@MasterZoentrobe It does support rather many 3,5" bays though. You need to get extra brackets for them but you can mount them in the rectangular holes in the front.
Re: the sound deadening panel. The panel can absorb reflected noises even if the case isn't completely closed off. Yes, it's not going to be as total as if the case were completely closed, but it does help.
Was about to say that... kind of like the difference between screaming in an empty room, and screaming in a room with a couch. It would sound completely different.
Indeed. I review coolers for Tom's Hardware, I've noticed lower noise levels in my Silent Base 802 vs other cases using the same air coolers. It can definitely make an impact on louder air coolers.
@@matthewstout7974 If sound travels in all directions, and it escapes something, then it can bounce off something outside the case, and start traveling in all directions again.
Seriously, I felt exactly the same. Unless some weird new tech comes around too large for this case, you literally have an enclosure that fully future proof for at least 10 more years. I used all my lightwings 140's from my old system in this and it came out looking great.
I have been using my 801 black for almost 6 years now. It has seen multiple systems. Multiple watercooling configurations and it has been amazing. Now.. this Dark base 901. That would be worth upgrading to. The only problem i really have with my 801 is airflow. It doesnt have a lot of that stuff.. the 901 looks GOOD!
I have same 801, I took grinder to front panel ,first popped the foam off in side cut large rectangle and recycyled a 1970 wire mesh from old speaker grill from box tv. 9x 140 fans and 3x 120 fans, great cooling for Australian weather
I like the 5.25" accessible bay. I'd actually love to see the option for up to six 5.25" accessible bays. That would allow for a full ATX board size for use as a home server once I add two cages that adapt three 5.25" bays to four 3.5" hot swap.
I would say just build your own NAS, even much older cooler master designs offer great cooling and hot swap built in functionality. It would work in this case but cost far more to do all the conversions. Hot swap is neat but not really needed for home use, even many large businesses still have all network drives solid mounted requiring tools to fix a raid error/failure.
@@daveboy2000 i got a little drawer i put small things in like sd cards, usb drives. its crazy how much i dont want to part with that silly little drawer in the 5.25 bay. this might be the case to get me to sell my 760t
I did a build a while ago in the Be Quiet! Silent base 802, it was for my work and that was pretty much the only decent case I could find for the specific use case, (server/work station). You know: neutral, no glass!, good air flow among others. It was great to build in, basically no effort at all, works great.
I love 5.25 bays. It's something I look for and would rather have 5.25 bays top-to-bottom on a front panel than glass or just big fans. It's not just for optical drives but hot-swap drive bays as well which are available for 2.5, 3.5, U.2, U.3, NVMe, etc, drives. There are various 'front panels' giving extra ports as well as fan controllers and even LCD monitors that all fit 5.25 drive bays. There are also 'cooling modules' for 5.25 bays.
Thnkyou in advance. I went ahead and got the tower after watching this video. FYI... The sound densing panels make a huge difference. I too was surprised.
This makes a good option for a Home NAS build with all those hard drive slots and the 5.25" bay. It's nice to see that they support modern standard designs, and heavy storage RAID and retro optical drive based builds all in one case!
I use my 5.25 as a storage bay for USB sticks ect. BUT the downside is that (unlike the 900) you lose TWO 3.5 drive bays (or 4 SSD mounts) if you want to use that ONE 5.25
Hey Jay, that 5.25" bay is for an optical drive. Yes, some people still use an optical drive or at least want the capability to install one. I have three re-writable DVD drives in my home server because I get called on to make CD copies of musical performances for people, and with three drives I can make a bunch of them pretty quickly. And most people do connect the HD Audio so those 1/8" jacks on the front are at least functional if not optimal. There's no advantage to leaving them unconnected.
Coming from the Dark Base 700, this new 901 series and the shadow 800 series are the only cases that come in my mind when upgrading. By far the best design combined with the best practicability! So glad they continued the series. :)
The 'deadening' material can damp resonance that might otherwise be induced in panels by fans and HDD's. As to airborne/general fan and HDD noise (yes, people actually still use the latter, much as that might surprise our host), from my admittedly limited experience with two cases that use it extensively I would say it does noticeably reduce it.
The GPU support backet was that size, because you are able to have your wires run inside the foot aswell and hide them if glass front. It has two functions :)
Yeah, these CC's are really getting ridonkulous with their lame comments. It's easy to be snobbish when you have 100k in parts just laying around. Especially when you see those Unifans He has and wonder why no one has them in stock lol.
It is a higher priced case, but the customizability you get is well worth the price. It looks very well thought out so I imagine custom looping or just a standard aio build is going to be a breeze. The hardest part would be deciding how you want to configure it with so many options 😂. Great job Be Quiet!
Thanks for a well detailed unboxing, I'm thinking of buying. I do have the Dark Base Pro 900 Rev 2 which also is fully modular. The beQuiet customer support I'd had dealings with in Germany (I'm in Athens Greece) is excellent, as i needed 2 extra hdd cases and extra hdd custom mounting screws, their respnse time was very fast and efficient with no "beating about the bush" as also was their response to certain queries I had. Thanks once again for this vid.
