be quiet! Silent Base 801 PC Case Review
- William Cobb
- Nov 10, 2018
- 4 min read
Hello everyone and welcome to today’s review of the be quiet! Silent Base 801 PC case. I am Will and I will take you through a quick overview of what the case offers and will share with you what is next to come with this case and the build in which I will place within this case. I’d like to thank the folks over at be quiet! for sending this case over and essentially sponsoring this review and the upcoming build. Be sure to check out their other quality products over at bequiet.com. Now, let’s get to what this case offers.
The be quiet! Silent Base 801 Window model (which is what I have here) is a very nice, well put together case and is quite large coming in at 539mm x 281mm x 507mm (L x W x H), once the included stands are attached. The version I received comes with the normal be quiet! color scheme of black and orange. The outer casing is a black, brushed aluminum (I do believe it is brushed aluminum) so fingerprints do show. The case is quite hefty and it should be given its pretty much all metal design (there are some areas of plastic) weighing in at 11.43kg or just over 25 pounds. The Silent Base 801 supports E-ATX, ATX, M-ATX, and Mini-ITX motherboards along with ATX power supply form factors.
The side panels are both comprised of the same materials as the rest of the case. The windowed side has tinted tempered glass with tempered glass measuring 440mm x 498mm. The tint of the tempered glass is moderately dark and has an almost mirror-like reflectivity. The other side panel is metal and has a 10mm thick sound dampening mat to aid in noise reduction. The front, top, and side panels are all equipped with these same noise dampening mats which will allow for maximum stability and noise dampening capabilities. At the front of the case, there are noise damping vents. These air inlets cater to maximum silence with a constant amount of air permeability. The vents’ design is a bit concerning for air flow as air has to be pulled through two different nearly 90 degree turns which can be quite a challenge, even for the dual 140mm fans at the front of the case. The PSU shroud within the Silent Base 801 is very functional, not only covering cables making cable management a breeze but also contains a double HDD cage. The cover plates on the top of the shroud can also be removed so the user can install a 140mm fan on top of the shroud. The small shroud cover panel at the front of the shroud can also be removed allowing for a 360mm or 420mm radiator to be installed. And with the PSU bracket, the power supply can be easily installed through the back of the case.
The side panels of the case are both easily removed using a push-pin mounting system. To remove the panels, the user just has to press in the push-pin and the side panels will pop right off as the locking mechanisms are released at the upper part of the side panels. The side panels are held in place and “hover” in the user’s hands until removed. This allows extreme ease in accessing the interior of the case. The motherboard tray can be removed and rearranged allowing for an inverted install of the interior components. Radiator installation is made a breeze by the use of a removable radiator tray at the top of the case. The tray allows for radiators of up to 420mm.
The Silent Base 801, at a glance, offers the following (directly from be quiet!’s website):
· Noise dampening vents provide excellent air permeability with maximum silence
· Extra thick insulation mats of 10mm
· Three (3) preinstalled Pure Wings 2 140mm fans
· Detachment of the side panels with push pins
· PSU Shroud and smart HDD slot covers provide a neat interior
· Decoupled motherboard tray can be relocated for an inverted layout
· Full metal body provides stability
· Ready for radiators up to 420mm
· Side panel made of tinted and tempered glass
· Three years manufacturer’s warranty
My thoughts on the case:
Well, the case is a beast, that’s for sure. It is indeed very sturdy, looks great all around, and is a quality product as is now expected of be quiet! products. There is a lot of customization available with this case given all of the additional components you can add in to include extra hard disk drive cages, additional fans, and support for large radiators. The cable management appears to be quite easy with the routing avenues at the back of the motherboard tray. The orange rubber grommets throughout the case ‘pop’ and go well with the black color of the case. There is plenty of room to build inside of the case, not only for adding components but also within the “basement” where the power supply is housed. This is a stellar case for the $130-$150 price range. The only change I would make with this case is with the windowed side panel in which case I would make the tint a little lighter than it currently is. All in all a great case and is a great buy at the current price range or below. be quiet! has an absolute winner here; highly recommend.
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