be quiet! Dark Base Pro 900 Case Review

Introduction & Specifications

be quiet! are a well-known brand in the PC cooling sector, but they are not as widely known in the world of cases. That could be about to change as I got my hands on one of their latest full tower options, the Dark Base Pro 900 which features a large tempered glass windowed panel. Is this the best PC case? Aside from the side panel, the Dark Base Pro 900 has a plethora of features with the most notable being that the case features a very modular design; the HDD bays are fully repositionable and the motherboard tray can be relocated depending on your personal requirements. This case also supports larger form factor motherboards such as E-ATX and XL-ATX boards!

Specifications

be quiet! Dark Base Pro 900 Features

• Re-locatable motherboard tray with the possibility of an inverse layout and possibility to position window on the left side or the right side.
• Removable motherboard tray doubles as a test bench with rubber feet.
• Fully windowed side panel from tinted and tempered glass.
• Eye-catching, freely positionable LED illumination with custom colour co-ordination (switch cycles through colours).
• Wireless charger for Qi-enabled devices on top at the front of case (e.g. wireless smart phone charger)
• Individual repositionable HDD trays.
• Supports E-ATX, XL-ATX, ATX, M-ATX & Mini-ITX motherboards.
• Brushed Aluminium exterior.
• Three pre-installed, virtually inaudible be quiet! SilentWings® 3 140mm PWM fans.
• Advanced PWM hub and manual fan controller supports up to four PWM and four 3-pin fans.
• Effective full-circuit airflow system with noise-reducing vents all around the case.
• Extreme water-cooling support ready for radiators up to 420mm on top, front, back and base.
• Completely sound insulated with modular decoupled elements for motherboard, power supply and drive slots.
• Three years manufacturer’s warranty.
• German product conception, design and quality control.

Closer Look – Exterior

Even before I opened the box, I knew the be quiet! Dark Base Pro 900 was going to be a monster, but upon removing the packaging, I was greeted with this beautiful specimen of a full tower chassis. The tempered glass window covers the virtually the entirety of the width and height of the case; perfect for showing every component you have off in all its glory.

The case itself measures at 577 x 243 x 585mm in size (L x W x H) which makes this one of the biggest available consumer towers on the market, but given the E-ATX and XL-ATX motherboard support, you really do need the space to make the most of a build. The be quiet! Dark Base Pro 900 is perfect for high-end workstation systems, high-performance gaming PCs and with its excellent water cooling support, perfect for enthusiasts wanting the best possible performance from a case.

At the top and at the front, the Dark Base Pro 900 has a very comprehensive front panel I/O which features 2 x USB 3.0 ports, 2 x USB 2.0 ports, 2 x 3.5mm audio jacks (headphone & microphone) as well as a small reset switch and a nice medium sized power button.

One of the most predominant non-PC related features of this chassis is the wireless charging pad which supports Qi enabled devices such as smartphones. Such an innovative design and supports the overall premium feel of this case.

Due to the subtle design of the Dark Base Pro 900, there is a door at the front which features be quiets! sound dampening material; this helps reduce noise and vibrations for optimal acoustic performance. Opening the door reveals 2 x 5.25mm drive bays and 2 x 140mm be quiet! SilentWings 3 PWM-enabled fans for silent cooling without sacrificing performance.

In front of the fans is a removable and cleanable dust filter; no-one wants dust in their system do they!

On the flip side of the case, the other side panel features an embossed be quiet! logo which sits on an adjustable air vent; perfect for allowing airflow to protrude around the rear of the motherboard tray. This panel also features a massive amount of sound deadening material and weighs very heavy; It’s also very robust and made from top quality metal!

At the base of the case, we have 4 feet which not only protects your surface from damage/scratches, but it also allows adequate airflow to come in from the bottom. There are luscious amounts of venting around the bottom of the case, which is duplicated along the top trim too. This case is all about performance and it’s easy to see from the exterior alone!

After removing the side panel and the accessories box, I was eager to see what was inside. In addition to the box, there was a 2^nd box which contained 2 included LED strips which can be positioned on any of the straight lines within the chassis. Inside the accessories box is all the screws needed for installation of your components, cable management Velcro strips, an extra rubber grommet and adaptors for extending radiators.

Closer Look – Interior

Taking a look at the Dark Base Pro 900 with the tempered glass panel off and without the accessories box inside, we are greeted with a massive interior space. On the right are 7 modular HDD drive bays with 2 x 5.25mm gaps for front panel devices just above these. The power supply area at the bottom of the case doesn’t feature any rubber grommets to enable a clean look from the PSU to the behind of the motherboard tray, but be quiet! has included 3 rubber grommets towards the right side.

