be quiet! Silent Base 800 Case Review

Promising “unique performance and usability,” the Silent Base 800 debuts the case line of power supply brand be quiet!

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Early Verdict

The Silent Base 800 is a stylish and quiet choice for users who want to combine the look and price of a full tower with the component space of a mid-tower. Removable/repositionable drive cages make room for larger motherboards and longer cards but reduce the maximum number of drives that can be installed.

Pros

  • +

    Build quality, Full-Height, Noise-dampening, Removable drive cages, Reduced-Weight, Style

Cons

  • -

    Internal ATX mid-tower frame

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Introduction

Power supply brand be quiet! probably knows a thing or two about noise dampening and airflow, so why not build a case? Traditional chassis designs are fairly easy to individualize, ODMs are ready at the production line to supply the parts and the science of noise dampening is already well-known. The Silent Base 800 thus gives us the expected combination of standard ATX dimensions, drive doors, fan covers and foam inserts.

The be quiet! Silent Base 800 only comes in a black base color, but there are also optional silver and orange trim colors available — our test model is black on black.

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Thomas Soderstrom
Thomas Soderstrom
Thomas Soderstrom is a Senior Staff Editor at Tom's Hardware US. He tests and reviews cases, cooling, memory and motherboards.
24 Comments Comment from the forums
  • dcunited
    Wait, stop. This thing looks exactly like the Fractal Design R4/ R5.
    Reply
  • PaulBags
    A shame it wasn't compared to the r5
    Reply
  • Shneiky
    I am a big be quiet! fan (no pun intended). Been using their power supplies for years and I am using their fans wherever I can. But what turns off from this case is the lack of cuts in the tray for attaching cables with zip-ties. This is a big miss from be quiet!. Wonder how they forgot about it. It is a vital point for descent cable management in the back.
    Reply
  • SinxarKnights
    Apparently this case is already out of stock on newegg.
    Reply
  • Anathemata
    Considering the Fractal Design R5 already beats out the 760T in my own experience, I don't know how this case can be competitive unless you are specifically looking for a case that has colored trim and a completely black interior (that you can't see, because no window).
    Reply
  • JeanLuc
    Pros: ..... Full-Height

    That's a feature not a 'pro'.
    Reply
  • g-unit1111
    Huh, as an R4 owner I don't see the similarities between that and this case. It looks pretty nice for the price, the only thing that would make it better would be a clear side window. Not a fan of the orange color though.
    Reply
  • Crashman
    15635311 said:
    Pros: ..... Full-Height

    That's a feature not a 'pro'.
    I don't think you understand how illogical many buyers are, that's why it says "combine the look and price of a full tower with the component space of a mid-tower" :)
    Reply
  • Calculatron
    A Noctua cooler in a Be Quiet! case? For shame! ;)
    Reply
  • synphul
    I think the whole point of the silent base was the sound dampening and while some people prefer windows it would defeat the purpose of a padded side panel for noise dampening. Not a bad review but why so late? Everyone else reviewed this case back in nov/dec 2014. This review is nearly 5mo later than the ones from techspot, techpowerup, hexus. I know sometimes reviews get held up but surprised the silent base 900 or something hasn't released already. Five months is a long time in this industry.
    Reply