When? It's 2023 (almost 2024), let disk drives die already, lol. If you so desperately need an optical drive, just buy an external USB-powered one. It would be a lot neater and take up way less space.
dunno about you but now that my damn phone doesn't have a headphone jack, and my car has no tape drive anyway, I've really been leaning on the old cd player. @@kasper_429
All the features and extra brackets included reminds me of what you used to get from manufactures 15yrs ago. The ability to alter the case to fit your specific build is a great thing to have. I love the modularity here. It is not for everyone, but if you want to get creative, it allows the builder to play with options. Great case for a free-builder. Fair price for the features and forecasted lifespan. Good - wireless charging. (convivence) Bad - front open-air I/O (dust/debris)
Sound deadening usually utilizes absorbent material with reflective angles that create similar amplitude wave reflection, which reduces total detectible noise levels outside the initial area of effect. That's how auditoriums can remain relatively echo free.
I Own a Fractal Define 5 or maybe its a 7 idk its been awhile. It also has a sound deadening front panel with vents on both sides, but not the top/bottom. It is significantly quieter with the panel closed opposed to open (it swings open on this case). Sure those panels don't absorb it all but just like in a vehicle using sound deadening it reduces it down to a less noticeable level. You would be surprised how well it works.
This case looks really well engineered. It's too bad that the aeshetics just do not speak to me. I still use 5 1/4 inch bay to add more usb ports to the front of the case. I use a lot of USB devices which is also why i tend to get motherboard with more more ports. I know you cna use hubs but if the computer has enough ports why would I use a hub if I don't need to. and the sound deadening matterial and closed panels do make a difference. I use a fractal design r6 and you could hear a difference instantly of how loud the fans were just by opening the front door.
Depending on the material they used, it doesnt matter if theres mesh next to it, it actually absorbs sound waves. So although it wont negate all the sound, it doesnt do nothing.
I have had my 900 case for 6 years now and its still amazing.(also come with the Qi charger built in), I cant think of another case other than the newer 901 that is as modular or sturdy.
Why do youtubers never put the title of the product they're talking about anywhere in the video title or description? Are you afraid I'm going to click away from the video, or what? This is so annoying.
It's because jaytwocents is the worst tech youtuber and it isn't even close. He has so many vague video titles and absolute time wasters. I remember he talked about an m2 drive issue that concerned me, so I watched it waiting for some big solution he talked about "Uhh just update it" Absolutely waste of time.jaytwoscents you are a bad youtuber
I remember you showed a huge PC case last year and said you will do all radiator build on it. I don't know if there was a video about the build, this just reminded me of it.
Recently built my new i5-13600k rig in a Pure Base 600 along with a Dark Rock 4 cooler, and I'm pretty darn happy with it. I was going to have a DVD drive in one of it's two 5.25" bays, but it had died from lack of use in my old rig. I only have the two supplied case fans running on low through the built-in speed control, and was truly gobsmacked how quiet they are. The cooler's fan is also very quiet, with the cpu at default settings it's averaging only 38c browsing the net, playing movies etc, with the on-chip graphics (no add-in graphics card for me, just don't need one for my usage). The only negative points with the case were having to doublecheck every screw as they weren't tightened up fully, I had to replace an unthreaded stand-off, and the captive screws on the drive cages don't thread into the case as well as I'd expect.
Sound travels very similarly to air. That deadening panel will mitigate a lot of sound. This is why adding soft materials and such on your walls will dampen echo's because it is absorbing sound and not letting it just bounce all over the place. This style of deadening panel is used a lot in Data Centers and primarily deployed in IBM systems. Their front doors are very much like the front panel on this case. You really need to do some research on some of this stuff and not just a cursory analysis of "what you read". They help a significant amount. DVD and Blue Ray ripping are still a thing and gaining more traction as we head into this era of "you will own nothing and be happy".
I bought a BeQuiet case 8 years ago and even though i cannot see any RGB crap through it the noise insulation is sublime while keeping 40-50C temps on my CPU with a simple AIO cooler. I will never change that case. Instead, for RGB, i kept the Christmas lights in the room.
I have a Dark Base Pro 900, great case. I got it because i wanted a inverted ATX setup, makes my Aorus 2070S look nice (they have a led on the fanblades) And i put a hot-swap HDD bracket in the 5,1/4 bay.. easy access for error checking drives.
Best way to quiet a case is to run it fanless and relatively open to compensate for airflow. You still need to run fans on cpu and gpu but case fans can be gotten rid of. Both my pcs use standard cases that are open on the side (I put a grill in place of the window), with the mesh/dust filters front and top with no case fans and its a lot quieter and temps are fine.