When installing the power supply, it doesn’t sit directly at the back, but it sits on an adjustable bracket; this can be moved dependant on the size of your PSU. You will also notice a very short pass-through power cable which keeps the rear of the case looking nice and tidy.

To exhaust warm/hot air out of the Dark Base Pro 900, be quiet! have included a single 140mm SilentWings 3 silent and high-performance fan to do the job. This makes the total of pre-installed fans to 3 x 140mm; awesome stuff!

Above the 7 removable HDD bays is a removable 5.25mm bay, which depending on the type of set up you want, can be easily removed to make space for water cooling. There are 2 slots meaning 5 x 5.25mm devices are supported within the Dark Base Pro 900 case.

The HDD cages themselves can be removed to install drives, or removed and relocated completely thanks to the easy mechanism holding them in place. Simply unscrew the relevant thumbscrews to remove each individual drive bay.

On the adjustable motherboard tray, there is a mounting guide depending on the type and form factor of the motherboard being installed. This is quite a comprehensive guide and allows users to avoid installation mistakes!

Here we have an overall look at the rear of the motherboard tray and all the space on offer for cable management. At the rear, you can remove the HDD cages and of course manage all those precious power cables and front panel connector cables. There are plenty of spots to cable tie the cables down with and plenty of space for even the most insane of system setups.

Taking a closer look at the PWM fan hub, there is room for 8 fans with 3 of the slots already being taken up by the pre-installed 140mm SilentWings 3 fans. There is also space for the 2 provided LED strips to be plugged in at the bottom of the hub.

To the right of the hub is space for a single 2.5” SSD/HDD to be installed behind the motherboard. This is a common feature on good quality cases and it’s nice to see be quiet! also implementing this.

The Build

Installing one of the Play3r test systems into the be quiet! Dark Base Pro 900 chassis was a very pleasurable experience, mainly due to how much space is actually available. From the space available at the rear, to the internal space, the case is modular which allows you to customise it how you want…even the motherboard tray is adjustable and goes to show you that although be quiet! are quite new to the case market, their impeccable design team has got the job done properly!

The test system I installed is as follows:

CPU – Intel Core i7-7700K
Mobo – ASUS ROG Z270 Maximus IX Hero
GPU – Gigabyte GTX 1060 G1 Gaming
Cooler – be quiet! Pure Rock Slim
PSU – Fractal Design Edison M 750w
SSD – Crucial MX300 525GB
RAM – Crucial Ballistix Elite 16GB 3000MHz

Although my cable management isn’t what you would expect from a professional system builder, it was very easy to create a neat and tidy look thanks to the endless array of options on the Dark Base Pro 900 chassis. I would just like to see a grommet/plated area between the PSU and the rear of the case, just for a cleaner look.

Conclusion

The words premium, quality, and performance get thrown around more than a proverbial rag doll, but sometimes a product comes along that ticks all the boxes and then some! The be quiet! Dark Base Pro 900 tempered glass window clad full tower chassis does this and more. With a wide variety of interior customisation available to users thanks to the modular design, multiple setup situations are possible and with E-ATX and XL-ATX motherboards both supported, this is the perfect high-performance chassis for high-end desktops and workstation systems. Is the Dark Base Pro 900 the best PC case…it’s certainly one of the best full tower options we have seen, that’s for sure

Make no mistake, this case isn’t cheap at £210 in the UK and it’s certainly not light with a weight of 14.4KG (without anything installed), but it does really deserve a look in for those searching for a high-end full tower option. It’s a very beautiful chassis and it has had the full be quiet! treatment! The Dark Base Pro 900 has a gorgeous brushed aluminium finish on the exterior of the case and that solid 4mm thick tempered glass side panel window. The interior is also complimented with a very robust steel construction with all the modular elements of this premium case being fully functional. The internal PSU bracket can be removed allowing for the motherboard tray to be adjusted and inverted; perfect for those who want to redefine and claim their own stylistic integrity!

Overall, the be quiet! Dark Base Pro 900 chassis is one of the best we have seen at Play3r and the feature set is very impressive, to say the least. The Qi-enabled wireless charging pad, the modular nature and the gorgeous finish to the Dark Base Pro 900 make this one of the nicest looking cases on the market. The Dark Base Pro 900 is available with orange accents, silver accents or in black (model on show today). The tempered glass side panel window further adds to the premium look and gives the case the high-class finish it deserves.

Huge thanks to be quiet! for sending the Dark Base Pro 900 in for review.