Final words and conclusion

Final words and conclusion

Be Quiet! has an attractive product at hand with the Silent Base 802. granted, the looks are a bit simplistic, perhaps, but in a room where you don't want to shout out loud and poured, I'M HERE, that probably is a good thing. The fundamental three hallmarks being space, aesthetics, and being a silent product, have been well achieved. The included fans are powerful yet silent if you keep them below 5V. BTW we had this before with be quiet! fans, we heard a rattle coming from one of the fans. Typically this happens when they are mounts with a lot of force inside that chassis; metal bends a little under different temperatures and can bend and twist the fan a bit. Just loosen it up, and that problem will be gone. This is not a specific thing to be quiet, though. Other than that, it's all good, really. Lovely to see is the inclusion of a fan controller and the option to use meshed top and front-facing covers.

Aesthetics

Though the all-black version is a little less pretty for a photoshoot, it is a nice looking chassis. I bet that the white version with a tempered glass side panel will sell the best. Admittedly, it's a lot of plastic that be quiet is using, but it's done right. And over time, you'll slowly appreciate it more and more. The all-black design is nice but can look a little bland. Aesthetics wise things are kept on a more simple side of things. 

The workspace inside is very suitable for mounting even high-end to enthusiastic components. Depending on your airflow needs, you do need to make choices at that point. The sound dampening materials are bound to trap heat. Using the optional but included mesh covers at the top and front side will help a great deal, but obviously, you'll compromise on acoustics then. 

The biggest motherboards you choose will fit up-to-the E-ATX form factor, so that's nice. Of course, smaller form factors work as well, house ATX, Micro-ATX, and mini-ITX motherboards. There's also adequate space for routing cables and, well, hiding them, of course. There is plenty of room for two or three graphics cards with good access to pretty much everything and with 7 expansion slots. There are almost no restrictions on the length of the graphics cards, especially when using more than one of them. This definitely needs to be checked out before installing multiple graphics cards. The all-black interior, cool looks, the CPU backplate cutout for easy installation/replacement of CPU-coolers, and overall features that belong in the mainstream to high-end segment add value. 

Final words

I've always had a soft spot for the Silent Base chassis series from be quiet!, it's not any different this round. Anything you want to install will fit; the more enthusiast you get, to more you will need to compromise on airflow or use the optional top and front covers. This is not a negative at all; it's the compromise you need to make when preferring acoustics over airflow. In its base design, the chassis does as promised; it's silent. Nice to see are these optional panels, the fan controller, and an increase in space to fit even E-ATX motherboards. Configured at low RPM, the included are of good quality. Then there is sound dampening insulation inside the chassis combined with rubber elements everywhere to keep your PC whisper silent. There is enough room behind the motherboard for cable management, and then there are the three 140mm Pure Wings 2 fans in the case, factory-installed, offering very nice airflow at low noise levels. The chassis feels a bit plasticky, really, and the stands/feet are a tad that is annoying to mount. But once in place, you'll never be bothered by that again as the finished product looks quite lovely, though taste differs per person, of course. Pricing is a hit of a thing, expect these units to hover around 150 EUR/USD in detail, and for what it is, that's quite a lot. None the less, very much recommended and definitely approved by us.

Good job, guys, well done.

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