be quiet! Dark Base Pro 900 Case Review: Chunky But Funky
A Closer Look at the be quiet! Dark Base 900 Pro
The Dark Base 900 Pro is available in three color variants like the other be quiet! cases: orange, silver and black trim. As the flag ship chassis, the Dark Base 900 Pro is easily the largest, measuring 577 x 243 x 585 and comes with a 4mm tempered glass side panel. A non-pro version of the Dark Base 900 comes with a regular steel left side panel matching the right side.
The tempered glass side panel holds in place via four thumbscrews which have rubberized washers to dampen the metal to glass contact. This entire left side shows a full view of the internals. The right side steel panel on the other hand is lined mostly with noise dampening material but has a pop-up ventilation panel that can be adjusted and also supports fan mounting. This panel is held in place by thumbscrews from the rear (which stay on the panel when loosened) and has a pull-out handle for easier removal.
The ventilation for the be quiet! Dark Base 900 is through the mesh lining the top side, front side and bottom side edges. The panels otherwise are mostly clear of ventilation with the exception of a small slit towards the rear of the top. Towards the front, the Qi charging station is available which can wirelessly charge some smartphones or tablets that support the feature when placed. The front IO is placed along the curved angle where the top and the front meet. From left to right, it has a pair of USB 3.0 ports that connects via a 19-pin header, a 3.5mm microphone jack, a 3.5mm headphone hack, power switch with power on LED (LED color matches the trim), recessed reset button, HDD activity LED, and a pair of USB 2.0 ports which connects via a 9-pin header.
Most of the front and bottom panel have a brushed aluminum finish. The entire front is also covered by a noise-dampened door that is held slightly in place by magnets.
At the bnottom area, four separate feet with rubber soles raise the Dark base 900 up although there are no ventilation holes on this bottom panel, just along its side. There are some ventilation slits similar to the ones at the top towards the rear however.
The “clicking” latch when the door is pushed into place or out of place is for the small piece that pushes the door open and not a lock itself. With the door open, the front filter is accessible for the intake fans. The front IO covers for the 5.25″ drive bays are also accessible without removing the entire front panel. The sliding integrated fan controller and LED color toggle is also accessible here right above the 5.25″ drive bay and below the front IO.
The entire bottom area is covered with a very large dust filter that is accessible from the front. This makes cleaning a cinch since users do not need to move the massive case just to access the bottom filter. If removing the front panel for modding, this large filter must be slid out first since it catches the bottom end of the front panel.
Although it is not really necessary to remove the front panel when installing up to a pair of 140mm fans or a 2x140mm radiator, it has to be removed in order to remove the 5.25″ drive bay cage and install the fan extender attachment if mounting a 360mm/420mm radiator or another fan in its place. The front panel can be removed by pushing in four pairs of latches along the sides.
The be quiet! Dark Base Pro 900 is extremely modular compared to other cases. In fact it is one of the only chassis that can decouple the motherboard tray from the body. This allows users to either mount it in the regular position, move it up or down or invert it so that the main chamber faces the right side instead. The motherboard tray itself supports standard ATX sized motherboards but can be reconfigured to support E-ATX with the included 14.4mm stand off accessory. The 5.25″ drive bay can be removed, as well as the individual 3.5″ drive trays and even the PSU has a special holder that allows it to be moved forward or back to allow for clearance when mounting fans or radiator at the bottom.
An additional 2.5″ drive bay mount is available behind the motherboard tray and there is also a controller board that the fans plug into as well as the LED controller. This makes wiring very simple right out of the box as they all just plug into the same junction. The Non-Pro Dark Base 900 does not have the LED connectors, QI charger connector and 4-pin connector to the motherboard on the PCB. There are plenty of options for cable routing otherwise with four grommetted holes along the side as well as a completely open top and bottom for passing through cables.
