When it comes to silent PC builds, the go-to specialist is bequiet!. This German company specializes in creating premium PC components that can stay silent while cooling your machine. In in this bequest! Straight Power 11 review, we’re going to take a look at one of its high-end power supplies, seeing how well it performs when put to the test. Sporting a fully modular design and unique, no-wire circularity, the Straight Power 11 PSU is targeted at power users seeking a premium product. As such, it comes in a variety of different wattages. For this review, we looked at the Straight Power 11 80 Plus Platinum 850 watt power supply.
The Straight Power 11 sports a modular design and massive airflow opening.
Specs on specs on specs
The Straight Power 11 comes in a variety of different forms, ranging from 450 watts to 1,200 watts. It’s also offered in two different power efficiencies: 80 Plus Gold and 80 Plus Platinum.
For internal, non-redundant use — the use case of most residential applications — the former certification means up to 90 percent efficiency in the U.S. and up to 92 percent efficiency in EU regions. Platinum, which is more expensive, offers up to 92 percent efficiency in the U.S. and 94 percent efficiency in EU regions.
All of that is to say that the Straight Power 11 is a high-end power supply, one that converts nearly all electricity it’s receiving from the wall into usable power for your computer. Furthermore, the Straight Power 11 includes four independent 12 volt rails. Instead of stressing a single rail for all of the current, the Straight Power 11 splits up the flow, leading to a much cleaner signal.
In the box, you get a range of modular sleeved cables for the PSU, details of which will follow. They come in at an advertised length of “up to 115cm” according to bequiet!. “Up to” is the key phrase here, however. The SATA and Molex combo cable gets to about that distance, but the 24-pin ATX power cable measures in at around 65cm.
Still, we were able to get everything managed and routed in a bequiet! Dark Base Pro 900, which we recently reviewed.
The various cables included in the box.
A modular approach
As is the case with most high-end power supplies, the Straight Power 11 is fully modular. When it comes to accommodating your PC build, this power supply has you covered, with a cable and connector for nearly any scenario.
Starting with the cables, you get two CPU power cables, one with an 8-pin connector and another with a 4+4-pin connection, two 6+2 PCIe power cables, a dual 6+2 power cable, 24-pin ATX power, two SATA and Molex combo cables, and two SATA power cables. Bequiet! also includes two Velcro cable ties so you can store your unused cables.
Despite the long list of available connections, the Straight Power 11 makes everything easy to understand. Each connector outside of the 24-pin uses its own connection on the PSU, ranging from 5-pin for the SATA and Molex connections to 12-pin for PCIe connections. That makes getting everything plugged in super simple.
It’s worth noting again that we reviewed the 850 watt 80 Plus Platinum unit here, as the connectors you’ll receive will vary based on the wattage you need and the continuous output the power supply can, well, supply.
Although standard fare for most modular PSUs, bequiet!’s attention to detail with the cables it includes is excellent. Small additions like a dual 6+2 PCIe connector means that you don’t need two cables from your power supply for your graphics card. It also includes Molex, and although you’d be hard pressed to find anything that’s using Molex over SATA these days, it’s still nice to have the option.
The Straight Power 11 sports a unique wireless design.
Silent operation
Similarly to other bequiet! products, the Straight Power 11 is focused on silent operation, and based on our testing, that’s the case. Although we saw the fan ramp up when stressing the CPU and GPU during our testing, we were never able to actually hear the power supply over the rest of the machine.
We even tried to test the sound level of the power supply on idle versus load but weren’t able to come up with any conclusive results. The ambient sound level was the loudest thing our mic picked up, no matter if we were drawing 50 watts or 500 watts. Needless to say, your other components will get much louder than the Straight Power 11.
There are few reasons for the Straight Power 11’s silent operation, the most prominent of which is the Silent Wings 3 fan that cools the unit. Over other fans, the Silent Wings 3 includes small tunnels for the air to travel through on the fan blade. Air can easily get into those tunnels, too, with the Straight Power 11’s large airflow opening (like, so large you shouldn’t handle screws around it).
We didn’t encounter any coil whine during testing, either, which comes at little surprise seeing how well the Straight Power 11 is built. Although it’s tough to get truly silent operation with any sort of high-powered machine, the Straight Power 11 is a step in the right direction.
The verdict
All things considered, the Straight Power 11 is a premium power supply at a relatively low price, fit with excellent components and a sleek look. We recommend a buy. With multiple 12 volt rails and up to 80 Plus Platinum efficiency, the Straight Power 11 is a seriously impressive unit, targeted mostly at power users. It’s also fully modular, unlike bequiet!’s top-of-the-line Dark Power Pro 11.
Availability with this product is a problem, however. Looking around Amazon and NewEgg in the States, we were only able to nail down 80 Plus Gold versions of the power supply, with NewEgg not carrying any of the available wattages. B&H had better availability, but only because the Straight Power 11 is considered a “special order.”
Taking that into account, the Straight Power 11 is a power supply we’d fully recommend, but at the present time, you may have a battle on your hands to locate one. If you can find one and you’re in the market, you should pick it up.
