be quiet! Dark Base Pro 900 rev.2
ATX, mATX, Mini-ITX, E-ATX, XL-ATX
Product ratings
Pros
Cons
72 reviews
Top product that was produced miserably
A really great case. Visually the hammer and the individual components of the case are almost consistently high quality. Ausstattunsmässig of course TOP. I have an E-ATX board Z390 Aorus Extreme installed. The cooler on the back of the board tightens a bit but otherwise also enough space. Because of the installation of the motherboard I have contacted the support. This knew exactly what I'm talking about (collision motherboard cooling) and could help me immediately.
What is not at all possible is how the case was cobbled together.....without attention to detail and without caution. The following points are to be criticized:
- 3 cross screws screwed up
- 2 threads do not grip
- Scratches on the mainboard sled
- Cover of the backside all mounted diagonally
- The silver stripe was only glued on selectively. This is evident if you look closely....man sees exactly where was glued. (slight indentations)
- Transitions do not fit neatly over each other
- Angles are badly bent
- Installation traces
Maybe I'm nitpicking, but from a "quality product" in this price range, I just expect more in terms of care.Pro
- Equipment
- Design
- Space
- Volume
- Technical Support
Contra
- PROCESSING!!
Great case, but inserting the PSU shouldn't be that frustrating...
This case has plenty of nice features, such as 3 USB 3.0 ports (1 fast charging), a USB-C 3.1 Gen 2 port, a Qi charging pad, a tempered glass window, plenty of space, and is incredibly modular, allowing for the window to be placed left or right, and the mainboard to be inverted or not. Even the RGB LED strips can be placed wherever you like.
Installing the PSU requires removing the PSU shroud, then the PSU mounting rack. A minor inconvenience, but the instruction manual does a poor job at explaining where all the screws are on the shroud. Also, one of the screws was too tight to remove, so I had to bend the shroud open and work with extremely little space to properly fasten the PSU to a mounting rack I couldn't even remove.
While the case can be a bit frustrating to work with due to its extreme modularity, the same modularity can also make it somewhat easier to work with than with other cases. Best example would be connecting the fan headers and CPU power cables at the top of the motherboard. Usually, the space is very tight, especially if you've got a huge CPU cooler. By removing the top cover, you can easily increase the space to work with.
Unfortunately, there is very little space in the back of the case, making it very difficult to close the back panel.
Also, I'm slightly disappointed that the side window can not be opened like a door, and needs to be unscrewed instead.Pro
- 4 USB ports in total, no USB 2
- 1 USB-C port
- 2 RGB LED strips
- Qi charging pad
- Silent
- Tempered glass window
- Modular
- Plenty of space inside
- Has a stepless fan speed switch
- Has a controller for up to 8 fans and 2 RGB LEDs
- Has a LED switch to cycle through different lightning styles, including mainboard sync
Contra
- PSU installation is incredibly frustrating
- There's an intermediate power cable between case and PSU
- If you forget to turn the PSU on, you'll have to open the case again...
- Some screws are fastened way too tightly, making them extremely hard to remove
- Instruction manual does not explain why the case needs 2 SATA power cables
- Front door feels extremely cheap
- Very little space in the back
- Fan speed switch has an auto mode for the mainboard, but it doesn't seem to work
- LED switch is difficult to press
This review was created for a different variant: Dark Base Pro 900 rev.2 (ATX, mATX, Mini-ITX, E-ATX, XL-ATX)
Not always well thought out.
The case looks good and actually offers a lot of space.
However, many things are solved in a complicated way (power supply cover, screwing on the 5 1/4" drives, SSD mounts).Pro
- A lot of space
- Good fans
- Looks good
Contra
- Little space for cables behind mainboard
- Extremely annoying mounting of the spare part cover
- Bad manual
Very modular, beautiful case
Very flexible, large enclosure that offers many different ways to fit hardware. I opted for an inverted build with water cooling.
