be quiet! Silent Base 802 Review

Introduction

If we have learned one thing then that be quiet! makes amazing screwdrivers. And the cooler that comes with them is not that bad either. Now let's find out how well they are at making the box that goes around the cooler!

What's in the Box?

For once, there is a lot to be said in this category. Although be quiet!'s Silent Base 802 comes in the same type of brown carton box we're all used to, there is a lot of additional stuff included.

Once everything is unboxed, we will be greeted with the following items:

• Silent Base 802
• Replacement Front Cover
• Replacement Top Cover
• 2x Feet
• Manual
• Additional Goodies
• 1x HDD/2x SSD bracket

Something that has not been specifically mentioned in the manual (but should have been) is the fact that the Silent Base 802 does not come fully pre-assembled. Out of the box, the first them that we should do is mount the feet to the case.

This can be done by placing their ends into the appropriate holes at the bottom of the case and giving them a strong push. *At this point a short note: we were quite shocked about the amount of force necessary to get these feet in. Good luck not breaking them.

Specs

Considering that this is still classified as a "mid tower" case, the compatibility list becomes quite ridiculous as there are not many things that will not fit into this behemoth. Down below we added a summary of its spec sheet:

Noise Reduction & Airflow Mode

One of the most interesting aspects of the Silent Base 802 is the interchangeable Front and Top Panel covers. By default, the Case comes with the Noise-reducing covers pre-attached.

The backside of these covers is covered in a sound damping material that absorbs as much noise as possible, while also making the attached-to piece quite a lot heavier.

Additionally, the right-side panel is also covered in this material, though there is no replacement panel available as the material will not produce any negative side effects anyway.

Included in the box, be quiet! adds the Airflow focused replacement panels which can easily be installed by either detaching the top panel (magnets) or swiping the front panel up and then pulling it away. 

These Airflow mode panels, though not their real name, are made out of a Mesh-Aluminum structure that allows the most amount of air to travel through them.

Already whilst looking at these panels we can see which one of them is going to be used for max performance. However, we do want to point out that the Noise-reducing panels are not choking the case in any way. be quiet! made sure to add additional Air vents all around the case, including some built into other pieces, which are tunneling the air into the fans obstructed by the sound damping material. Of course, these two panels will never be able to perform alike. However, it is a real pleasure to be able to choose which way we want to build our PC out of the box, with the option to choose later down the line.

Compatibility

Fans

When it comes to fans, the Silent Base can have them all.

Up to 3x 120/140 in the front, up to 3x 140/120 in the Top, a 120/140 in the back, and they're even is an additional spot on top of the PSU tunnel, in case the army wasn't big enough.

With a total of 8x 140 or 120mm fans, there is probably no CPU released yet which couldn't be handled inside this case.

An interesting point about the case, however, is that the Top Fans are not directly mounted to the case. Instead, there are 2 screws that have to be unscrewed that allow a separate bracket to be pulled out. Afterward, the Fans can be installed onto this bracket, allowing even to completely remove the bracket and install the whole Top set up outside of the case.

Out of the box, the Silent base does not come empty though. In our opinion, one of the most important selling points about this case is the included 3x 140mm Pure Wing Fans. Although these are not the highest available option made by be quiet! these are still very good case fans perfectly capable of getting a build running without the need to get additional fans.

Watercooling

The Watercooling support is just as interessting as the Fan support.

Though the Radiator support is outstandingly good with up to 420 rad in the front, up to 360 rad in the top, and a 120mm rad in the back, the Silent Base almost managed to achieve the perfect setup which would consist of dual 420mm support. Close, but not there yet.

Additionally, once the covers on top of the PSU Tunnel are removed, we will find various holes which allow install Watercooling pumps and reservoirs.

CPU Cooler

For the CPU cooler, the Silent Base 802 allows us to use up to 185mm high coolers.

GPU

Just like every other compatibility section before, the GPU length seems ridiculous. With a max 432mm GPU length, pretty much every GPU in existence can be installed.

The only restriction here is in case all of the available HDD bracket spots in the front of the case are being used. While the top ones are not creating any issue, the bottom 2 will be restricting the max GPU length to 287mm. 

Additionally, there are 2x Vertical PCIe brackets that can be used with a separately available PCIe riser for a Vertical GPU installation.

