be quiet! Dark Base Pro 900 Rev.2 Review

By Jason Vaught

Manufacturer: Listan GmbH & Co. KG dba “be quiet!”
Product Name: Dark Base Pro 900 Rev.2
Model Number: BGW15
UPC: 4260052186909
Price As Tested: $261.52 (Amazon | Newegg)

Full Disclosure: The product sample used in this article has been provided by be quiet!.

The be quiet! Dark Base Pro 900 Rev.2 is the newest member of the be quiet! mid-tower chassis family. This mid-tower case sports a tempered glass side panel, a fully modular design, and an abundance of water cooling support. The REV.2 part of the name represents some minor upgrades be quiet! has made to the chassis. The Dark Base Pro 900 Rev.2 also features filtered ventilation, RGB LED illumination, PWM fan hub (now supporting 8 fans), and three be quiet! SilentWings 3 x 140mm PWM fans (1600 RPM instead of 1000 RPM) pre-installed (two in the front, one in the rear).

The Dark Base Pro 900 Rev.2 comes in three trim colors: Orange, Silver, and Black. Benchmark Reviews will be inspecting the black trimmed variant of this case, model BGW15.

Features & Specifications

Dark Base Pro 900 Rev.2 Overview

The be quiet! Dark Base Pro 900 Rev.2 is marketed as a mid-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; 3 x 140mm fans or 3 x120mm fans (w/o ODD cage) in the front, 2 x 120mm or 2 x 140mm fans on the bottom, and 3 x 140mm or 4 x 120mm or 1 x 180mm fans in the top. All intakes are filtered, as well as the top ventilation.

The front of the Dark Base Pro 900 Rev.2 features a reversible brushed aluminum door, filtered side intakes on each side of the bezel and a small be quiet! logo. The Rev.2 adds a second spring latch (1 at the bottom and 1 at the top), whereas the original only had one spring latch located at the top. 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 after you build the computer, or anytime you touch it.

The Dark Base Pro 900 rev.2 also features a wireless Qi charger! That’s right, you can charge your cell phone wirelessly by just simply placing it on top of the case. The front I/O ports include 2 x USB 3.0 ports, 1 x USB 2.0 port, 1 x USB 3.1 Type C Gen. 2 port, microphone jack, headphone jack, an illuminated power button, a reset button, and an HDD status light. The front IO integrates seamlessly with the Qi charger and the top panel of the case.

The left side of the Dark Base Pro 900 Rev.2 features a filtered intake hidden behind the be quiet! logo. The cover is removable, revealing two 120mm fan mounting locations. Not sure why you’d mount two fans on the back of the motherboard, but it’s orientation in relation to the rest of the door indicates it could be used for additional HDD cooling if needed. You’ll also notice that there is ventilation running across the bottom, front bezel, and top of this case. These vents are filtered and of adequate size.

When you look above at the rear of the Dark Base Pro 900, what do you see? Well,what you won’t see is PSU mounting holes. The Dark Base Pro 900 utilizes PSU passthrough, this allows you to customize the height of motherboard tray inside the case. If you look closely, you’ll see 3 panels below the pci slots, two small, and one larger with a power button and power cord port. All three panels are removable, and the two smaller panels can be moved to the top, thus lowering the motherboard tray. The rear features plenty of ventilation, a 140mm/120mm fan/radiator mounting location (140mm fan pre-installed) and vented pci slot covers.

Dark Base Pro 900 Rev.2 Detailed Features

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, two LED strips (not pictured), 3 velcro cable straps, a pump mount, a fan bracket for mounting an extra fan in the front (with ODD removed), 3 HDD/SSD cages, some extended motherboard standoffs (for e-atx), a double HDD slot cover, a SSD mount for the PSU shroud, and of course a very detailed user manual.

Just like the original Dark Base Pro 900, the Rev.2 has a reversible door with sound dampening material on the door, a removable and filtered front intake, some 5.25″ bay covers, and a fan speed controller. The fan controller slider has two modes, automatic and manual. Automatic allows the pwm hub to be controlled by the motherboard’s signal. Manual allows you to control the fans yourself. The door is held shut by a rather weak magnet. This magnet, while it works fine when the case is just sitting on your table, will allow the door to fling open during transport rather easily. Make sure to secure the door anytime you’re moving this case.

With the tempered side panel removed, we can view some of the most obvious changes to the Rev.2, a basement/PSU shroud and less HDD cages. Now to be clear, you don’t actually get less HDD cage mounting options. Two cages have been combined into one and resides in the PSU shroud, leaving 5 mounting positions available above the shroud. You do, however, get less HDD modular cages. The original Dark Base Pro 900 came with a total of 7 HDD mounts, while the Rev.2 only comes with a total of 5. Additional cages may be purchased directly from be quiet! if you need them.

