INTRODUCTION

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   Whether you admire RGB lighting when you see it or not the truth of the matter is that because of its quite unique "looks" it has spread in many markets and not just the PC one. Now the good thing about RGB LEDs (and LEDs in general) is that manufacturers can use pretty much as many as they like for a project so in the market currently we have eye catching products that really stand out and are primarily ment for the gaming community and products which are mostly aimed towards people who want something more subtle. Unfortunately when it comes to PC cases since most manufacturers provide RGB lighting via the addition of RGB fans it's not that easy to create something subtle which is why be quiet! took a different path with their brand new Dark Base 700 Midi Tower.

   be quiet! is a premium brand of power supplies, PC cases and cooling solutions for desktop PCs. Consistently the leader in the German PC power supply market since 2007*, be quiet! is one of the most successful PSU brands in Europe. This enduring success is largely thanks to the typical German passion for quality and precision. All product conception, design and quality control is performed in Germany. German expertise is evident the moment an idea is born and throughout the entire design and production process. be quiet! never releases a product until it meets the highest expectations. All materials used – from the smallest screws to the metals in the cases – are tested to rigorous standards. That is why be quiet! power supplies, PC cases, CPU coolers and case fans are among the most silent, powerful and reliable on the market. Innovative engineering concepts coupled with an uncompromising choice of premium materials and world-class manufacturing quality make be quiet! second to none when it comes to noise reduction. With over ten years of experience, be quiet! are truly the quietness experts.

   Instead of equipping the Dark Base 700 Midi Tower with RGB fans be quiet! chose to place two LED strips (6 colors with 3 modes) on the left and right of the front panel which can be controlled either from the top I/O or by connecting them to your mainboards RGB header thus also enabling color synchronization with other RGB components (if your mainboard has one that is). Still the primary selling point of the Dark Base 700 is not its RGB capability but rather the ability to position the mainboard tray alongside the left panel instead of the right. This is not the first time we've seen that feature but not only is it quite rare but we usually only see it with full towers and not midi ones. Of course that's not all the Dark Base 700 offers so it also features a tempered glass side panel, sound insulating material (top/front/right panels), 3-step fan controller, top USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type-C port, 9 PCI expansion slots (7 horizontal and 2 vertical - vertical graphics card installation), 2 pre-installed SilentWings 3 fans (1600RPM) and has enough room for a total of three 3.5" and/or nine 2.5" drives (max of 7x3.5" and/or 17x2.5" drives with extra cages), up to 7 fans (120/140mm) and/or 2 radiators (240/280/360mm), 180mm tall CPU coolers, 430mm long graphics cards (286mm with drive cages installed) and 285mm long power supply units.

 

 

SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PACKAGING AND CONTENTS

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As with most products by be quiet! a large product picture takes most of the front of the box.

 

 

The specifications table is placed on the left side (thanks to UPS it's not very easy to see).

 

 

The three main product features are listed in length on the right side in 4 languages.

 

 

At the rear we find the same product features listed in length in 3 more languages just over 6 product pictures showcasing those and other features.

 

 

The tower is wrapped inside a cloth bag/cover and placed inside two thick foam spacers.

 

 

Inside the accessories box located in the case you will find an extra 2.5/3.5" drive cage, six Velcro straps, user manual and bags filled with all the necessary screws to mount your mainboard, drives, fans and even radiators.

 

 

THE DARK BASE 700 EXTERIOR

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The 13Kg heavy Dark Base 700 Midi Tower measures 519mm in height, 544mm in depth and 241mm in width.

 

 

For the left side panel be quiet! used 4mm thick tempered glass held in place with thumbscrews.

 

 

The fascia features a nice brushed aluminum plate at the front and has the company logo on its lower end.

 

 

Just over the fascia we see the I/O panel which includes the 3-step fan controller, USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type-C port, microphone and headphones 3.5" ports, on/off power button, reset switch (is also the HDD activity LED), LED mode button and two USB 3.0 ports.

 

 

As you can all see the fascia can be removed to access the air-filter past it (the fascia is also dressed with sound insulating/dampening material).

 

 

In order to remove the base air-filter you will also need to remove the fascia.

 

 

Past the fascia and the air-filter we find one of the two pre-installed SilentWings 3 fans.

 

 

The top aluminum plate is partially perforated at the rear.

 

 

Moving at the rear we find the 2nd pre-installed SilentWings 3 140mm fan, 9 PCI expansion slots and the PSU area.

 

 

At the base of the tower we see four rubber feet and the long air-filter we showcased earlier.