Jay that GPU support bracket also hides the three 8 pin PCI cables or the newer 12V HPWR cable. The Qi charger on the 901 was also on the 900 Rev 2. I have a 900 Rev 2 and still use it to this day.
I actually don't mind the way mesh generally looks aesthetically but I do typically still prefer a solid panel more for that. However an aesthetic I really like and would like an return of in some way was the vented slots molded into the enclosure a lot of 90's electronics had.
Phone charger /fan control and split mic/headset on front panel?! sold! When gaming in a lot of games a headset/mic is a necessity to be on par. The phone right there and charging to use it for 2nd item verification is an important thing too. being able to take a 560 radiator in the top for overclock levels of cooling is a killer feature too.
@JayzTwoCents Thanks for including the weight in the specs. Some manufacturers don’t provide it and it frequently isn’t covered in reviews. I use a sit stand desk with an under desk tower mount. I have to keep tower dimensions and weight in mind.
I recently swapped my PC into the Silent Base 802 so I could have it on my desk in the corner. The 802 is an awesome case but the process on inverting it was a total pain because you pretty much had to completely take down the main chassis but it was totally worth it. Also having 4 of the 140mm Silent Wings fans and the 2 fans that came on the Dark Rock Pro 4 cooler running at 100% speed are quieter than the 3 Corsair fans running at 50% speed on the H150i AIO I had previously.
Agree about inverting being a total pain (Be Quiet do have a video which is worth watching), worth it though. One thing to be careful of is the little rubber grommets to keep things from vibrating. I lost one and was going to get Be Quiet to send a replacement until I got lucky and found it again. Also with the inverted layout the 8 pin ATX power connector can be a paint to route nicely,
That is a darn nice case. The front I/O is actually where it will be accessible. It looks like cable management would be pretty easy. No complaints at all on this one.
Still using the Dark Base Pro 700 after almost 6 years. Recently upgraded to a 7800x3d with a new motherboard and it still serves me perfectly. Bequiet! never disappoints me.
IF only the entire market was like this case, it would be a paradise for hobbyists and consumers alike. This brings back memories of the early 2000s when computer cases were getting really crazy with all the addon fans, lights, attachments, and other weird mods.
I love my 5000T, but god damn, that is a wonderful case. If I had to nitpick, the only thing I don't like is that the sides aren't on hinges, making it easier to open and close either side if I need to do is convenient.
Modular nature aside, I really like that this case has a 5.25 drive bay. A lot of my old data is on dvd, and I still play a lot of older videogames that are restricted to disc format. Usb optical drives are an option, yes. But I've never felt comfortable with how tempting the occasionally specialized cable that comes with is to a bored cat.
It’s 901 because it’s an upgrade from DarkBase Pro 900. The old one also had a Qi charger on top, but I didn’t have a wireless charging capable phone when I owned that case. Then it was destroyed by UPS when I moved cross country
Their version 1 Dark Base 900 also had the wireless charger. I've had it for years and it still works. This new one is full of awesome upgrades and innovations from the original. It's a company with really well thought out products, I love their stuff.
Some of us still use DVD drives. I also enjoy having a card reader on my case, I do photography and its convenient to have a place to plop my cards on the front of my tower instead of needing a USB dongle. Finding cases that look good, are affordable, AND have a 5.25" bay is actually pretty difficult. Oh, and having some sound deadening is better than nothing. Imagine a room where you put sound absorbing material just in front of you, its better than nothing. Sure, you will get echos and stuff from the sides but having something right in front of where the noise is coming out is going to help a decent amount. Better to have it and not use it than want it and not have it.
I like Be Quiet! but not the glass side panel. I think my favorite case they've made so far is the Silent Base 800 with sound dampening side panels that have ventilation.
The general consensus is that 15-30% of area covering is a good starting point to notice a difference in noise level. So even with that mesh, any damping "SHOULD" reduce the sound output level. Also that " GPU support bracket gives a channel to hide the power cables. That's a great addition
The thing about the solid front, even if the acoustics go down, because the temp is higher, the fans will be working harder, so the sound will be a higher frequency. Also because the air is forced to go from the side in, there is more turbulence. OMG that case is awesome though. My wife still wants an optical drive in her case so she can just pop a DVD in there whenever. $330, worth it.
6:49 Oh that's easy: Icydock hotswap drive bays, although I don't think they'd fit in the rather small cut-out down there. If you had 3 full width 5 1/4 slots down there you could easily host a 5-bay HDD enclosure for an awesome bulk storage config. Would buy in a heartbeat. :)
Yeah I have the Dark Base 900 and I'm glad to see in the 901 they positioned the PSU all the way to the back of the case. The PSU in the 900 is located several centimeters from the back and connects internally to the rear plug using a short power cable. I never understood the reason for this. Also, Bequiet! are one of the few cases that come with high quality fans already installed. The first thing I replaced, in other cases I've owned, were the fans.
My brother has this case, this is very cool to build, with this lego style modularity. He has it inverted to the other side and i have to say that way with a big gpu, u will need cable extensions for the gpu, because the original cable will block the way u can use the holder from the upper side. But overall, very nice!
