By Jason Vaught
Manufacturer: Listan GmbH & Co. KG dba “be quiet!”
Product Name: Dark Base 700
Model Number: BGW23
EAN: 4260052185742
Price As Tested: $179.90 (NewEgg)Full Disclosure: The product sample used in this article has been provided by be quiet!.
In this article for Benchmark Reviews we test the be quiet! Dark Base 700 mid-tower computer case. The Dark Base 700 is the newest member of the be quiet! high end case family. This midi tower case sports a tempered glass side panel, a fully modular design, and water cooling support. Dark Base 700 also features filtered ventilation, RGB LED illumination, PWM fan hub, and 2 SilentWings-3 140mm fans pre-installed (one in the front, one in the rear).
The be quiet! Dark Base 700 is marketed as a high end midi tower computer case that features water cooling support without sacrificing air flow and without sacrificing numerous configuration possibilities. Airflow is achieved through the fan mounting options. With this case, you can have; 2 x 140mm fans or 2 x120mm fans in the front, 1 x 120mm or 1 x 140mm fans on the bottom, and 3 x 140mm or 3 x 120mm fans in the top. All intakes are filtered, as well as the top ventilation.
The front of the Dark Base 700 features a brushed aluminum front panel, filtered side intakes on each side of the bezel and a small be quiet! logo. The trim around the bevel is actually RGB lighting, instead of color specific trim pieces as seen on the Dark Base Pro 900. The brushed aluminum is a bit of a fingerprint magnet though, so if you’re a little OCD about these things (as I am) then you’ll find yourself cleaning it often after you build the computer.
The right side of the case features a 4mm, tinted, tempered glass side panel. The glass is held in place by 4 thumb screws and has blacked out sections on the top and bottom where the screws attach.
As you can see, the rear of the case shows that this is case is a little wider than normal mid tower cases. This provides you with more building room to build in, as well as more room behind the motherboard. be quiet! includes a SilentWings 3 140mm fan pre-installed in the rear, with mounting holes for a 120mm fan if you’d prefer. This case also features 7 PCI slots, as well as two additional PCI slots for multiple mounting/orientation options.
The Dark Base 700 also features a large ventilated bottom featuring a removable, full length filter. Oversized, integrated rubber feat, and more brushed aluminum.
The top of the Dark Base 700 features indirect cooling vents on the rear quarter of the case. I’m not sure how well this will actually work if you had one of the larger radiators installed, such as a 360, but I’m sure with a all of the other ventilation in this case, this will not be a problem.
Front ventilation runs from the top of the case to the bottom, and even wraps about a fourth of the bottom. These vents are also filtered and of adequate size to help with air circulation. The left side of the case is just a smooth piece of aluminum, nothing fancy, but it doesn’t need to be. It is, however, sound dampened.
The people at be quiet! built this case with flexibility in mind, while maintaining the wow factor. Modular function is the key to this case’s versatility.
be quiet! has included an assortment of screws, hook and loop cable straps, a HDD hard drive cage, and extended radiator screws. Of course they also give you a manual, but if you’re like me and prefer digital copies of these documents, you can download yours here from be quiet!’s website.
The front I/O ports include 2 x USB 3.0 ports,a USB 3.1 port, microphone jack, headphone jack, an illuminated power button, a reset button, a 4 step fan controller, and an HDD status light. Gone are the USB 2.0 ports, and I personally say good riddance.
be quiet! certainly wanted the Dark Base 700 to look pretty on the inside. Featuring a nice basement with a blacked out be quiet! logo, HDD bay covers, and every square inch covered in black paint. Add a lighting kid and you’ll have a nicely dressed interior. The top of the case features a slide out tray, to make mounting your AIO water cooling unit a breeze. The top has radiator support for 120, 240, and 360.
The front of the Dark Base 700 comes with 1 SilentWings 3 140mm fan pre-installed. There is room for a second fan, or you can switch them to 2 x 120mm fans. The slotting on the front also allows for an abundance of radiator support, including 120, 140, 240, 280, and 360.
