Be Quiet! Pure Power 10 CM 500W Review

Performance Analysis

Voltage regulation is fine – the 12V rails do not vary by more than 1.5 percent, which is hard to argue with. Other results are solid too, with efficiency being improved across the board at both high and low levels, although not by enough to catch up with 80 Plus Gold-rated units (unsurprisingly).

Ripple does indeed appear to have improved too; the difference isn't massive, but better still means better.

There also appears to be truth to the claims about the PSU's lowered noise output. At low loads, even though the fan stays spinning, it's indistinguishable from silent units. Meanwhile, at full load we see a noise reduction of nearly 2 dB(A), although we're only able to compare the new 500W model with the older 600W one, which likely does produce more heat.

Conclusion

The Pure Power 10 family is an improvement over the Pure Power 9 series, but the improvements are moderate at best; there's no killer upgrade to speak of. Pricing is actually a little higher now, too, although this is a result of the unfortunate industry-wide increases we're seeing rather than a deliberate attempt to rip off customers on Be Quiet!'s part.

Ultimately, our conclusion is really the same as it was with the Pure Power 9 PSU. This is certainly a solid power supply in its own right, and it delivers decent results in all areas that matter and shows no symptoms of unreliability. It's well-suited to any mid-range build, and will even handle high-end single-GPU rigs nicely. However, a look at the wider market is its downfall, as the competition just has more to offer at this price point (including wattage and efficiency), and that's unlikely to change unless Be Quiet! can get its pricing down or improve its feature set: 80 Plus Gold, a semi-passive fan, and a better ambient rating all come to mind. We're hoping to see a real drive to improve power supplies in the 400W-500W range, as systems that need more than this are becoming increasingly rare as hardware efficiency continues to improve.