I hope the pogo pin thing catches fire in the industry. That is such a cool idea to keep fan wires under control. I have a bit of a rats nest with my Corsair LL 120 and 140 RGB fans in my Corsair 5000D case. The case is huge and the wires on the fans could have been longer to make it easier to route them, but the fans were designed before the case (The 5000D is also a big boy).
Many people don't use the cd/dvd/br drive anyway, or use external ones. Pc case looks more neat without that any big drives being seen. And it gives more customization on the case, like putting smal figurines or whatever in the case,most specially those who are really spending alot on their pc...
Aesthetically, this case looks like a throwback to me. very basic looking black box thing. my brother has had a case for many years that has a wireless charger in the top like that. nice to see how well thought out all the features are in this thing
Nice case and a very detailed and thoughtful review. I like the 5.25" bay as I have many DVD's BR's CD's etc. I am not a fan of glass sides, they are unsafe. I don't understand why the manufacturers are not using acrylic. If you bump the corner of even tempered glass it will likely break making a huge mess that will literally take weeks to completely cleanup (hard to get all those tiny pieces that go every where) and is very unsafe for kids and doggies. After a slight fumble, I shattered the glass on my Corsair 5000D. I used the left over side parts to convert to acrylic, took a little time but not hard; so on the next fumble, it won't break and looks better too.
I have the predecessor of this Case (Dark Base Pro 900), which is almost 10 years old by now. From what i've seen in the video, this new version takes the original design & featureset (incl. the Qi-Charger) and improves it in every way. Any complained i had with the 900 seems have been adressed with this one.
That noise dampening doesn't help much with fan noise but it might help reducing high-frequencies like coil whine and makes the sound of HDDs a bit less obvious.
Love the fact that Be Quiet is still offering 5.25" bays in their cases. Having quality, current cases available that support optical drives is great.
For real! It'd be better if it could support a dozen 3.5" drives as well. It'd make a perfect NAS/Media Server case then.
I use the free AIO PC I got when I need an optical drive (ripping CDs/DVDs) 😂
@MasterZoentrobe It does support rather many 3,5" bays though. You need to get extra brackets for them but you can mount them in the rectangular holes in the front.
Yeah, there are so many of us ripping blu-rays for use on NAS’s as well! There are dozens of us!
@@vdevov Practically a gross!
Re: the sound deadening panel. The panel can absorb reflected noises even if the case isn't completely closed off. Yes, it's not going to be as total as if the case were completely closed, but it does help.
Was about to say that... kind of like the difference between screaming in an empty room, and screaming in a room with a couch. It would sound completely different.
Yep, this. Sound goes in all directions. So if you block one particular direction then the rest of the room has X-1 sound blasting around.
yea, he should not talk about sound anymore, it's insulting lol
Indeed. I review coolers for Tom's Hardware, I've noticed lower noise levels in my Silent Base 802 vs other cases using the same air coolers. It can definitely make an impact on louder air coolers.
@@matthewstout7974 If sound travels in all directions, and it escapes something, then it can bounce off something outside the case, and start traveling in all directions again.
I have this case, and for the first time ever, this actually feels like an endgame case for me. Well worth the money.
Seriously, I felt exactly the same. Unless some weird new tech comes around too large for this case, you literally have an enclosure that fully future proof for at least 10 more years. I used all my lightwings 140's from my old system in this and it came out looking great.
I've been rocking the Darkbase 900 ver 2 for 4 years now and its been a great case. The right combo of performance, tower server, and mature looks.
Does the Rev 2 has a wireless charger? My Dark Base Pro 900 rev 1 had it
I wanted to get the 900v2 for my latest build. It looks way better than the 901.
Same, but it's very small inside.
@@kevo05s Yes it has, but it's a pretty slow charger, the 901 probably has a faster charger.
@@kevo05s Yeah it does, its not the fastest but it works well enough while you spend your day on the PC.
I have been using my 801 black for almost 6 years now. It has seen multiple systems. Multiple watercooling configurations and it has been amazing.
Now.. this Dark base 901. That would be worth upgrading to.
The only problem i really have with my 801 is airflow. It doesnt have a lot of that stuff.. the 901 looks GOOD!
The Airflow Front Panel (BGA10) is still floating around for purchase.
I have same 801, I took grinder to front panel ,first popped the foam off in side cut large rectangle and recycyled a 1970 wire mesh from old speaker grill from box tv. 9x 140 fans and 3x 120 fans, great cooling for Australian weather
I like the 5.25" accessible bay. I'd actually love to see the option for up to six 5.25" accessible bays. That would allow for a full ATX board size for use as a home server once I add two cages that adapt three 5.25" bays to four 3.5" hot swap.
It's also nice if you still rock an optical drive.