The advantage of an inverted build is that the thick parts of the motherboard (RAM sticks, CPU, I/O connections) are in the middle of the case. This allows more space for a radiator in the lid, which also hides the small, unsightly cables that are normally connected in the lower part of the motherboard. The PSU shroud allows for hidden cable management and makes the case look less empty. In addition, you could install an SSD, a 120mm fan or, as in my case, a water pump with reservoir on the shroud. The PCB hub on the back of the motherboard is very practical and provides the possibility to connect 8 additional fans. The LED strips supplied can also be connected to the PCB hub. The fans and LED strips connected to the PCB hub can be controlled manually from the front or simply through the motherboard's bios. I find the induction plate on the lid very useful, as my smartphone supports this type of charging. I use it very often. Visually, I really like the case. It allows for clean cable management and the darkened side window just looks great.
For the inverted installation, I had to screw around a lot and some screws were so tight that I almost destroyed the screws when I unscrewed them. I could only unscrew them after heating them up with a hot air blower. To install my 420mm radiator in the front, I also had to apply a lot of pressure and drill two holes in the case. There was also a mistake in the manual: the PCB hub needs the SATA connector as a power connector. This was not described in the manual. These are not major errors, but they would be easy to fix.
For any modder who is planning to build a quiet feast for the eyes, I can recommend this case with "guetem Gwüsse".Pro
- inverted mounting
- Cable management
- PSU Shroud
- Controllable PCB hub
- LED strips supplied
- Induction plate on the lid
- darkened side window
Contra
- Screw shop
- incorrect manual
- not all 420mm radiators fit directly at the front
This review was created for a different variant: Dark Base Pro 900 rev.2 (ATX, mATX, Mini-ITX, E-ATX, XL-ATX)
Flexible enclosure construction kit for advanced users with high requirements
A very good enclosure, but definitely not easy to handle. In some respects almost more of a "do-it-yourself enclosure construction kit" than an enclosure
Where e.g. in "normal" cases the installation of the PSU is a matter of 4 screws and 2 minutes, here you first have to 1) unscrew the PSU cover, then 2) remove one HDD cage, then 3) unscrew the PSU bracket to 4) mount the PSU to the PSU bracket. Don't forget to connect any modular power cables to the PSU at this point, because the PSU is practically inaccessible after installation. 5) Connect the power cable from the enclosure to the PSU 6) Screw the PSU bracket to the enclosure 7) Refit the HDD cage 8) Refit the PSU cover. Refit the power supply unit cover.
You can do practically anything with the case, but it's not IKEA-simple and unfortunately be quiet! has skimped on the manual (minimum number of illustrations). When removing the top cover, for example, it would have been helpful to start by lifting the front panel, but the manual more or less says: Take off the cover.
I find it very cool that the HDD cages are open "to the rear", so that the whole SATA cable tangle disappears behind the mainboard. At the same time, I find it less understandable that the space behind the mainboard is very limited. The enclosure is so spacious and just 5mm more would have made a big difference.Pro
- Very flexible
- HDD cages do not collide with graphics card (rear connections)
- LEDs not permanently installed
- Space for heat exchanger (water cooling)
- Very high quality
Contra
- Not very intuitive (detailed manual study a must!)
- Saving on the manual
- Only 3 of 5 HDD cages supplied
- Little space behind mainboard
This review was created for a different variant: Dark Base Pro 900 rev.2 (ATX, mATX, Mini-ITX, E-ATX, XL-ATX)
Cracked PSU mounting
What's with the PSU flourish? Damn it was awkward to install the PSU. If the PSU breaks on me, I'm throwing the case in the trash: I don't like mounting that shit again. The Qi Charging Station also produces coil whining. It just whistles, and the whole case is just built way too complicated. Manual insufficiently documented.
This review was created for a different variant: Dark Base Pro 900 rev.2 (ATX, mATX, Mini-ITX, E-ATX, XL-ATX)
6 out of 72 reviews
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