be quiet! Straight Power 11 1000W

Features & Specifications

be quiet! is a German company that specializes in manufacturing quiet PC components, including PSUs, cases, and coolers. The most recent addition to its portfolio is the Straight Power 11 line, which includes six members ranging from 450W to 1000W. They all feature fully modular cabling and 80 PLUS Gold efficiency.

The Straight Power 11s aren't meant to address enthusiasts. Rather, they're aimed at builders on a budget who still want high quality and impeccable reliability.

The series' 1kW flagship is the subject of today's review. It is equipped with one of be quiet!'s own Silent Wings 3 fans and a funnel-shaped opening that the company says facilitates optimal airflow. Additionally, the fan's blades are purportedly tuned for moving air. The fluid dynamic bearing and six-pole motor are claimed to reduce vibrations, minimizing operating noise. Naturally, we'll be testing all of that.

Inside, the PSU's manufacturer uses a wire-free design, again optimizing for airflow through the chassis. This is of critical importance when it comes to delivering lots of power as quietly as possible. The only let-down for folks with lots of graphics cards are the six PCIe connectors. Most 1kW PSUs sport at least eight. But we've already established that the SP11 family wasn't built for high-end applications. It's more of a mid-range solution.

Contrary to most of the PSUs available today, the E11-1000 employs four +12V rails. While we prefer single-rail designs, we don't have a problem with PSUs featuring multiple +12V rails so long as their power distribution is good; their EPS and PCIe connectors are fed by different rails; and their OCP triggering points are high enough.

Specifications

The E11-1000 is backed by a five-year warranty, which is much more realistic than the 10- or 12-year guarantees other brands tout. Longer warranties are better for customers, of course. But crazy-long coverage can backfire and cause trouble for the companies providing them, affecting end-users as well. That's why we prefer a touch of realism with the best possible terms. After all, most of us won't be keeping our PSUs in service for a decade; it's better to replace a high-quality power supply after five or six years of hard use. Lower-end models may need to be swapped out even more often. Usually, it's pretty obvious when you start having power quality issues: sudden restarts, audible coil whine under taxing loads, system hangs, etc.

Power Specifications

The minor rails are very strong by today's standards. Two of the four +12V rails have a higher OCP limit than the others. And finally, the 5VSB rail has 15W of capacity that can hit 20W before its OCP kicks in. That's plenty for most PCs.

Cables & Connectors

There are two EPS connectors, as we'd expect from a 1kW PSU. The number of PCIe connectors is limited, though. Usually, high-capacity PSUs have at least eight PCIe connectors. But it seems as though be quiet! chose to keep this number at six to avoid creating competition with some of its higher-end power supplies.

Cable length is adequate, and the same goes for the distance between connectors.

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The E11-1000's cables are shown in the photos above.

Power Distribution

As mentioned, there are four +12V rails, two of which offer a maximum of 30A output. The other two are set at 22A, though their real OCP triggering points are notably higher.

The E11-1000 has three PCIe sockets on its modular panel and, according to be quiet!, the second socket draws power from both 12V3 and 12V4.

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