I would say just build your own NAS, even much older cooler master designs offer great cooling and hot swap built in functionality. It would work in this case but cost far more to do all the conversions. Hot swap is neat but not really needed for home use, even many large businesses still have all network drives solid mounted requiring tools to fix a raid error/failure.
@@daveboy2000 i got a little drawer i put small things in like sd cards, usb drives. its crazy how much i dont want to part with that silly little drawer in the 5.25 bay. this might be the case to get me to sell my 760t
I did a build a while ago in the Be Quiet! Silent base 802, it was for my work and that was pretty much the only decent case I could find for the specific use case, (server/work station). You know: neutral, no glass!, good air flow among others. It was great to build in, basically no effort at all, works great.
I love 5.25 bays. It's something I look for and would rather have 5.25 bays top-to-bottom on a front panel than glass or just big fans. It's not just for optical drives but hot-swap drive bays as well which are available for 2.5, 3.5, U.2, U.3, NVMe, etc, drives. There are various 'front panels' giving extra ports as well as fan controllers and even LCD monitors that all fit 5.25 drive bays. There are also 'cooling modules' for 5.25 bays.
That's actually a beautiful case! Love how it's so customizable.
Thnkyou in advance. I went ahead and got the tower after watching this video. FYI... The sound densing panels make a huge difference. I too was surprised.
This makes a good option for a Home NAS build with all those hard drive slots and the 5.25" bay. It's nice to see that they support modern standard designs, and heavy storage RAID and retro optical drive based builds all in one case!
My 900 will eventually become my primary home server. It was a very versatile case. This one looks like it’ll come close.
I use my 5.25 as a storage bay for USB sticks ect. BUT the downside is that (unlike the 900) you lose TWO 3.5 drive bays (or 4 SSD mounts) if you want to use that ONE 5.25
@Pilot_Steve I use a hotswap module for 4 ssd/hdd. There are even moduels for up to 8 ssd if you need.
Hey Jay, that 5.25" bay is for an optical drive. Yes, some people still use an optical drive or at least want the capability to install one. I have three re-writable DVD drives in my home server because I get called on to make CD copies of musical performances for people, and with three drives I can make a bunch of them pretty quickly. And most people do connect the HD Audio so those 1/8" jacks on the front are at least functional if not optimal. There's no advantage to leaving them unconnected.
that 5.25 is perfect for M-Disc archival solutions , its a really neat case!
damn, I almost forgot that Discs Drives exists 😅
Great to see a review of the case. Dawid does tech stuff recently used it for a dual EPYC build but didn't go into detail about the case.
Coming from the Dark Base 700, this new 901 series and the shadow 800 series are the only cases that come in my mind when upgrading. By far the best design combined with the best practicability! So glad they continued the series. :)
The 'deadening' material can damp resonance that might otherwise be induced in panels by fans and HDD's. As to airborne/general fan and HDD noise (yes, people actually still use the latter, much as that might surprise our host), from my admittedly limited experience with two cases that use it extensively I would say it does noticeably reduce it.
Love big cases. Phil's getting good at the stop motion and it's an excellent use of the technique too.
I did a build in the 900 once and WOW. I was totally blown away by the quality of the case. It also has a QI charger at top.
The GPU support backet was that size, because you are able to have your wires run inside the foot aswell and hide them if glass front. It has two functions :)
Came here to write this 😅
Yeah, these CC's are really getting ridonkulous with their lame comments. It's easy to be snobbish when you have 100k in parts just laying around. Especially when you see those Unifans He has and wonder why no one has them in stock lol.
It's nice to see Jay using proper metric units.
It is a higher priced case, but the customizability you get is well worth the price. It looks very well thought out so I imagine custom looping or just a standard aio build is going to be a breeze. The hardest part would be deciding how you want to configure it with so many options 😂. Great job Be Quiet!
Thanks for a well detailed unboxing, I'm thinking of buying. I do have the Dark Base Pro 900 Rev 2 which also is fully modular.
The beQuiet customer support I'd had dealings with in Germany (I'm in Athens Greece) is excellent, as i needed 2 extra hdd cases and extra hdd custom mounting screws, their respnse time was very fast and efficient with no "beating about the bush" as also was their response to certain queries I had.
Thanks once again for this vid.
I actually really like that they included a 5.25" bay. Freaking sometimes you just gotta use an optical drive
When? It's 2023 (almost 2024), let disk drives die already, lol. If you so desperately need an optical drive, just buy an external USB-powered one. It would be a lot neater and take up way less space.
dunno about you but now that my damn phone doesn't have a headphone jack, and my car has no tape drive anyway, I've really been leaning on the old cd player. @@kasper_429
All the features and extra brackets included reminds me of what you used to get from manufactures 15yrs ago. The ability to alter the case to fit your specific build is a great thing to have. I love the modularity here. It is not for everyone, but if you want to get creative, it allows the builder to play with options. Great case for a free-builder. Fair price for the features and forecasted lifespan.