Cable Management

Even though this review was essentially a big praise, the cable management was a bit disappointing.

Even if there are cable cutouts around the motherboard including some protection rubber, the only "point" that the Silent base can score in this category is the space behind the Motherboard area and the easiness created by this. However, this is mainly due to Silent Base's size and not any sort of ingenuity.

With a couple of strips left and right, there is not much to talk about other than that there's enough space to just jam the cables in there.

IO

The IO is exactly what we wanted to see, with an extra that we didn't know we wanted.

At the top of the case, we will find the 2x USB 3.2 Gen 1, 1x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type C accompanied by the usual suspects.

Although we are very happy with this setup and believe this is absolutely up to date, it is something else that stole our attention.

Next to the IO panel, be quiet! included a Speed Controlling dial.

This little switch allowing for level 1, 2, 3, and auto, allows us to manually control the Fan speed without using any software.

This is made possible by the additional Fan Hub located behind the motherboard area. The Hub allows for 6 Fans to be installed, 3 of which are already in use by the included fans. (Splitters are an option).

Although we believe a manual control of this hub is already a great feature (100%, 75%, 50%) it is the AUTO feature that makes this controller usable in a normal environment. Instead of forcing the user to manually set anything, we can also set the dial to -auto- which will let the motherboard's software take care of the fan speed.

Cooling

In case it wasn't obvious enough during the compatibility section of this review, the Cooling capabilities of the Silent Base 802 are completely ridiculous. Ignoring the radiator support, the sheer amount of air that can be pushed through this case combined with the impressive 185mm high CPU cooler restriction makes this case a perfect candidate for any build we could possibly imagine.

Design

The exact model that we are using for this review is quiet!'s Silent Base 802 Window White.

Design-wise, the 802 is a really interesting case. Although the feed of the case creates a rather modern look, the rest of the case is kept rather simplistic and without any unnecessary edges or grooves. The most prominent aspect ignoring the feet would be the air vents going from top to bottom, though these mainly stick out due to their black color compared to the all-white case.

Inside the case, the PSU is hidden behind a huge plastic cover with be quiet!'s logo on it, which is also used on multiple other occasions, such as on the Front Panel.

Unfortunately, we are not really able to find a perfect classification for the design of the case. There are simple-kept aspects, while there are also noticeable parts meant to keep an eye on.

Fortunately for us, Design is a personal thing, so you will have to decide for yourself what your opinion is.

Installation

Thanks to the huge amount of space inside the case as well as behind the motherboard area, the installation process was an ease.

There was nothing that created any issues along the line, and we greatly appreciated the included Fan Hub/Controller in the back which saved us on a lot of cable routing.

Another highly appreciated aspect was the top fan/radiator bracket which could be removed in order to install the fans. Thanks to its railing system, we are also able to only partially remove the bracket, allowing the fans to be installed outside of the case, while the bracket is still partially floating next to the case. However, we do want to point out that you should try to put the least amount of weight onto this bracket while it is only partially removed.

Conclusion

Looking back at our experience with the be quiet! Silent Base 802, we have nothing but positive things to say.

Building inside it was an ease, the cooling capabilities are out of this world, and the inclusion of an after-the-fact choice between reduced noise and maximum airflow shows that be quiet! went the extra mile to open up every possibility for the end consumer.

From a build quality aspect, the case was pretty well made, though we are not the biggest fan of the amount of plastic used. But we do want to point out that every plastic & not plastic piece comes in the same shade of white, while the overall structure does not seem to have been negatively affected by said material.

One of the most important selling points about the Silent Base 802 would be the included Pure Wings 2. Considering that a Pure Wing 2 140mm already sets us back about 10€, we are looking at a total of 30€ worth of fans. But ignoring the price, the Silent Wings are perfectly capable of delivering respectable performance inside the Silent Base 802. Therefore, a new customer is not required to go out of his way and purchase additional fans, increasing the price, and possibly even creating another error source. 

Due to the many positive aspects that we found whilst working with the Silent Base 802, this conclusion section could be going on for quite some time. However, to make it short, we are absolute fans of the case, and we can without a doubt recommend it to anybody who is looking for a high-performance case, which will also set you up from the get-go.