The backside of the motherboard tray features cable management grommets, cable management HDD covers, two pre-installed and removable HDD cages in the basement, as well as a single SSD drive mount on the back of the motherboard. There is also a removable dual SSD tray that mounts directly behind the motherboard’s CPU. The fan and LED controller is also tucked away back here, but we’ll delve more in to that below.
The PWM fan controller is also the LED controller for the included LED strips. Be mindful of which ports you plug it in to as they are specific for either fans or LEDs. The SSD mount is made in a slightly odd way, instead of mounting the SSD between the bracket and the motherboard, you actually mount it on the outside of the bracket. This does leave room to run cables through the bracket for cable management and/or for the SSD power and data cables.
This case is loaded with so many features, we needed to extend the Detailed Features onto another page.
Here is a detailed view of the sound dampening material that is features on the left side panel. The sound dampening material is thick and does add some weight to the panel. It also seems to add a little rigidity as well.
Here we can see a representation of how much the glass is tinted and the color of the tint.
The Dark Base 700 adds a unique feature, these covers that you may have noticed earlier in the review, are actually a part of your cable/water cooling management. The amount of gap between the covers can be adjusted by squeezing and popping them in to one of the pre-cut grooves.
Here we can see a better view of the pre-cut groves on the organization panels. To the right of the panels, of course, is the rubber baffled cable management grommets.
That’s right, that basement you seen earlier is removable! It actually breaks down into 4 sections, allowing you to show or hide as much of the basement as you want or need. This allows you to create a custom look all your own, and really get creative with lighting, cable management, and water cooling loops.
Behold! A naked basement. The covers on top of the basement, as well as the front cover are all removable for easy access to all your components and to aid in cable management efforts.
Custom water cooling loops in this case should be fairly easy to accomplish. With the various radiator options in the front, top, and rear, you should be able to easily cool a CPU and a pair of GPUs. be quiet! clearly had this lined up to allow for seemingly endless internal configurations and the ability to truly make it your own.
Given the number of fan mount locations and options, options for radiators and pumps, and the sheer amount of configuration options, as well as the RGB trim lighting on the front bezel, this case can easily perform as your daily driver or gaming PC.
The appearance of this case is sleek with a bit of wow factor. The LED trim on the front panel is a welcomed addition, and the fact you can connect it to a compatible motherboard for LED lighting control is very creative. Add in some more interior LED lighting and the wow factor increases exponentially, thanks largely to the tempered glass side panel.
The construction of this case is solid. Though you’ll find yourself working a lot of screws, the end result is a solid unit. The motherboard tray is secured entirely by user removable screws that each feature rubber grommets for sound dampening. The HDD/SSD drive cages are secure with 3 thumb screws each at the back of the motherboard tray. You’ll be working at roughly double the number of screws to the average case, but at that cost comes the ability to truly make this case your own.
The case functions perfectly for a water-cooling enthusiast and/or an air cooling person, though function of this case is clearly for the water-cooling crowd. If you utilize the water-cooling features of this case, you might want to consider hard line tubing for a cleaner build and more aesthetically pleasing appearance. This case has the ability to be oriented internally in reverse ATX, I’m a huge fan of reverse ATX computer cases, have been since I had the Lian-Li V2000B back in the day.
Value is where things get subjective. Available online for $179.90 (NewEgg), the be quiet! Dark Base 700 is not cheap. But, considering the amount of configuration possibilities and the tempered glass window, plus all of the thick brushed aluminum, makes it worth it’s price. To some, however, the price might be a bit daunting.
I would recommend this case to anyone wanting a decently sized mid-tower that offer excellent customization and the ability to light up the insides and be seen. The price of this case is easily understood when accounting for the tempered glass, thick aluminum, and the LED lighting. To some though, $179.90 is a little steep, but if you’re accustomed to the price that premium cases draw, then this midi tower should be a very good contender for being your next case.
+Very modular
+Tempered glass side panel
+Reverse ATX capable
+LED lighting
+USB 3.1 on the front I/O
+Sound dampening everywhere
+Filtered intakes
-Fingerprint magnet
-Heavy
-No 5.25″ bay options (but not door either)
-Screws, everywhere, but are better than clips
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Performance: 9.00
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Appearance: 9.50
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Construction: 9.00
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Functionality: 9.00
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Value: 9.00
