With the Pure Base 500, the German manufacturer be quiet! has developed a low-priced silent case, which convinced us with a good middle ground between Silent and Airflow. However, at the CES 2020, be quiet! has now presented a case that at first glance does not fit into the usual portfolio. It has a mesh front element and striking RGB lighting. As the rest of the Midi Tower is based on the body of the be quiet! Pure Base 500, the further development is appropriately called Pure Base 500DX.
The be quiet! Pure Base 500DX is available in two colour variants (black, white) from a price of € 99.90 (RRP). Both versions come with a tempered glass side panel. Read this review to find out whether the changes pay off and how the be quiet! Pure Base 500DX performs in general.
Technical details
| Model: | be quiet! Pure Base 500DX |
| Case type: | Midi-Tower |
| Dimensions: | 231 x 443 x 450 mm (W x H x D) |
| Weight: | 7.83 kg |
| Material: | Steel, plastic, tempered glass |
| Color: | white |
| Front connectors: | 1x USB 3.1 type-C, 1x USB 3.0 type-A, 1x speaker, 1x microphone |
| Drive bays: | 2x 3,5″ (internal) 5x 2,5″ (internal) |
| Expansion slots: | 7x horizontal |
| Form factors: | ATX, mATX, mini-ITX |
| Ventilation: | front: 3x 120 / 2x 140 mm (2x 140 mm of which are pre-installed) Rear: 1x 120 / 140 mm (thereof 1x 140 mm pre-installed) Cover: 2x 120 / 2x 140 mm |
| Radiators: | front: 1x 240 / 280 / 1x 360 mm rear: 1x 120 / 140 mm Cover: 1x 120 / 240 mm |
| Max. CPU cooler height: | 190 mm |
| Max. graphic card length: | 369 mm (without front radializer) |
| Max. max. length of power supply: | 225 mm (with HDD cage) |
| Place for cable management: | 25 mm |
| Place for front radiator: | max. 35 mm depth, max. 141 mm width |
| Price: | € 94.90 (white), € 100.47 (black) |
| Specials: | dust filter, cable management, sound insulation, glass side panel, RGB control |
Scope of delivery
The be quiet! Pure Base 500DX comes well and safely packed in a brown cardboard box with black writing and is wrapped in normal styrofoam and a plastic foil. The side window is also covered with a protective film on the outside. The included accessories were stowed in a brown cardboard box inside the hard disk cage. The accessories include all important screws, cable ties, a very detailed instruction manual and a magnetic dust filter cover for the lid. The manufacturer has also pre-installed the spacers for the mainboard and equipped the Pure Base 500DX with three fans from the Pure Wings 2 series (frame width 140 mm) ex factory.
Outside impression
As already mentioned in the introduction, the be quiet! Pure Base 500DX differs significantly from the rest of the manufacturer’s lineup. The body is made of steel and the front element is made of plastic. What’s new in the Pure Base 500DX, however, is the use of large mesh elements to improve the airflow. These mesh elements span almost the entire front panel and are slightly rounded on the outside. Between the mesh grilles there is a plastic bar to which an RGB strip has been attached on both sides. Behind the wireless front panel is a magnetic dust filter and the first pre-installed 140 mm fan.
Unlike the Pure Base 500, the 500DX is only available with a tempered glass side window on the left side of the case. The side window is attached to the body by four flat knurled screws and has a white border to cover the edges of the body. The right side panel is completely closed and lined with an insulating mat on the inside. It is attached with two knurled screws which remain on the side panel.
The lid section does not differ from the normal Pure Base 500. There is a large fan grill and another pre-installed case fan. Both are covered by a magnetic mesh dust filter cover. The cover has a black frame in the white version, but the mesh structure is white. Furthermore, the I/O panel is found in the front area of the cover. This is also kept in black and has a USB 3.1 type C and a USB 3.0 type A connection. Both connectors are each connected to the mainboard via a single internal connector. The I/O panel also offers one port each for headphones and microphone, as well as two buttons for power and RGB control.
The back and bottom of the Pure Base 500DX are identical to the normal 500. The Midi Tower has seven reusable PCI slot panels, which are secured externally with thumb screws. The case achieves a firm stand through four solid feet made of plastic. These are also coloured black in the white version and have been covered with rubber strips for further noise reduction. Again, there is the very large dust filter made of a fine-meshed fabric. For cleaning, the filter can be conveniently removed towards the front. This saves a lot of work if the tower is placed in a cupboard or directly on a wall.
The external finish and paintwork are, as is customary from be quiet!, on a good level and leave little room for criticism. However, at least in the white version, a visible difference between the white tones is noticeable. There are a total of four different shades of white throughout the case (mesh, plastic on the front panel, body, frame on the tempered glass). Even if the material quality is good, these differences could be daunting for one or the other buyer.
Internal impression
The interior of the Pure Base 500DX has also not been redesigned. So be quiet! once again relies on a contemporary design in the form of a two-chamber system. The upper chamber offers plenty of space for the mainboard, long graphics cards and large CPU coolers. The pre-mounted fan can supply the interior with fresh air unhindered by the absence of a HDD cage. To make the system look neat and tidy even when wired, there are numerous openings for power supply cables around the mainboard tray and in the power supply cover.
The power supply cover covers almost the entire lower chamber. For reasons of compatibility with front radiators, a part has been removed on the side of the front panel. The cover is to hide the power supply, all unnecessary cables and the HDD cage. But to allow a slight air circulation between the two chambers, numerous ventilation slits were cut into the steel on the upper side of the power supply tunnel.
