be quiet! Silent Base 800 Case Review

Inside of the be quiet Silent Base 800 (Orange) Computer Case
Feature Skeleton shot

The internal skeleton is lightweight but fabricated to German Standards. Lots of structural re-enforcement went into this internal frame of this new case. Some things that are very common in this case building and some really enigmatic things that make one ponder, but that is coming later in the page.

First let’s get a good look at the front of the case in the bright lights. The case is well engineered to hold everything you might want to install in it except for 360mm Radiator. The most unique portion of this picture is that the standoffs are built into the case like little bumps around the area. Also there is the motherboard seating guide pin that is located in the center just under the CPU access hole which is also generous enough for AMD, Intel, and high end Intel 2011-v1 and v3 motherboards. I took the liberties of adding the rubber hard drive inserts that are in orange and very soft but strong rubber for vibration control during use.

front side view

The back also shows the generous sized hole in the back of the case for CPU heat sink access and changing without taking out the motherboard. There is also 3/4 of an inch of wire management space behind the motherboard tray for wires. Not the greatest distance since the interior of the side panel is taken up with insulation so any overage here but not any space taken away either since the insulation is not very thick. Though I prefer the old way of taking out the motherboard and changing things since one false move can bend Intel CPU pins and cause you to lose more money than the time you have gained for changing, but I digress. The back is made very well and the CPU P8 Access point at the top back is in a good place as long your CPU plug is located near the back I/O shield. If not there are extensions and there is also access from the front area near the case wires on the top of the case.

back view

The colored rubber grommets are the highest quality I have ever witness and sure to last a long time without becoming brittle. In fact I don’t see a brittle breakdown for these grommets in the next century even if the case was left exposed to the hot arid sun of a desert for that long. They are extremely pliable and pop back in place even after being bent for a long period of time. These are cast in orange color but the other models of this same case are molded in silver and black depending on the case that you choose to get.

rubber grommets

The front of the case reveals the inner workings of the cooling process for the be quiet! Silent Base 800 Computer case. The two Pure Wing 2 140 fans in the front and through the top ODD drive bay is the back 120mm exhaust fan but take a careful look at both of the hollowed out top and bottom case covers.

Front skeleton view

One of the very cool ways “be quiet!” has designed these case covers is so that ventilation can come from the back and the front of the case allowing for more access to outside air, both for intake and exhaust. It is a very innovative idea that could be well overlooked unless you take awhile studying the case as I have over the past week. Both the top and the bottom covers are made this way to allow an air duct to be formed on top and the bottom of the case.

Flow through top

Here is a picture of the “Decoupled” fan attachment process. The decoupling is a way of separating the metallic vibration vulnerable screw that is affixed to the frame and decoupling it from the fan by use of two thick rubbery “O”rings that keep any vibration or noise of the fan from resonating or vibrating the frame creating a silent coupling of the two surfaces.

decoupled

I did bring up enigmatic in my forward at the top of this page and here is the reason why I brought it up. First, let’s remind ourselves that this is the first case from be quiet! and during R/D and Fabrications there can be some changes made last minute or miscommunications between fabrication and Engineering. I think this is one of those times where this happened, but that is pure speculation on my part. It could be some elaborate way to keep air noise from making sound around the drive cages but I think that the removable drive cages or modules were added last in the process and a part that could not be changed last minute was the actual entire frame of the case. So there are two sets of bars that are in front of the air flow and this can slow down air flow into the case directly. I have inserted a few of the drive cushioned rubber grommets to show my point but this is something that had me pondering and as a Modder I would be cutting this part out to increase air flow. But as a reviewer I am planning on testing another placement for the intake air fans in a different location altogether.

What Happened here

One thing that I absolutely love about this case is that in order to take off a panel you don’t have to remove the entire electrical wires from the case. As anyone who has taken the front and top panel off after a build has been completed, the process usually causes some problems as the switches and lights have to be either manually removed or the wires need to be long enough to move the panel enough to do what you need to do behind it. In this case both panels are independent of the electrical components of the entire case. The top sets of components are set into one mold that is screwed to the frame and only covered by the top cover with access holes.

bequiet_base_800_controller_wire_plugs

The top on/off button and the lighting of that same area can be easily disconnected by simple plugs that are keyed so you always plug them in correctly and easily take the panel off without any problems.

“NOTE: In order to take off the top panel the front panel must first be removed or disconnected at the top so that the locking lip can be freed and the top can be removed.

top panel switch

Below is the semi tool free 5-1/4″ Optical drive bay area shown on both sides. The common motherboard access side has a great tool-free mechanism and the back has a place that a screw can securely hold the device in place. This can be a noisy area if you use a Optical drive as the mechanically secured screws could vibrate the frame on both sides of the device. For most this is not an issue as most people don’t use an internal DVD drive anymore but if you do take steps to decouple the devise from the frame in much the same manner as the fans have been decoupled. Using things around the house can work great like rubber from another device or even a common Band-Aid could be used to decouple the ODD drive from the frame of the case. Also if you plan on using a fan controller in this area I would suggest that the flat face touch screen type be uses as any protruding dials may stop the top door from closing all together.

bequiet_base_800_box_inner_Top_Box_Drive bay

Removing the hard drive bay modules can be tricky because of the screw in the back that holds them steady to the frame. This is for noise control and not to trick the owner but it does take a minute or two to figure out what you did wrong when you take out the three front holding screws that keep the sliding modules securely in the track that the slide out on.

top cage hold points

As we head back to the rear end of the cage we find the area of the PCI slots, seven of them to be specific. That gives you room for that ATX motherboard you always wanted but just double SLI or Crossfire here. This is where I found a small splinter that really got under my proverbial thumbnail but the problem was not enough to make me dislike this case. Actually I do have high hopes for this premiere case from be quiet! but they are going to have deburr those slot covers. The holes inside the individual removable covers are nice but they are so unfinished as if they came straight from having the holes pressed out straight to paint. Not great but not enough to throw away the baby with the bathwater.

7 PCI B

There are many different configurations you can have with the power supply; fan up, fan down, long and short boxed there will be no problem with choosing a power supply because this will be a no brainer. No reason to worry because all the standard ATX power supplies can fit perfectly inside the be quiet! Silent Base 800 Case. The only thing that you will have to decide is if you need the fan to intake air from the inside of the case or completely go around the case by setting the fan down for fresh air to be pulled from the bottom of the case.

Power supply area

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