bequiet! Pure Power L8 500W Review

The Pure Power L8 Series power supplies all come in an attractive black finish broken only by the branding and the necessary labeling.  The finish is smooth and slightly glossy.  I am always a fan of keeping things clean especially in a windowed build.  No sticker overkill here.

Like all of the award winning be quiet! Power supplies, the L8 is built using the Silent Wings technology.  The L8 features a 120mm version of this flow-optimized fan that is German engineered with rifle bearing technology giving it a 100,000+ hour expected life.  Additional venting is provided by the honeycomb venting to the rear.

As you would expect with a 500W unit the L8 500W is also relatively small at 150mm x 150mm x 86mm (~5.9in x 5.9 in x 3.4 in) making it an attractive choice for many HTPC and SFF builds.

Power is supplied across two independent +12V rails to help improve power signal stability and can reach peak wattage of 550W.  The rails are split out as a rail for both the PCI-Express  and CPU runs and a rail for the main 20/24pin and the drive runs.  Input wattage is rated at 8/5 A.

I should also point out the L8 500W is rated 80 Plus Bronze for up to 88% power conversion.  That's not something you expect to find in a full featured sub $80 power supply.

80 Plus (trademarked 80 PLUS) is a voluntary certification program intended to promote efficient energy use in computer power supply units (PSUs). Launched in 2004 by Ecos Consulting, it certifies products that have more than 80% energy efficiency at 20%, 50% and 100% of rated load, and a power factor of 0.9 or greater at 100% load. That is, such PSUs will waste 20% or less electric energy as heat at the specified load levels, thus reducing electricity use and bills compared to less efficient PSUs. Sometimes, rebates are given for manufacturers who use 80 Plus-certified PSUs. -Wikipedia