 

 

THE DARK BASE 700 INTERIOR

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For a midi tower the Dark Base 700 has a very spacious interior.

 

 

The company logo is placed on the PSU shroud as seen above.

 

 

Ontop of the shroud be quiet! has placed 4 removable plastic covers.

 

 

By removing the plastic covers from the top of the PSU shroud you can route cables, install yet another 120/140mm fan and you can also mount a radiator at the front (up to 30-35mm ideally).

 

 

Right over the shroud we see 5 pieces of plastics which can be removed to make room for up to 5 drive cages like the one in the accessories box.

 

 

The mainboard tray has three openings for cable routing and a large opening beneath the CPU area (easier swapping of backplates).

 

 

All 9 PCI expansion slots are secured in place with regular thumbscrews.

 

 

Almost the entire right side panel is dressed with sound insulating material.

 

 

Moving on the other side of the mainboard tray we see the fan/LED hub (up to 6 fans - two speed modes available / silent is chosen by default), two vertical HDD trays and two drive cages (identical to the bundled one).

 

 

Both trays and the cage are made out of aluminum and are very sturdy.

 

 

Now normally you can equip the drive cage with either a 3.5" drive or two 2.5" drives (placed inside) but with a bit of work you could mount a 3.5" drive inside and two 2.5" drives on the bottom and top of the cage.

 

 

On the other hand the two trays can be used only with 2.5" drives (single/dual).

 

 

Here we see the rear of the plastic brackets which can be replaced with drive cages.

 

 

The top of the interior can be removed to mount either fans or a radiator prior to mounting the mainboard.

 

 

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.

As expected from a midi tower with enough room for E-ATX mainboards our "regular" ATX mainboard seems small.

 

 

Mounting even a 360mm radiator at the front is easy just as long as its thickness doesn't surpass 30-35mm.

 

 

Thanks to the offset offered by the removable radiator/fan bracket you can use thick radiators at the top as well (as long as your memory modules are not very tall).

 

 

Since the Dark Base 700 has room for up to 180mm tall CPU coolers you can also choose that route instead of a radiator for your CPU.

 

 

If you decide to mount the bundled drive cage in one of the 5 spots available on the mainboard tray you can still mount long graphics card like our GTX 590 (286mm long).

 

 

With room for PSU's up to 280mm long a normal one like the one we used leaves plenty of room for cable routing and such.

 

 

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 ontop 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

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   With many manufacturers today shipping midi towers with tempered glass as their weapon of choice for all panels the Dark Base 700 may not be as unique looking but for many people that’s not a bad thing. Sure if you’re a gamer chances are that you’re looking for a PC case which will attract attention with its looks but there are many people out there who prefer something more elegant and subtle. In terms of features the ability to change the orientation of the mainboard tray can be very useful if you have to place the tower on the left side of your desk while the ability to add up to 24 drives (2.5/3.5”) by using extra drive cages is quite impressive (of course some people may not like the extra part). Having room for a total of 7 fans (120/140mm – although with our calculations it’s actually 8) and/or 2 radiators (240/280/360mm – not including the rear 120/140mm one since that applies for most cases out there) is also nothing new but always good to have in case you’re into water cooling. Finally with enough space for even the largest hardware components including up to 180mm tall CPU coolers, 430mm long graphics cards (286mm with drive cages installed) and 285mm long power supply units you shouldn’t worry about room.

   The Dark Base 700 Midi Tower by be quiet! already counts several months in the market so it costs just a tad less than when it got launched. To be more specific you can currently find the Dark Base 700 for USD179.99 inside the US (Amazon) and for 149.99Euros inside the EU (Amazon DE). Granted this is still not what many people will call affordable but after taking into account all the things be quiet! offers with the Dark Base 700 (including its build quality) it’s actually not that bad and since it delivers as advertised and then some it gets our Golden Award.

PROS

- Build Quality
- Modular Design (Inverted Mainboard Installation)
- Tempered Glass Side Panel
- Noise Dampening Coating (Right/Top/Front)
- Room For Up To 24 Drives (7x3.5” / 17x2.5”)
- Radiator Space (Top & Front 240/280/360mm)
- Removable Drive Cages
- Space For 180mm Tall CPU Coolers, 285mm Long PSUs and 430mm Long Graphics Cards
- 3 Step Fan Controller (Supports Up To 6 Fans)
- Two RGB LED Strips

CONS

- Price (For Some)
- Extra Drive Cages Required For More Drives