Good - wireless charging. (convivence)
Bad - front open-air I/O (dust/debris)
we do love a good be quiet! case build! I would love to see more done with them on this channel ngl
Sound deadening usually utilizes absorbent material with reflective angles that create similar amplitude wave reflection, which reduces total detectible noise levels outside the initial area of effect. That's how auditoriums can remain relatively echo free.
was going to buy this case when i see dawid did build with it looks really nice, until i seen the price £250-£300 😂
and i thought when the OG 900 pro came out £180 was bad lol
yeah sadly everthing gets more expensive
I Own a Fractal Define 5 or maybe its a 7 idk its been awhile. It also has a sound deadening front panel with vents on both sides, but not the top/bottom. It is significantly quieter with the panel closed opposed to open (it swings open on this case). Sure those panels don't absorb it all but just like in a vehicle using sound deadening it reduces it down to a less noticeable level. You would be surprised how well it works.
I very much appreciate the cable management and layout flexibility of this case. The included fans are awesome too
This case looks really well engineered. It's too bad that the aeshetics just do not speak to me. I still use 5 1/4 inch bay to add more usb ports to the front of the case. I use a lot of USB devices which is also why i tend to get motherboard with more more ports. I know you cna use hubs but if the computer has enough ports why would I use a hub if I don't need to. and the sound deadening matterial and closed panels do make a difference. I use a fractal design r6 and you could hear a difference instantly of how loud the fans were just by opening the front door.
I wish Fractal would make the North deep enough to use a side fan with a current GPU. If they did, I would buy it and it would be my perfect case.
Depending on the material they used, it doesnt matter if theres mesh next to it, it actually absorbs sound waves. So although it wont negate all the sound, it doesnt do nothing.
I bought the BQ DB 900 like 6-7 years ago now, just amazing cabinet.
I have had my 900 case for 6 years now and its still amazing.(also come with the Qi charger built in), I cant think of another case other than the newer 901 that is as modular or sturdy.
Jay, the dampening material is mainly for the high frequencies. That way, any hums from the fan are a lower tone, making it more bearable.
Why do youtubers never put the title of the product they're talking about anywhere in the video title or description? Are you afraid I'm going to click away from the video, or what? This is so annoying.
It's because jaytwocents is the worst tech youtuber and it isn't even close. He has so many vague video titles and absolute time wasters. I remember he talked about an m2 drive issue that concerned me, so I watched it waiting for some big solution he talked about
"Uhh just update it"
Absolutely waste of time.jaytwoscents you are a bad youtuber
The unit he is talking about was obvious, not sure why all the tears.
i love that they even offer the options for Wireless charging, is utterly extra & i love it
I remember you showed a huge PC case last year and said you will do all radiator build on it. I don't know if there was a video about the build, this just reminded me of it.
I've the Be Quiet 900 rev 2 and am really happy with it. Good to see this review. Perhaps this case for a next build if I keep my old pc.
I have the 900 - I love it. And you're right - it's a big heavy thing. No plonking this this on your desk next to your screen.
Recently built my new i5-13600k rig in a Pure Base 600 along with a Dark Rock 4 cooler, and I'm pretty darn happy with it. I was going to have a DVD drive in one of it's two 5.25" bays, but it had died from lack of use in my old rig.
I only have the two supplied case fans running on low through the built-in speed control, and was truly gobsmacked how quiet they are. The cooler's fan is also very quiet, with the cpu at default settings it's averaging only 38c browsing the net, playing movies etc, with the on-chip graphics (no add-in graphics card for me, just don't need one for my usage).
The only negative points with the case were having to doublecheck every screw as they weren't tightened up fully, I had to replace an unthreaded stand-off, and the captive screws on the drive cages don't thread into the case as well as I'd expect.
Awesome case & review Jay!
GN should consider measuring the dB's of this case with the side panels switched between solid/mesh
Sound travels very similarly to air. That deadening panel will mitigate a lot of sound. This is why adding soft materials and such on your walls will dampen echo's because it is absorbing sound and not letting it just bounce all over the place. This style of deadening panel is used a lot in Data Centers and primarily deployed in IBM systems. Their front doors are very much like the front panel on this case. You really need to do some research on some of this stuff and not just a cursory analysis of "what you read". They help a significant amount.
DVD and Blue Ray ripping are still a thing and gaining more traction as we head into this era of "you will own nothing and be happy".
I bought a BeQuiet case 8 years ago and even though i cannot see any RGB crap through it the noise insulation is sublime while keeping 40-50C temps on my CPU with a simple AIO cooler.
I will never change that case. Instead, for RGB, i kept the Christmas lights in the room.
As huge BeQuiet! Fan Boy who recently did a Pure Base 500DX build. I wish this tower was available a year ago! Looks like an awesome case for anyone!
ooooo I want to build in this so bad ... I think that may be my next case when I need to! Would love to see a Jay build in this!
I am running a BeQuiet Silent Base case and the thing is fantastic. Tons of acoustic foam make it whisper quiet.