On the back of the mainboard sled everything stays the same. Beside a lot of space there are several fixing points for cable ties. Additionally, there are the already mentioned openings for cable management and practical Velcro strips. Cable management should become a piece of cake with these features. The built-in power supply unit later rests on four foam rubber strips and is pushed into the power supply unit tunnel from behind with a mounting frame.
Finally, let’s talk about the mounting options for hard drives and SSDs. The HDD cage under the cover can hold two 3.5″ and one 2.5″ data carriers at the same time. With large HDDs the mounting is decoupled. The cage is modular and can be moved or completely removed. The Pure Base 500DX can also accommodate four additional 2.5″ SSDs. For this purpose the case has a steel frame behind the mainboard tray and a large element to the left of the mainboard tray. Both frames are fastened with one thumb screw each. The SSDs are locked in place with normal screws.
System building in the be quiet! Pure Base 500DX
Now we come to the system installation. As hardware we use a AMD Ryzen 5 1400 on a MSI B350 PC Mate with 32GB Crucial Ballistix Sport LT grey DDR4-3000*. The Ryzen is cooled by an EKL Alpenföhn Matterhorn Pure. For the image output a GTX 1060 6GB from Gigabte AORUS is responsible. Power is supplied by the modular Corsair SF450 Gold*. In order to enhance the cabling optically, individually sleeved cable extensions of Phanteks were used.
As with the Pure Base 500, the installation of the components went smoothly. In front and behind the mainboard tray there is a lot of space and room to work. Only the opening for the 24-pin ATX cable could have been made a bit wider in our eyes. Due to the correctly pre-installed spacers and the centrally placed stand-off, which holds the mainboard in place without a screw, one additionally saves valuable time during installation. On the rear side, the 25 mm space between mainboard tray and side panel offers enough storage space for laying the cables. All unused connectors could be easily hidden under the power supply cover.
Buyers of the Pure Base 500DX don’t have to worry about compatibility with other components when buying graphics cards and CPU coolers. With a maximum supported height of 190 millimeters for CPU cooler and support for nearly 370 millimeters long graphics cards, there is no GPU or air cooling solution that doesn’t fit into this midi tower. There is also enough space for water-cooling radiators. This midi tower can accommodate a 360 radiator in the front and a 240 radiator in the lid.
The three pre-installed Pure Wing 2 fans have a frame width of 140 millimetres and rotate at approx. 950 revolutions per minute. They are connected to the mainboard via a black 3-pin connection cable. The fans create a noticeable draft at full speed, but are also audible through the open lid or front and can no longer be called silent in our eyes.
Finally, we come to the temperatures that were reached in the be quiet! Pure Base 500DX. During the stress test, Prime95 (SmallFFTs) and FurMark were executed for 15 minutes at a room temperature of 19°C. Additionally, this test was carried out in two different versions (case fan at 12V, case fan at 7V).
scenario |
temperature |
| CPU: 50% PWM (850 rpm) GPU: 50% PWM (1650 rpm) Case: 7V (600 rpm) |
CPU: 51 °C GPU: 62 °C |
| CPU: 50% (850 rpm) GPU: 50% PWM (1650 rpm) Case: 12V (950 rpm) |
CPU: 48 °C GPU: 60 °C |
As expected, the temperatures reached in the be quiet! pure base 500DX are very good and even better than in the pure base. This can be explained by the open front and the additional fan. The Pure Base 500DX has enough room for stronger hardware or any overclocking attempts. But subjectively, the 500DX is also a bit louder than the normal Pure Base 500 due to the mesh elements and the additional fan.
Lighting options in the be quiet! Pure Base 500DX
New to the be quiet! Pure Base 500DX is the integrated RGB lighting. This is realised by an RGB element embedded in the front panel and an RGB strip glued to the interior. All elements are controlled either digitally via the mainboard using a 3-pin 5V RGB connector or via the integrated control board in the I/O panel. If you are not satisfied with the factory-set colour (orange, of course), you can switch through the different colours and modes by pressing the button in the I/O panel. The power supply and data transmission to the RGB element in the front is wireless via a contact board. This prevents unnecessary cables when dismantling the front panel. Finally, a few impressions of the lighting.
Conclusion on the be quiet! Pure Base 500DX
The German manufacturer be quiet! has for the first time dared to use mesh and external RGB elements in the Pure Base 500DX. The current be quiet! entry-level case was used as a test object. The closed front panel was exchanged for a mesh panel with RGB lighting, the lid remains open and the 500DX was equipped with an additional fan. Finally, there is also the USB 3.1 type C connector in the I/O panel.
Due to the changes, the Pure Base 500DX could achieve even better temperatures and it is also nice to look at. Everything else remains the same to the already good Pure Base 500. The Midi-Tower offers a lot of space, is, with the exception of the color differences, well manufactured and represents a solid case overall. However, be quiet! also estimates an additional charge of about 30 € for the modifications. Whether the surcharge is worth it is up to the buyer to decide. The Pure Base 500DX offers more features and a better airflow, but silences the hardware worse than the normal Pure Base 500.
be quiet! Pure Base 500DX
Workmanship
Structure
Features
Cooling
Value for money
91/100
Spacious and well equipped midi tower with focus on airflow and optics.
