Page 2 - Physical Look - Outside
When we look at the physical attributes of the be quiet! Pure Base 500DX, you will see it has the same dimensions as the original be quiet! Pure Base 500. However, one shift that is quite noticeable is the move towards an airflow focus in this case. From the front, this is seen in the mesh panel, which was originally a solid flat panel in the Pure Base 500. This gives me similar vibes to cases like the Fractal Design Meshify C, especially with its full metal mesh front. In between the front panel mesh however is a single bar, which lies in between two addressable RGB lighting strips. This is another addition from the original case. A be quiet! logo can be found at the front of the case as well. In terms of design, it is a bit of a step away from the rest of the be quiet! case lineup, and some fans that expect the typical be quiet! looks may not be as attracted. It also means we do not have any noise-suppressing material that would normally be found on the front panel. I think the case still looks good, and I like the clean approach when it comes to integrating lighting into their case. Otherwise, the whole case is sized up as a compact mid-tower ATX case. In terms of numbers, the be quiet! Pure Base 500DX is 450mm in length, 232mm in width, and 463mm in height with the feet installed. At a weight of 7.8kg, the case is quite light, though this is probably due to the mixture of different materials. The front panel and non-structural elements are made up of ABS plastic, while tempered glass can be found on the left side. The rest of the frame and the right-side panel are steel.
At the top of the Pure Base 500DX, you can see a few interesting elements to this case as well as some more differences when compared to the vanilla Pure Base 500. While the previous case had a mostly solid top panel, this one has a mesh filter at the top, held with a plastic frame and attached with magnet strips around the filter. The filter is quite sturdy still and has a notch for easy removal when you want to clean. The plastic frame also has a be quiet! logo engraved on it. At the front of the case, we have the different I/O options for the be quiet! Pure Base 500DX. This includes a single USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type-C, single USB 3.1 Type-A, large power button, separate microphone and headphone jack, and a circular button to control the addressable RGB lighting. In addition to the front strip of lighting, there is also a light strip inside the case to illuminate the interior. While this is a good selection of ports, I would have liked to see two Type-A ports, especially since the internal header still takes up the full plug.
Otherwise, you can get a glimpse of the tempered glass side panel on the left side. The glass is held on with four thumbscrews, each with a rubber pad to further prevent vibrations. The mounting points also have rubber rings around them to further cushion the panel. The frame around the glass is darker to ensure any fingerprints from handling the glass are hidden. The glass is not tinted very much and shows off your internal components quite clearly.
Moving to the right side and back, we have a few interesting things to point out. On the side, we have a full steel panel here. This area also has a thin layer of insulation material inside to help with suppressing noise, which keeps with the be quiet! identity. The side panel is held on with two thumbscrews that are held captive to the side panel. At the back of the case, we have the opening for the motherboard inputs and outputs. Beside it is the opening for the fan exhaust area, which has mounting points for a single 120mm or 140mm fan. Underneath, we have seven expansion slots, which is pretty standard for ATX motherboards. There are no vertical slots for expansion cards in the other orientation, but this is understandable considering the slimmer footprint. Finally, at the bottom we have the opening for the power supply, which is a standard ATX-sized opening. This mount uses a frame that is held in with two thumbscrews, so the power supply can be mounted external to the case and then slid through this hole during installation.
At the bottom, we have a few things to point out. First of all, there are four feet with one in each corner. They have rubber pads on the bottom to suppress vibrations between the Pure Base 500DX and any hard surface the case may sit on. In between the feet is a large mesh filter held on with a plastic frame. It covers the opening at the bottom where the power supply would draw air in from. The filter is removable from the front, which makes removing and cleaning it more convenient. Finally, you can see there is a large opening at the front for air to come through the front side.
Page Index
1. Introduction, Packaging, Specifications
2. Physical Look - Outside
3. Physical Look - Inside
4. Installation and Conclusion
