be quiet! is a brand owned by the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

company Listan GmbH, which manufactures power supply units,

CPU coolers Computer cooling is required to remove the waste heat produced by computer components, to keep components within permissible operating temperature limits. Components that are susceptible to temporary malfunction or permanent failure if overhea ...

computer case A computer case, also known as a computer chassis, is the enclosure that contains most of the hardware of a personal computer. The components housed inside the case (such as the CPU, motherboard, memory, mass storage devices, power supply unit ...

s and

case fan A computer fan is any fan inside, or attached to, a computer case used for active cooling. Fans are used to draw cooler air into the case from the outside, expel warm air from inside and move air across a heat sink to cool a particular componen ...

s. The main target groups for products in the be quiet! range are PC enthusiasts and gamers as well as smaller and larger PC integrators. The company's headquarters is in Glinde, close to

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; nds, label=Hamburg German, Low Saxon, Hamborg ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg (german: Freie und Hansestadt Hamburg; nds, label=Low Saxon, Friee un Hansestadt Hamborg),. is the List of cities in Germany by popul ...

. At present, the firm also has branches in

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, , is a country in Central Europe. Poland is divided into Voivodeships of Poland, sixteen voivodeships and is the fifth most populous member state of the European Union (EU), with over 38 mill ...

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northe ...

and China. The products of be quiet! are directly sold from Glinde to

distributor A distributor is an enclosed rotating switch used in spark-ignition internal combustion engines that have mechanically timed ignition. The distributor's main function is to route high voltage current from the ignition coil to the spark p ...

s and

reseller A reseller is a company or individual (merchant) that purchases goods or services with the intention of selling them rather than consuming or using them. This is usually done for profit (but can be done at a loss). One example can be found in th ...

s worldwide. However, the major market of the be quiet! brand is

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located enti ...

History

The be quiet! brand was registered in 2002 as a

trademark A trademark (also written trade mark or trade-mark) is a type of intellectual property consisting of a recognizable sign, design, or expression that identifies products or services from a particular source and distinguishes them from oth ...

of Listan GmbH. Initially only PC power supplies equipped with noise-minimizing technology were marketed under the brand name. From 2008, it was decided to add products for the cooling of PCs (CPU coolers and case fans) to the be quiet! range in addition to power supplies. In 2014, be quiet! added PC cases to the product portfolio. The readers of the German computer magazine ''PC Games Hardware'' elected be quiet! "Manufacturer of the Year" in the PSU category. Also in the election of the leading German online magazines ''Hardwareluxx'' be quiet! was chosen by the readers as "Manufacturer of the Year" in the PSU category. According to regular studies by the

GfK Group GfK (originally german: GfK-Nürnberg Gesellschaft für Konsumforschung e.V., lit=Nuremberg Society for Consumer Research, label=none) is a provider of data and intelligence to the consumer goods industry. It is headquartered in Nuremberg, German ...

, based on the numbers of units sold be quiet! is consistently concluded as market leader in Germany for PC power supplies, from 2006 to their latest study in 2017.

Products

All the organizational, administrative and logistics work as well as technical development of be quiet! products are performed at the headquarters in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...

. This includes all the necessary inspiration, product conception and design in addition to the final quality control. In tune with the imperative in the brand name, a great deal of attention is paid in the development of all products in the be quiet! range to minimize noise. As a consequence the company has developed its own advanced technology and registered patents .

Power supply units

The main focus of be quiet! PC power supply products is the ATX format. However, the brand now also produces power supplies for SFX and TFX systems. The power supplies manufactured cover a spectrum of power classes from 300W to 1500W, focusing on high-end PC components.

PC cases

In August 2014, the brand be quiet! introduced its first midi-tower

PC case A computer case, also known as a computer chassis, is the enclosure that contains most of the hardware of a personal computer. The components housed inside the case (such as the CPU, motherboard, memory, mass storage devices, power supply unit ...

Silent Base 800 to the market and since then introduced two further product series (Dark Base and Pure Base).

CPU cooler and case fans

Asus Strix RTX 4090 operational corner view

In 2008, be quiet! extended its product palette with CPU coolers in tower, dual tower and top flow architectures. In addition, case fan models were produced with and without the PWM function in mounting sizes from 80 to 140 millimeters. In 2015, the be quiet! Pure Wings 2 case fan series won the European Hardware Awards, an annual selection of the very best hardware products available in the European market. In 2016, be quiet! extended its CPU cooler range with water coolers, in 240, 280 and 360mm formats.

Patents and utility models

For the technology it developed itself between 2009 and 2011, the company has lodged several registered designs and

patent A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an sufficiency of disclosure, enabling disclo ...

s in diverse regions and countries. These all share the aim: Reduction of noise in addition to optimizing the operation in cooling and power supply components. One example is the "technology of aerodynamically optimized surface texture" as used in other industrial applications to reduce operational noise and improve airflow. This technology is applied to all be quiet! fans. The case fan series Silent Wings 2 and Shadow Wings have a further example of patented technology known as "anti-vibration mounts" that not only simplify the fitting and dampen the overall vibration, but also offer a flexible choice of mounting according to application. Another such technology is known as the "fan damping assembly" that reduces vibration with a rubber seal, simplifies the fitting procedures, and so significantly reduces the assembly time needed. In addition, the company has registered another invention for a "device to anchor the fan" on the CPU cooler as a utility model. This facilitates the fitting, because the device clamps easily to the exterior of the heat sink. The bracing against the heat sink serves to absorb the fan vibrations well and so inhibits the generation of noise. The company also has a registered utility model for the "connector angular setting" for the cables of its power supply products. This special technology enables the setting and adjustment of the outlet cable angle, to suit the installation sites in differing PC configurations. This makes for tidy routing of the cables and improves the air circulation in the casing.

References

{{Reflist German brands Computer hardware cooling Computer enclosure companies Computer power supply unit manufacturers