A Closer Look - Inside

Before we dive into the interior of the Pure Base 500DX, there is the solid panel that is also lined with sound-dampening material to keep things as quiet as possible.


The interior of the chassis is set up quite traditionally, including the ever-popular shroud on the bottom. It comes with numerous well-placed openings for cable management and a larger cutout in the front for you to easily install a 360 mm radiator here. On the back, the subtle but interesting changes become more apparent. While there is around 24 mm of space—enough for most cable routing—there are no visible openings for cable management as be quiet! has solved that issue differently. A refreshing sight are the very large cable hooks you may use to easily zip-tie cables to the motherboard tray.


There is a bracket for two SSDs mounted to the CPU cooler opening, and let's not forget the be quiet! branded Velcro strips for easy cable management. Both elements are useful and well placed.


However, what makes the Pure Base 500DX stand out from other enclosures on the market is the additional SSD bracket in the front of the chassis. It allows you to install two more drives and may be removed for easy assembly. It also comes with a little plastic cover in the center, so you will easily be able to hide the power and data cables connected to each device.


In the front, below the shroud, is an HDD cage for either two 3.5" drivers or one 3.5" and one 2.5" drive. It is held in place by two thumb screws and may be moved back by about an inch for a thin 360 mm radiator without having to sacrifice this storage element. However, for a thicker variant, the cage needs to be removed completely. Above that area is the aforementioned intake frame for three 120 mm, two 140 mm fans, or a 360 mm radiator.


The PSU bay in the bottom of the rear is equipped with four foam patches as an anti-vibration measure. Above that are the seven expansion slots with externally accessible thumb screws and the second 140 mm exhaust fan.


Looking at the ceiling, you can see that the mounting holes are as far away from the motherboard as possible, so you should have no issues with cooling colliding with your motherboard.


All the cables within the be quiet! Pure Base 500DX are of the default variety and will fit any modern motherboard. The built-in controller is powered by a SATA connector and includes a 3-pin connector to allow for the motherboard control of the built-in lighting