I wish they would make some horizontal cases like Thermaltake used to...I like horizontally mounting my system.
I have a Dark Base Pro 900, great case.
I got it because i wanted a inverted ATX setup, makes my Aorus 2070S look nice (they have a led on the fanblades)
And i put a hot-swap HDD bracket in the 5,1/4 bay.. easy access for error checking drives.
Love the modularity! I think I can fit this in my budget if I don't include a CPU at all.
I bought a DarkBase 700 (mid-tower size) several years ago - favorite case I've ever owned!
Best way to quiet a case is to run it fanless and relatively open to compensate for airflow. You still need to run fans on cpu and gpu but case fans can be gotten rid of. Both my pcs use standard cases that are open on the side (I put a grill in place of the window), with the mesh/dust filters front and top with no case fans and its a lot quieter and temps are fine.
I really miss my Cooler Master Stacker 832. That case was ahead of its time!
That's actually a beautiful case! Love how it's so customizable.. That's actually a beautiful case! Love how it's so customizable..
As I need an optical drive for work seeing cases which have the option for them still is great.
Damn Be Quiet not F'ing around with this set up. The convenience of all this is fantastic with all the headers attached to the different panels
The 5.25" sold me. I still run a Blu-ray optical burner in my rig for whatever reason. Mostly since my kids hog the main tv! Lol
Jay that GPU support bracket also hides the three 8 pin PCI cables or the newer 12V HPWR cable. The Qi charger on the 901 was also on the 900 Rev 2. I have a 900 Rev 2 and still use it to this day.
I actually don't mind the way mesh generally looks aesthetically but I do typically still prefer a solid panel more for that.
However an aesthetic I really like and would like an return of in some way was the vented slots molded into the enclosure a lot of 90's electronics had.
i love a 5.25" bay. useful for dvd/bluray optical drives and how else do you rip your CDs into eye-toons - well done Be Quiet.
Interesting case, you should have did a build with it at the end of the video or maybe make a separate video showing a couple different builds.
Phone charger /fan control and split mic/headset on front panel?! sold! When gaming in a lot of games a headset/mic is a necessity to be on par. The phone right there and charging to use it for 2nd item verification is an important thing too. being able to take a 560 radiator in the top for overclock levels of cooling is a killer feature too.
@JayzTwoCents Thanks for including the weight in the specs. Some manufacturers don’t provide it and it frequently isn’t covered in reviews. I use a sit stand desk with an under desk tower mount. I have to keep tower dimensions and weight in mind.
I recently swapped my PC into the Silent Base 802 so I could have it on my desk in the corner. The 802 is an awesome case but the process on inverting it was a total pain because you pretty much had to completely take down the main chassis but it was totally worth it. Also having 4 of the 140mm Silent Wings fans and the 2 fans that came on the Dark Rock Pro 4 cooler running at 100% speed are quieter than the 3 Corsair fans running at 50% speed on the H150i AIO I had previously.
Agree about inverting being a total pain (Be Quiet do have a video which is worth watching), worth it though. One thing to be careful of is the little rubber grommets to keep things from vibrating. I lost one and was going to get Be Quiet to send a replacement until I got lucky and found it again. Also with the inverted layout the 8 pin ATX power connector can be a paint to route nicely,
Any sound deadner on steel panels do bring down rhe sound and vibration noise. So it's nice that they have applies some on certain panels.
That is a darn nice case. The front I/O is actually where it will be accessible. It looks like cable management would be pretty easy. No complaints at all on this one.
Still using the Dark Base Pro 700 after almost 6 years. Recently upgraded to a 7800x3d with a new motherboard and it still serves me perfectly. Bequiet! never disappoints me.
I hope you put a Blu Ray drive in whatever build you do in this case just for [STUFF] and giggles
Sweet Case I know what one i'm going to be upgrading too now. Thanks Jay.
IF only the entire market was like this case, it would be a paradise for hobbyists and consumers alike. This brings back memories of the early 2000s when computer cases were getting really crazy with all the addon fans, lights, attachments, and other weird mods.
The 5.25 inch bay screams "gimme some U.2 hotswap drive cages and populate me with some really good server grade SSDs..."
That is definitely conveniently designed and it can help anyone get the desired build positioning they want.
PC's aren't aging fast enough so I have an excuse to upgrade, I want this case so bad.
I love my 5000T, but god damn, that is a wonderful case. If I had to nitpick, the only thing I don't like is that the sides aren't on hinges, making it easier to open and close either side if I need to do is convenient.
Modular nature aside, I really like that this case has a 5.25 drive bay. A lot of my old data is on dvd, and I still play a lot of older videogames that are restricted to disc format. Usb optical drives are an option, yes. But I've never felt comfortable with how tempting the occasionally specialized cable that comes with is to a bored cat.
I still use a DVD drive, just recently to get photos from 20yr old backups.
