By: Ronald Chow (Guest Editor)
August 2, 2024
German engineering is world-renowned for being outstanding. When you think about German engineering, perhaps the first thing that comes to mind would be performance and luxury automobiles. From the people’s car Volkswagen to the luxurious Mercedes-Benz, Audi, and BMW, and all the way to the legendary Porsche, German engineering has made its mark in precision, forward thinking, and performance. German ingenuity has led them to producing painstaking luxury, high-end features, and cutting edge technology. Likewise, be quiet!, which hails from the Deutschland, has garnered the same German reputation of performance in a silent package. One could say that be quiet! exudes the subtleness of quiet luxury. The brand is known for crafting quality products with a plethora of features and a no-compromise approach to their design. When you first come across a be quiet! case, the form is rather ordinary. There is no outlandish design or pointy and angular panels. Instead, they keep the traditional boxy shape with some artistic flair. They appear to seek function first, while still adding a bit of tasteful form to keep people happy. Today, we will be looking at the be quiet! Dark Base 701, which is the little brother to the flagship Dark Base Pro 901. Although it is supposed to be in the same series of products, this mid-tower has a different design than the former. It is rounder and has a softer look around the edges, and comes with two large vertical RGB LED light strips on the front rather than a slim horizontal one. The design focus also shifts from versatility, performance, and silence to maximizing airflow and usability. So let us dig in and find out if the be quiet! Dark Base 701 can meet the expectations of the people.
The case was shipped in its cardboard retail box from be quiet!’s USA office located in Walnut, California. It arrived at our Calgary office in Alberta, Canada through UPS Standard ground services. The box appeared to have maintained most of its structural integrity, with a few small rips and gouges in the cardboard and a somewhat crumpled top. It did not show signs of sustaining any major catastrophic drops. The back of the box features an exploded diagram of the Dark Base 701, with the side listing the specifications of the case. The front of the case features a line art rendition of the tower. Below, we find “Dark Base 701” titled in bold font. In a smaller font, we have the theme of this case that reads “maximum airflow and usability”. We will look into that later.
Full technical data from be quiet!’s website is listed down below for your perusing:
General Data
Model: Dark Base 701 White
Color option: White
Motherboard compatibility: E-ATX (30.5 x 27.5cm), ATX, M-ATX, Mini-ITX
Case size excl. stands (L x W x H), (mm): 565 x 249 x 495
Case size incl. stands (L x W x H), (mm): 565 x 249 x 523
Volume (l): 69.64
PSU form factor: ATX PS/2
Net weight (kg): 12.8
Expansion slots: 7 + 3
Pre-installed fans
Fan at top: 1x Silent Wings 4 140mm PWM high-speed White
Fan at front: 1x Silent Wings 4 140mm PWM high-speed White
Fan at side: -
Fan at rear: 1x Silent Wings 4 140mm PWM high-speed White
Fan at bottom: -
Dimensions (L x W x H), (mm): Front: 140 x 140 x 25 / Rear: 140 x 140 x 25 / Top: 140 x 140 x 25
Fan speed at 100% PWM / 12V (rpm): 1900
Airflow at 100% PWM / 12V (CFM / m3/h): 78.4 / 133.2
Air Pressure at 100% PWM / 12V (mm H2O): 2.36
Noise level at 100% PWM / 12V (dB(A)): 29.3
Voltage range (V DC): 5 - 13.2
Input power (W): 4.8
Input current (A): 0.4
Connector: 4-pin PWM
Lifespan (h / 25°C): 300,000
Fan controller: ✓
Maximum fan installation
Maximum fans : 8
Top (mm): 3x 140 / 3x 120
Front (mm): 3x 140 / 3x 120
Side (mm): -
Rear (mm): 1x 140 / 1x 120
Bottom (mm): 1x 140 / 1x 120
PSU shroud: -
Optional radiator installation
Top (mm): 120 / 140 / 240 / 280 / 360
Front (mm): 120 / 140 / 240 / 280 / 360
Side (mm): -
Rear (mm): 120
Bottom (mm): -
PSU compatibility
Maximum dimensions excl. bottom fan (mm): 250
Maximum dimensions incl. bottom fan (mm): 250
Graphics card
HDD cage (in height of graphics card) installed (mm): 415
HDD cage (in height of graphics card) removed (mm): 415
Maximum PCIe slots with vertical graphics card (pcs.): 3
Drive bay capacity
5.25 bays (pcs.): -
3.5 slots (scope of delivery): 2
3.5 slots (max.): 3
2.5 slots (scope of delivery): 3
2.5 slots (max.): 5
Cooling
Max construction height of CPU cooler unit (mm): 185
Airflow channel: Front / Top / Rear / Bottom
Lighting
LED illumination: ✓
LEDs (pcs.): 48
LED type: ARGB - 5V
LEDs synchronizable with controller/motherboard: ✓
I/O Panel
USB 3.2 Gen. 2 Type C: 1
USB 3.2 Type A: 2
USB 2.0: -
HD Audio I/O: Mic + Audio
Qi charger / Quick Charging Option (W): -
Insulation and damping
Top panel insulation mats: -
Front panel insulation mats: -
Side panel insulation mats: ✓
Anti-vibration decoupled HDD: ✓
Anti-vibration decoupled fan: ✓
Anti-vibration decoupled PSU: ✓
Anti-vibration decoupled motherboard-tray: -
Scope of delivery
Screw set (Drives/Motherboard): ✓
Additional standoffs (pcs.): 1
SSD bracket for PSU shroud: -
LED strips (pcs.): 0
Cable ties (pcs.): 9
Screw box: -
VGA holder: -
VGA holder for inverted layout: -
Mesh Front Panel: ✓
ODD Bracket: -
Fan / Radiator bracket for multi mounting panel: -
Removeable dust filters
Top: -
Front: 1
Side: -
Bottom: 1
Material
Top cover: Steel
Front panel: Steel
Side panel: Glass
Side panel window: Steel
Stands: ABS
Safety certification
Approvals: CE, UKCA
Environmental directives
RoHS: ✓
Reach: ✓
WEEE: ✓
Triman: ✓
Service
Warranty (Years): 3
International hotline / free of charge: ✓ / DE, FR, US
As we open up the top of the box, we are greeted with the front of the case facing upwards. The case is protected by two pieces of polystyrene foam reinforced by pieces of thick and stiff cardboard to protect the top two and bottom two edges from bumps. During the process of taking the case out, the polystyrene shed bits of foam all over the floor, which caused me to grumble a good bit. Aside from that minor nuisance, the protective nature of polystyrene foam deteriorates after a few bumps or drops. The case is also wrapped in a plastic cover.
At the very bottom, there is a thick piece of nicer polyethylene foam, which keeps the thin cardboard accessories box in place and gives the case a bit more protection. Despite the valiant effort of the protection materials, the case sustained some damage. One of the captive screws on the side panels was not fully seated and screwed down. Combined with the shipping orientation of the case resting on the bottom rather than upright, this meant a portion of the weight was resting on this out-of-place screw. This caused damage to the case frame and a latching hook on the side panel, as it was not properly secured. Unfortunately, this is not the first time we have seen this from be quiet!, and I hope they do make some improvements to their packing materials.
Page Index
1. Introduction, Packaging, Specifications
2. Physical Look - Outside
3. Physical Look - Inside
4. Installation and Conclusion
