This month I teamed up with Germany’s leading PSU, cooling and case manufacturer Be Quiet! To check out the new Dark Base Pro 900 case range. This new feature packed case joins the product line of high end chassis.
The dark base pro 900 features a steel frame encased by black anodized brushed aluminium with trimming in 3 different colours silver, orange and black that runs between the bevelled edges. They carry this colour contrast from the trim on the outside to the all the rubber grommets featured inside the case.
This new innovative case design from Be Quiet! has really impressed me. Whether its E-ATX to Mini-ITX this case can do it all. The case has a fully modular design allowing you to tear it right down to its bare steel frame allowing the versatility to create your own masterpiece. The Dark Base Pro 900 features three silent wings 3 PWM fans, extensive water cooling support, an intelligent full circuit airflow system with unrivalled flexibility and impeccable silence and cooling features. This is an engineering work of art.
Features:
The Top/Front panel features two USB 2.0 ports, two USB 3.0 ports, headphone/microphone jacks are available alongside the power and reset buttons and a QI charging pad. The lights HDD and Power button on the Pro Orange version I received glow the same orange that is featured on the trim and inside. The Front panel features and press and lock/release style door which allows access to the 5.25 Drive bays and the base/front fan filters. This also features a thick sound dampener on the inner side. The Be Quiet Logo is featured on the brushed aluminium door which is a nice sleek modern touch.
The rear of the pc features the standard hexagon-pattern air holes with a 120mm or 140mm fan mount capability. The case features eight expansion slots catering for all your needs. However, here is the twist; the rear of the case is also a part of the removable modular motherboard tray. This allows you to flip and rotate for normal or reverse ATX capabilities as well as allowing the user to raise or lower the height of the motherboard tray but I will cover that in more detail later.
The top of features a range of cooling options with radiator support from 120/140mm up to 420/480mm. This allows from 1-4 120/140mm fans to cool your system from above. These are hidden by a well designed brushed aluminium top with sleek air intake/exhaust slots.
The base features no ventilation however allows enough room between the frame and base to mount fans or radiator if desired. The base features high quality rubber grommets which raise it off of the ground around 2”. The quality of the grommets is fantastic; although they have a small surface area they have a strong firm grip.
The side panels; The motherboard side panel features a concealable fan mount that hosts two 120mm fan slots however I noticed that this does tend to take up some valuable cable management space which could be an issue. However, with the cooling options available I would consider this option a last resort but it’s a nice feature. Another feature of this panel is that it features sound dampening across the entire panel which helps reduce the noise immensely.
Side Panel two, the star attraction of this case is a huge picturesque, tinted, tempered glass panel that covers the entire feature side of the enclosure. It is secured by four thumb screws, one in each corner. The glass panel is quite secure however I did notice that I had to be very careful when removing it as there was not really any support besides the thin ledge it leant against. I would advice placing the pc on its side and removing the panel that way to reduce the risk of damaging the glass panel.
The outside edges feature a ventilation system which features L shaped passages that are designed to prevent internal component and fan noise from travelling in a straight line out of the case. This feature allows the company to maintain its trademark quiet quality.
The motherboard tray is completely removable, allowing the user to switch from the traditional PC layout or move towards the upside down, or reverse layout. The motherboard tray has three height levels in which you can mount it. This is to allow for extra room to fit any motherboard or cooling design that best suits you. On the rear of the motherboard tray it features an inbuilt PCB fan controller board. This allows you to power 4 PWM fans and 4 regular fans. It also powers the QI charging pad, two LED strips (provided with Pro version) and the fan controller / LED colour changer (located inside front panel). There is also an SSD bracket located on the rear of the motherboard tray which allows fast and easy install and removal. This modular design feature is made possible by adding two removable brackets to close the gaps when raising or lowering the motherboard tray, as well as a fully rotatable PSU extension bracket that allows the user to swap which side the user places PSU if they desire to swap from regular to reverse ATX.
*picture credit to KitGuru.net
The case supports water cooling, with radiator mounts in the front, back, top and bottom. The top supports radiator sizes of 120mm to 420mm and 180mm. The bottom supports 120/140/280mm. The front supports 120mm to 420mm. The rear supports 120/140mm. The water cooling support that is offered by this case is phenomenal. I did however run into some issues when mounting more than one radiator, with the design I chose, you will find trying to mount two 420’s is almost impossible so you’ll have to either make some home mods or go for some smaller radiators.
Conclusion:
The Dark Base Pro 900 comes in at a high $369.00 AUD, with unique key features like the tempered glass side panel, a PCB fan controller board and a built in QI charger. With prices this high you’re going to expect that the case have an excellent overall design and performance. With tempered glass cases starting to stream into the market it really do make you wonder if paying the extra $50-$100 AUD is worth it when cases like the Phanteks Enthoo Evolv ATX chassis have similar design aspects at a lower price. But it really depends on what features you desire or need. If you're like me and enjoy your quiet gaming and unique features this is definitely the better buy over other brand cases.
I was really impressed with how quiet the Dark Base Pro 900 is with a full system running inside. With the thick noise cancelling foam found in the front and side panels, and the L shaped ventilation system which prevents direct noise escape makes this case as quiet as a mouse. The case is an engineering masterpiece and looks absolutely stunning. The modular aspect of the case makes it so customisable you could literally recreate your build a hundred different ways to suit almost any desire or needs. If you’re looking for a large case with loads of features, a sleek modern design that has tonnes of water cooling support, noise cancellation with unique looks and one of a kind features like an inbuilt QI charger pad than this case is definitely worth a look especially if you’re planning to water cool your system.
**Pictures of custom build coming soon**
written by: Shane Rayson (Ninja Mods Owner/Operator)
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