Startup Central
7 Reasons Why You Need to Get The Dark Base Pro 900
We chose the Dark Base Pro 900 as our case for our ultimate Entrepreneur’s Custom Gaming/Work PC. Most entrepreneurs nowadays aren’t buying computers anymore due to the high cost of buying a laptop/work station every 2-3 years. Technology is fast moving and entrepreneurs are seeking to build their own Work/Play Rig. When building your own PC, one of the most important components is the Case. A poorly made case can make your space look unsightly, reduce the life and performance of your internal components, and also be loud and annoying to operate. And that’s why the Dark Base Pro 900 caught our attention. The company behind the Dark base 900 Pro is be quiet!…take a guess what they focus on. Be quiet! is a premium brand manufacturer of power supplies and cooling solutions based in Germany. This case is part of complete build that we will be finishing up within the next couple of months. We’re building the ultimate Work/Gaming PC for entrepreneurs and startup founders. And after months of research, we’d like to present you the 7 reasons why we chose the Dark Base Pro 900 .
1. Beautiful Design
First and foremost, we chose the case because it has a timeless look. It’s not too flashy, too edgy, or too over-the-top with all the curves and lines you’d find in other cases. The beauty is subtle and controlled. Our first impression of the case is one of awe and admiration. We reviewed it in our conference room and our staff constantly peaked in to see what we’re reviewing. You can choose between Orange, Silver, or Black trim. We chose the orange trim. It’s a full tower case featuring brushed aluminum & ABS casing all around, and 4mm thick tempered glass side panel. Coming in at 14.39kg without parts inside and measuring at 577mm deep, 243mm wide and 585mm tall, it’s definitely not a case you can easily move around. But then again it wasn’t designed to be portable.
We also appreciated the subtle and tastefully branding placed on the metal side of the case and in front. The orange outline is a solid color and doesn’t glow, which we don’t mind. The case does come with RGB lighting kit and it’s relatively easy to install.
When placed on a desk presents a timeless beauty that doesn’t beg to be noticed.
2. Functionality
We needed a case that was going functioned as well as it looks. Below are some attractive features of this case that sold us.
Good ventilation: It’s a highly breathable design with ventilation mesh surrounding the entire casing on both sides ensuring abundant airflow.
Motherboards Compatibility: The Dark Base Pro 900 (and even non-pro version) is compatible with a wide range of motherboards. You’ll be able to fit XL-ATX, E-ATX, ATX, Mini-ITX, and even Micro-ATX motherboards. We like to keep our options open when it comes to motherboards.
Front Ports: On top you have the I/O button with 2 USB 2.0 ports, 2 USB 3.0 ports, and HD audio jacks. Your Audio and Microphone ports are in front and easily accessible instead of having to plug from the rear. We wish it included a USB-C port, but it’s not a deal breaker.
QI Charger: On the top Panel there’s a QI charger for you to place a compatible device there to charge. This is the first time we’ve ever seen this feature on a case.
Fan controller and RGB LED color switch: You can adjust the fan speed directly from the front panel and cycle through multiple color scheme of the RGB lighting. All these can be controlled without turning the computer on and going into some sort of interface.
One small aesthetic thing we didn’t like was the misalignment of the orange line (pictured below). It’s not a turn off, however would’ve been nice if it was perfectly aligned.
3. Cooling
No high-end machine can function for long if it wasn’t built with cooling in mind. The fans alone in this case make it worth the extra money. Instead of having to shell out money for decent fans, be quiet! includes 3 SilentWings 3 fans installed out of the box. The fans are 140mm PWM fans with a unique blade design which be quiet! claims to improve air circulation. There’s a fan in the rear and 2 fans pre-installed on the front panel. You can install an additional fan on the top deck (most likely for CPU cooler) and you can also install a single 120mm fan on the bottom. We also liked how accessible both air filters are on this case. Both can be accessed from the front panel with ease.
4. Build Quality
As noted above the entire construction is made from brushed aluminum, ABS, steel for internal frame, and 4mm thick tempered glass. The Dark Base Pro 900 Pro’s entire case is also lined with a fairly thick (about 4-5mm) high density sound absorbing foam that serves to reduce noise level. The front panel door is held shut by a magnet. Our complaint about this is that the magnet is awfully weak and doesn’t hold the door in securely. However the door does open and close properly.
When carrying the case around you won’t get a wobbly contorted feel of a cheaper case. It’s solidly built and stays in shape even when being manhandled a bit. Looking at the 4mm thick tempered glass gives you an idea of the attention to detail that goes into the build. A this point it probably sounds like be quiet! paid us a lot of money to toot their horn, however that is not the case. We really do enjoy reviewing and showcasing the craftsmanship that goes into building this product. The 4mm thick tempered glass is precisely beveled to ensure it doesn’t scratch or damage the case or your furniture when disassembling.
Tempered glass thickness
5. Attention to detail
We’ve reviewed hundreds of products and we can tell when the people who made it actually loves the product or not. And it all shows in the attention to detail that they put into designing and building it. The Dark Base Pro 900 ‘s easily removable thumbscrews for tempered glass panel, the rear, and most of the internal components are a nice touch. This makes adding/removing parts and disassembling a breeze.
The glass panel also doesn’t just sit on a metal screw. We’ve seen this in a lot of cases and it hurts our souls each time we remove and put the glass back on, knowing we’re scratching the inside ring each time. Be quiet! didn’t just put a rubber seal on top of the screw, no that’s not enough. They have the rubber seal secured in place by a plastic housing which lodges itself snuggly inside the case. From a manufacturing standpoint, they could’ve easily gotten away with a much cheaper solution. But gladly they didn’t.
And do you see the orange rubber washer protecting the case from the screw? It’s the little things that could’ve gone unnoticed, but didn’t, that truly makes a this case a product of love and care.
6. Carpet and Wood Friendly
Why is this even a selling point you may ask? It’s a small touch thats often overlooked and not appreciated until you see damages on your carpet, desk, or expensive wooden floor. You won’t find small pointy feet here. Nor will you find cheap plastic caps that could damage wooden table or floor. The foam inserts are glued tightly into a specifically carved cavity. This makes the feet extra secure when sliding or moving around. And the large dimension feet serves a dual purpose of protecting your flooring and providing enough clearance between the floor and the case.
7. Highly modular and customizable
This was one of the best selling features that sold us. The Dark Base Pro 900 was built to be highly configurable to your specifications. You can have the glass panel on either the left or the right. Inside there’s two 5.25″ drives, seven 3.5″ drives. If you’re not using 3.5 drives and instead uses 2.5 SSD, you can fit 15 SSD here. Not entirely sure why you’d ever need that much space, but it’s there. You can also remove the cages to improve circulation and fit larger 1080 GPU’s. The entire case is highly configurable and can be customized for whatever configuration you want to put inside.
Final Thoughts
The Dark Base Pro 900 Pro isn’t just a case. It’s a beautiful piece of art, an engineering beauty, and a product made to withstand the test of time. They didn’t skimp on any parts to save money. The engineering team at be quiet! did quite a lot to the case, but the one thing they didn’t do is compromise it’s quality. A few pictures can’t tell the whole story. Once you start working with the case and installing components, you start to see all the little things they did and all the details they didn’t skimp on. We’re glad we chose the Dark Base Pro 900 as our case for the build. Please stay tune for our complete build coming soon.
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