INTRODUCTION

    In a market filled with PC cases that focus on design, features and compact size it's sometimes hard to find models with ample interior space which are also capable of blending even in the most elegant spaces, either at home or the office. Yes, i do realize that many people have space constraints and so a large midi-tower might be too much but having worked with models of all shapes and sizes interior space is always a must for me. Luckily manufacturers like be quiet! keep designing and producing such PC cases and today with me i have their Dark Base 701 which was officially released late last year.

    We are the German premium brand manufacturer of quiet hardware components for gaming, workstations and desktop PCs. Since our foundation in 2001, we are proud to have more than 20 years of experience in the industry. Our goal from the very beginning has been to develop products of the highest quality that are not only quiet, but also extremely powerful. With a wide range of power supplies, PC cases, water and air coolers and fans, we have established ourselves as a leading manufacturer in this field.

    The Dark Base 701 is currently available in both black and white colors both of which come with a tinted tempered glass side window, front panel ARGB LED strips, inverted layout feature, full mesh fascia and top cover (optimal airflow), 3 preinstalled Silent Wings 4 140mm PWM high-speed fans (1900RPM/78.4CFM/2.36mmH2O/29.4dBA), top/front removable radiator/fan brackets, front/bottom removable air filters and an integrated ARGB and fan controller. As for interior space the Dark Base 701 has enough room up to E-ATX sized mainboards, two 3.5" and three 2.5" drives (max of 3x3.5" and/or 3x2.5" drives with extra drive cages), up to 8 fans (120/140mm) and/or 2 radiators (240/280/360mm), 185mm tall CPU coolers, 430mm long graphics cards and 250mm long power supply units. Finally, be quiet! covers the Dark Base 701 midi-tower cases with a 3 year limited warranty.

SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES

PACKACING AND CONTENTS

A product drawing is placed at the front of the box right over the product name and beneath the company logo.

The specifications table is printed on the right side right over the color selection.

Two 2D barcodes located on the left side point to the black and white product pages.

Moving at the rear of the box we find yet another drawing of the Dark Base 701 (exposed) and its features in 4 languages.

As usual the tower is wrapped inside a plastic bag and placed between two foam spacers that have pieces of compressed cardboard at the top.

In the box you will find a PSU shroud airflow cover, HDD cage bracket, 9 Velcro straps, 6 small plastic bags with screws and spacers and the user manual.

THE DARK BASE 701 EXTERIOR

Standing 523mm tall, 565mm long and 249mm wide the 12.8Kg heavy Dark Base 701 is a large midi-tower.

The entire left side panel is made of tempered glass held in place by two rear thumbscrews.

As mentioned earlier the entire facia is perforated for increased airflow levels inside the case.

The I/O panel is located at the top end of the fascia and here we find the on/off button, fan speed and ARGB buttons, two USB 3.1 ports, USB-C port and the usual headphone and microphone mini jacks.

To remove the fascia to access the air filter and/or the fans just pull it outwards.

Here be quiet! has placed a single Silent Wings 4 140mm PWM fan but you can add either two more or an 240/280/360mm radiator (or three 120mm ones).

The top is also perforated and beneath you can again either install three 120/140mm fans or an 240/280/360mm radiator (another Silent Wings 4 PWM fan is present here).

Turning the case around we find the third Silent Wings 4 PWM fan, 7 horizontal and 3 vertical PCI expansion slots and the PSU area.

A removable air filter takes the entire base of the tower.

THE DARK BASE 701 INTERIOR

Much like with most cases by be quiet! the Dark Base 701 has plenty of interior room.

Once again at the front you can use an 240/280/360mm radiator and thanks to the removable shroud piece thickness is not really an issue.

On the motherboard tray we find a plastic covered used both to route cables without being seen and as mounting bracket for two 2.5 drives (behind the cover).

The PSU shroud is a two piece one, top and front (front can be easily removed).

Thanks to the plastic cover used for cable routing the motherboard tray only has two more areas where you can route cables from.

Taking a look on the other side we find two more drive mounts (2.5/3.5mm, on the opposite side of the plastic cable cover), 8-port fan and ARGB controller, 2.5mm mount next to the controller, drive area (lower front, HDD bracket sold extra) and the PSU area.

BUILDING THE SYSTEM

As always, the purpose of this section is not to build a functional system but rather to showcase what you can expect from the case at hand in terms of interior space.

I started adding parts from the PSU which as you can see leaves plenty of room enough for most models in today's market.

Since the Dark Base 701 has enough room for E-ATX motherboards a regular ATX sized one leaves some space.

Somehow, I misplaced the 360mm radiator i have in the lab so instead I used an 280mm one to showcase the front area of the case along with a regular air cooler.

There's also plenty of room inside the Dark Base 701 for even the largest graphics cards.

NOISE LEVEL TEST

After giving it much thought we decided on performing noise tests with each PC Case we receive by placing our ExTech HD600 vertically on top of each case to measure the noise levels emanating from the pre-installed fans at both 50% and 100% with the help of a fan controller (if the case doesn't have one, we use our own).

CONCLUSION

    Unlike what was just unveiled in this year’s Computex by be quiet! The Dark Base 701 is not a PC case meant to attract eyes but rather an elegant model which you can even place in your office without it standing out. It’s got plenty of interior space, build quality is very good as expected, the front and bottom removable air filters do a very good job (top one would be nice too) and even though noise levels are just a tad higher than expected this is due to the fact that the Dark Base 701 is aimed towards consumers who could use the extra airflow levels from both its front and top full mesh panels. Recently be quiet! also announced a white variant of the Dark Base 701 so if black is not for you then white could be it.

    Currently the Dark Base 701 Midi-Tower by be quiet! retails for USD229.89 inside the USA (Newegg.com) and for 203.52Euros inside the EU (Amazon.de) a price tag which is slightly over what I was expecting. Overall the Dark Base 701 might not be the prettiest midi-tower out there and it’s certainly not the largest but it does deliver as advertised and for that it gets the Golden Award.

PROS

- Very Good Build Quality
- Tempered Glass Side Panel (Full)
- Two ARGB LED Strips (Front)
- Interior Space For 185mm Tall CPU Coolers, 250mm Long PSUs, 430mm Long Graphics Cards & Three 240/280/360mm Radiators
- Three Pre Installed Silent Wings 140mm PWM Fans (1900RPM)
- Airflow Levels (Front/Top Full Mesh)
- Rotatable Motherboard Tray & PCIe Slots
- Fan Speed/ARGB Hub
- Removable Air Filters (front/bottom)
- Available In Black & White Colors

CONS

- Price (For Some)
- Higher Noise Levels Than Expected