be quiet! Dark Base Pro 900 Chassis Review

Final Thoughts

Price

If it wasn’t already abundantly clear, the Dark Base 900 is not a cheaply made product and is aimed at the enthusiast market more than anything. As such, it comes with a fairly premium price tag. Of course, with this level of features and build quality, we think it’s worth every single penny.

• Dark Base 900: €199.00 / £159.00 / $199.90
• Dark Base Pro 900: €249.00 / £199.00 / $249.90

Overview

It’s big, it’s heavy and it is expensive; three things that you’re sure to notice quite quickly when you’re working with the 900 or the Pro 900 from be quiet! Of course, there is one more thing, it’s freaking beautiful to look at, and be quiet! has spared no expensive, time, and effort on the design and construction of this chassis. With perfectly finished brushed black aluminium on the exterior, flawless paint work on the incredibly durable steel frame components, and let’s not skip over the Pro 900’s 4mm thick tempered glass side panel window. This is every bit a premium quality product from top to bottom, inside and out, with no exception.

Flexibility and component compatibility is amazing with the 900, and while the Pro 900 does sport that fancy side panel and the wireless charging pad, all the core features are the same across the two chassis. Most important of all is the water cooling support and the customisable interior. With room for huge radiators throughout, custom-loop hardware is going to feel very welcome in this chassis and even if you did run into a conflict, it’s simply a case of undoing a few screws and physically changing the layout of the chassis to accommodate it. I’ve never seen a chassis with a height adjustable motherboard tray before, so it’s really cool to see it featured here. The fact you can also unscrew the PSU bracket, and flip the motherboard tray around to the left side of the chassis, giving you an inverse layout, and the option to swap your side panels around, is pretty awesome too, especially since not everyone keeps their chassis on the same side of the desk.

The Pro 900 is obviously a lot more expensive than the “standard” 900, but when you’re going for a premium quality chassis,  I can’t understate the impact of that tempered glass side panel window, and I personally see it as an investment you wouldn’t want to miss out on. Sure, the 900 still looks great, but it can’t hold a light to the LED backlit visuals of a real glass panel. Wireless charging may not be needed for everyone either, but again, if you have a wireless charging mobile device, this little extra is going to be incredibly handy.

Pros

• Flawless build quality
• Reversible and height adjustable motherboard tray
• Tempered glass side panel (Pro 900)
• Wireless mobile device charging (Pro 900)
• SilentWings 3 fans pre-installed
• Dust filters
• Sound dampening materials pre-installed
• Brushed aluminium exterior finish
• Extensive water cooling support
• Fully modular hard drive bays
• Excellent cable routing
• Internal PSU mount

Cons

• None

Neutral

• It is expensive, but you get a huge amount in return for your investment

“With flawless attention to detail, extensive dust filters and cooling mounts throughout, premium-grade SilentWings 3 fans pre-installed, a modular interior design, and so much more, there isn’t a whole lot, if anything, that the Dark Base 900 series cannot do, making it one of the biggest and best chassis we’ve ever seen!”