Here we get a little closer look at the internals of the case. You may notice that there is a large square opening now behind the ODD cage, that will be explained in the next section. Aside from the addition of the PSU shroud and that large square hole, not much has changed from the original Dark Base Pro 900.

Dark Base Pro 900 Rev.2 Detailed Features Cont’d

This case, like it’s predecessor, is loaded with so many features, we needed to extend the Detailed Features onto another page.

Here you’ll see the double HDD cage that hides in the PSU shroud, notice anything? That large square hole looks familiar. That’s because it also fits in the large square hole that is behind the ODD cage. be quiet! did this because of the case’s modularity and ability to be converted to a reverse ATX orientation.

Here we see the new and improved fan/LED/USB charging board. This upgraded board features 8 PWN headers instead of 4. You’ll also notice two tiny toggles just below and center of the first mounting screw. Those switches toggle between silent mode and performance mode for both channels (left and right) of the fan hub. Silence mode allows fans speed to be between 400 and 1,040 rpm and Performance mode allows 800 – 1,600 rpm.

Here we have a closeup of the PSU shroud. The PSU shroud, or basement as I like to call it, features 5 modular panels, removing the panels reveals additional fan mounting options. However, removing the center panel reveals the mounting platform for the SSD bracket that is included.

With that center cover removed, and utilizing the included bracket, you can display your SSD in the center of the PSU shroud. At first I was skeptical as to why be quiet! chose to give us this option, instead of the dual behind the motherboard tray bracket seen on the Dark Base 700, but it is an effective use of an otherwise useless area of the PSU shroud.

Mid-Tower Case Final Thoughts

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. And now, with the addition of a PSU shroud, an updated front I/O that includes USB 3.1 Type C Gen. 2 support, the be quiet! Dark Base Pro 900 Rev.2 has been updated to modern standards/tastes.

Dark Base Pro 900 Rev.2 Conclusion

Given the number of fan mount locations and options, options for radiators and pumps, and the sheer amount of configuration options, this case can easily perform as your daily driver or gaming PC. The only thing that perplexed me is the really odd PSU mount, I get they wanted to “make it modular”, but I’m just not sure they should have.

The appearance of this case is somewhat minimalistic with a slight bit of wow factor. Add in some lighting and that wow factor increases exponentially thanks to the tempered glass side panel and the new PSU shroud. The only thing that would have made this case a bit sleeker would have been to not have the be quiet! logo on the front door. I know branding is a must, but it’s already quite large on the left side panel and the PSU shroud.

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/vibration 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 only downside to the construction is the odd PSU mounting.

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.

Value is where I had to knock some points off. Available online for $261.52 (Amazon | Newegg), the be quiet! Dark Base Pro 900 Rev.2 becomes a real investment. Although the configuration possibilities and the tempered glass window makes it very worth it, to some it’s not very practical. The fact that you receive less HDD cages for essentially the same price as the original (at least MSRP) Dark Base Pro 900, I’m not sure some will consider this a value. But, being that be quiet! updated the front I/O to include a USB 3.1 Type C Gen. 2 port, added a nice PSU shroud, revamped the LED lighting controller to be motherboard controlled, and included better fans with the case, the Rev. 2’s price point is somewhat justified.

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 built in wireless Qi charger is also pretty cool. Be that as it may, the $50 premium the “Pro” version demands over the standard Dark Base 900, is easily understood when accounting for the tempered glass, the Qi charger, and the LED lighting. I still would have liked to see more of the features of the Dark Base 700 in this updated 900 Pro, like the LED trim lighting, the double SSD mounts that easily mount across the back of the PSU socket behind the motherboard tray. But, I’m sure to keep the Rev.2 within budget, some of those options where just simply out of reach.

Pros:

+ Fully modular
+ Tempered glass side panel
+ Reverse ATX capable
+ LED lighting with motherboard control
+ Sound dampening material on the side panel and front door
+ Filtered intakes
+ Multiple trim options
+ Built in wireless Qi charging
+ USB 3.1 Type C Gen. 2 port
+ 8 PWM fan ports for the controller card
+ PSU shroud

Cons:

– Still that same odd PSU mounting
– Lack of additional filtering when utilizing 3rd front fan
– Less HDD cages included vs the original 900 Pro

Ratings:

Performance: 9.50
Appearance: 9.50
Construction: 9.00
Functionality: 9.50
Value: 7.00

Final Score: 9.0 out of 10.