, but again, be quiet!'s claims about the PSUs' operating noise levels have not yet been evaluated by a third-party lab.