be quiet! Dark Base 700 Review

PC Cases and Modding 227 Page 11 of 11 Published by

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Final Words & Conclusion

Final Words & Conclusion

Yeah, the guys and gals from be quiet! once again have a winner at hand with the new Dark base 700! This really is a proper chassis that ticks all the right boxes. It's subtle, has all features you need and is spacious. The design appeals to me very much as well, the intricate darks and the tempered glass side panel work wonders here. Also, the product is sturdy, feel solid and has been fabbed out of the just the right elements. The icing on top of the cake is a proper fan controller that was "limited" in voltage to support the Pure Wings 3 series fans. In the low and medium operating modes, you cannot hear the chassis, while the airflow we deem is pretty good. Extra candy is, of course, the subtle RGB lining, that really is beautiful. Just assign it towards a color that matches your PC, no animation needed and boom it's that extra aesthetic highlight the brings the chassis towards another level. No messy software is needed to control it all. Just click a button and you are good to go, we like that. What the design team always does well is to think through the design stages from A to Z, and that shows in the build. We can discuss and question the need for all the modability chassis offer these days but the DB 700 seems to have the right amount of it. Also nice to see is the options to mount a graphics card vertically, you will, however, need to purchase a PCIe riser cable to get that going. The one remark I have is with regard to the 8-pin processor power cable, as a whole, the connector cannot be passed through and between the motherboard tray and top side, there is not enough clearance there. Most if not all 8-pin power headers can be split into 2x 4-pin, once you do that it'll pass and can be connected. The ones that only have an 8-pin header coming from the PSU, do have a problem.


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 Functionality

Aside from my remark on the 8-pin power connector, cable routing wise at the rear side there are no issues, the chassis proper rubberized grommet holes. Storage wise you can mount up to 7 HDDs (but three trays are included). You can mounts another three SSD at the motherboard tray in the rear and optionally on the HDD trays. The two SilentWings v3 140 mm fans offer decent of airflow, and with the convenience of being PWM controlled through the motherboard and/or the included fan control you can go as silent as you want to. Configured at the onboard low and medium fan controller presets you cannot hear this chassis. The fans are rated at max 1600 RPM. Motherboards up-to E-ATX can be mounted, you can use the larger graphics cards and liquid cooling wise you are good to go as well.


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The finishing touch it that RGB LED strip on the left side, controllable with a button and with color options of white, green, yellow, blue, red, orange and off. Few very few chassis offer this. And though RGB LEDs are thrown into everything and anything these days, for your chassis it is simply a terrific and very subtle addition. Based on what we tested the included fans are more than powerful enough for what they need to do, they offer enough airflow and overall make the chassis very silent if you keep the controller in the low to medium/normal region. What should also help is the noise dampening materials used throughout the chassis. On the more simple side of things, added benefits are of course the two USB 3.0 ports and the 3.1 type-C connector, the mainboard cutout on the motherboard tray and a fairly tool-free design. 

Aesthetics

I am always a little uncomfortable saying that I like the looks, as looks are based on taste and taste is a subjective thing, but yes, I do like the looks of the Dark Base 700 quite a lot. The all-dark design is terrific, everything is black up-to-the connectors, cabling and every little screw. Overall the feel is good, the design with subtle curves is nice, nothing is irritating in terms of big messy logos, no, "subtlety" is the keyword I am looking for. Complemented by the RGB LED system and that dark tinted tempered glass you really have something special here. Aesthetics wise things are kept simple, with just the right amount of "right".

 Let's Talk Money

For what you purchase, the workspace inside the Dark Base 700 is decent enough of course, but keep in mind the biggest motherboard you can choose will have to conform with the E-ATX form factor as a maximum. The chassis can house ATX, Micro-ATX and mini-ITX motherboards as well. There's also decent space for routing cables and, well, hiding them of course. With good access to pretty much everything and with eight expansion slots there is room for two or three graphics cards. The all-black interior, cool looks, the CPU back-plate cutout for easy installation/replacement of CPU-coolers space and overall features that belong in the high-end segment all add value. Talking value, the Dark Base 700 will get a €189 MSRP, that's 179 USD, we do have to agree that it'll be a lot of money for a chassis. 


Final Words

Honestly, you cannot shy away from the fact as to how good the Dark base 700 really is, but granted it is priced very steep at €189,- For that kind of cash, some people will look the other way. Now the paradox, I do feel it is worth the money as this really is a terrific chassis. You get the looks, the subtle RGB LED functionality, the features, and next to that a proper fan and RGB controller included. You can mount the bigger liquid cooling solutions. Thanks to the tempered glass you can highlight your expensive PC components with any color of choice with the RGB LED system. Storage wise the options should not be a big deal either. So yes, it's not cheap and in fact maybe even expensive. But the build and materials used (aluminum) to make this Dark base 700 very unique. Considering your PC chassis might last you five to ten years I am inclined to state that it is worth the money. And if you rule out that factor alone then I think everybody will agree with me, the Dark Base 700 is a top-notch product that deserves a "Top Pick" award, nice job be quiet!

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