Page 2 - Physical Look - Outside
For some background information, be quiet! has three lines of computer cases, and this also is similar to their other product lines. For the cases, they have the Pure Base, Silent Base, and Dark Base, in order of increasing feature sets. As such, the Silent Base 802 sits in the middle ground with enthusiast-grade options while cutting out some unnecessary features. For one, this case we have today does not have a tempered glass side window. It has been a while since I last received a mid-tower ATX case that had no tempered glass or clear plastic side panel. Other than the mini ITX or media PC cases I have reviewed, the last non-windowed case I looked at was the Fractal Design Core 3300 in 2014. It should be noted that be quiet! does offer a Silent Base 802 with a window, but we received the solid side panel version. In addition, the Silent Base 802 comes in either white or black. The case is primarily made up of black steel panels, with the front, top, and bottom feet being made of ABS plastic. In terms of appearances, the Silent Base 802 reminds me a lot of the Dark Base 900 rev.2 I reviewed last year, especially in its shape and size. The cut down edges on both the top and bottom make the case wider in the middle than at the top and bottom. In addition, we have the same angle cut on the front panel edges. A be quiet! logo can be found on the front panel. These edges are lined with mesh to allow air to pass in at the front. While we currently have the solid panel on the front, be quiet! includes an additional mesh panel for users to swap out.
Despite being part of the mid-tier Silent Base lineup, the 802 is still a big boy of a case. In terms of dimensions, the Silent Base 802 is 539mm in length, 281mm in width, and 553mm in height with the feet attached. This makes it smaller than the Dark Base 900 rev.2 in both length and height while being wider due to the addition of vertical expansion slots. Despite these big numbers, the Silent Base 802 is defined as a mid-tower ATX case. The Silent Base 802 can also hold extended ATX motherboards. In terms of mass, the Silent Base 802 weighs in at 12.59kg, which makes it quite hefty. Looking at the materials, the weight is somewhat understandable with steel and ABS plastic. However, there are some internal materials that also increase the weight. We will see these on the next page.
Moving to the top, we have a few interesting things to point out. At the front, we have all of the inputs and outputs on the be quiet! Silent Base 802. Starting from the left side, we have a fan controller, USB 3.2 Type-C plug, two 3.5mm audio jacks for microphone and headphone, large square power button, circular reset switch, hard drive activity LED, and two USB 3.1 Type-A ports. The fan controller allows you to select between three different speeds of manual control or set it to automatic control based on the PWM signal from your motherboard. I am generally happy with the selection of ports here, even if the Type-C USB port looks like it was retrofitted into the slot. The power button also has a white LED behind it for the power indicator. At the back of the top panel, you can see there is a honeycomb opening at the top for mounting cooling components. Once again, be quiet! has given users the option to choose between a solid plastic panel at the top or a magnetic mesh panel for air to pass through. The solid panel splits into two pieces with the larger piece near the front having more sound dampening material underneath while the back piece has slits for a bit of exhaust ventilation. Otherwise, the magnetic mesh panel holds nicely to the case with magnets.
At the back of the be quiet! Silent Base 802, you can see a few more interesting things to note. At the very top, there are two push buttons. These are actually used to open up each side panel. A push of these buttons will release the panel from the side so that it can swing open, but you will need to pull it away from the case as the sides do not immediately flop open. Moving down, we have more typical things like the motherboard I/O area and a fan opening with mounting up to one 140mm fan. Underneath, we have seven expansion slots plus two more vertical slots. Underneath, we have an opening for the power supply, which is held on with captive thumbscrews. I am glad to see the more typical external mounting of the power supply rather than the internal one we had on the Dark Base Pro 900 rev.2.
Underneath, you can see I have installed the two large bar feet on each side of the be quiet! Silent Base 802. Each foot is mounted into two parallelogram holes and is lined with two rubber pads for better grip on its placed surface. In between the feet, we have a full-length mesh filter with a plastic frame holding it. It is removed from the front for easy access when cleaning. The mesh filter is here because the entire bottom of the Silent Base 802 is actually permeable with an array of honeycomb holes for air to pass through. This is useful for the power supply, which can use this area for an intake of fresh air.
Page Index
1. Introduction, Packaging, Specifications
2. Physical Look - Outside
3. Physical Look - Inside
4. Installation and Conclusion