It’s 901 because it’s an upgrade from DarkBase Pro 900. The old one also had a Qi charger on top, but I didn’t have a wireless charging capable phone when I owned that case. Then it was destroyed by UPS when I moved cross country
Their version 1 Dark Base 900 also had the wireless charger. I've had it for years and it still works. This new one is full of awesome upgrades and innovations from the original. It's a company with really well thought out products, I love their stuff.
Some of us still use DVD drives. I also enjoy having a card reader on my case, I do photography and its convenient to have a place to plop my cards on the front of my tower instead of needing a USB dongle. Finding cases that look good, are affordable, AND have a 5.25" bay is actually pretty difficult.
Oh, and having some sound deadening is better than nothing. Imagine a room where you put sound absorbing material just in front of you, its better than nothing. Sure, you will get echos and stuff from the sides but having something right in front of where the noise is coming out is going to help a decent amount. Better to have it and not use it than want it and not have it.
I have their other model, silent base 801 - it's huge and I love it
I like Be Quiet! but not the glass side panel. I think my favorite case they've made so far is the Silent Base 800 with sound dampening side panels that have ventilation.
Nice to see a 5.25" bay as my present case has a blue ray drive and also a dedicated multi format memory card reader fitted.
The general consensus is that 15-30% of area covering is a good starting point to notice a difference in noise level. So even with that mesh, any damping "SHOULD" reduce the sound output level.
Also that " GPU support bracket gives a channel to hide the power cables. That's a great addition
The thing about the solid front, even if the acoustics go down, because the temp is higher, the fans will be working harder, so the sound will be a higher frequency. Also because the air is forced to go from the side in, there is more turbulence.
OMG that case is awesome though. My wife still wants an optical drive in her case so she can just pop a DVD in there whenever.
$330, worth it.
6:49 Oh that's easy: Icydock hotswap drive bays, although I don't think they'd fit in the rather small cut-out down there. If you had 3 full width 5 1/4 slots down there you could easily host a 5-bay HDD enclosure for an awesome bulk storage config. Would buy in a heartbeat. :)
That looks like a Great start to a Phantom Menace Build!
I use the be quiet! Silent Base 601 Mid Tower - very happy
Yeah I have the Dark Base 900 and I'm glad to see in the 901 they positioned the PSU all the way to the back of the case. The PSU in the 900 is located several centimeters from the back and connects internally to the rear plug using a short power cable. I never understood the reason for this. Also, Bequiet! are one of the few cases that come with high quality fans already installed. The first thing I replaced, in other cases I've owned, were the fans.
Wow! That is certainly a STATIONARY computer case
My brother has this case, this is very cool to build, with this lego style modularity. He has it inverted to the other side and i have to say that way with a big gpu, u will need cable extensions for the gpu, because the original cable will block the way u can use the holder from the upper side. But overall, very nice!
2:00 Steve will now come out with video with detailed charts showing his happy/mesh front ratio.
I hope they make a mini version but still with atleast 1 5.25" bay
I hope the pogo pin thing catches fire in the industry. That is such a cool idea to keep fan wires under control. I have a bit of a rats nest with my Corsair LL 120 and 140 RGB fans in my Corsair 5000D case. The case is huge and the wires on the fans could have been longer to make it easier to route them, but the fans were designed before the case (The 5000D is also a big boy).
The 5.25" bay is for your cigarette lighter/cupholder accessory.
Many people don't use the cd/dvd/br drive anyway, or use external ones. Pc case looks more neat without that any big drives being seen. And it gives more customization on the case, like putting smal figurines or whatever in the case,most specially those who are really spending alot on their pc...
I have the Dark Base Pro 900 ... absolutely love it!
wait until you have to lift once its populated... no bueno
Aesthetically, this case looks like a throwback to me. very basic looking black box thing. my brother has had a case for many years that has a wireless charger in the top like that. nice to see how well thought out all the features are in this thing
Nice case and a very detailed and thoughtful review. I like the 5.25" bay as I have many DVD's BR's CD's etc. I am not a fan of glass sides, they are unsafe. I don't understand why the manufacturers are not using acrylic. If you bump the corner of even tempered glass it will likely break making a huge mess that will literally take weeks to completely cleanup (hard to get all those tiny pieces that go every where) and is very unsafe for kids and doggies. After a slight fumble, I shattered the glass on my Corsair 5000D. I used the left over side parts to convert to acrylic, took a little time but not hard; so on the next fumble, it won't break and looks better too.
this case has really clever solutions to common and annoying problems... i'm starting to love it
I have the predecessor of this Case (Dark Base Pro 900), which is almost 10 years old by now. From what i've seen in the video, this new version takes the original design & featureset (incl. the Qi-Charger) and improves it in every way. Any complained i had with the 900 seems have been adressed with this one.
That noise dampening doesn't help much with fan noise but it might help reducing high-frequencies like coil whine and makes the sound of HDDs a bit less obvious.
i use my 5.25 for my SSD hot-swap bay and its awesome. I miss casing having 5.25 soooo much. I love when cases has it