A Closer Look - Outside

Out of the box, the be quiet! Shadow Base 800 FX sports a classic mesh front with embedded stripes on the sides. This design language has the same characteristics as most of their other cases since the brand got into the case segment.


Looking at the front, you will notice the slight bow of the mesh piece, with clean, sharp edges and an angled I/O panel at the top. In the back, the case has a pretty traditional layout, but the additional width of the wider body does mean that there is additional room within as well.


The main panel of the be quiet! Shadow Base 800 FX is made of glass and is cleanly framed with a black edge. It is held in place by thumb screws in the back. On the opposite site, there is a solid panel which is also secured by the same methods.


You may pry the whole cover off, revealing a removable, fine mesh dust filter. These pre-installed units consist of three retail-grade Light Wings 140 mm fans. If you are into liquid cooling, the chassis can hold a radiator of up to 420 mm in the front. To power the embedded lighting elements, a clean PCB with pins connects the cover to the front perfectly.


Because of the internal shroud, be quiet! has opted for a frame for you to slide the power supply in through the back of the enclosure. Above that are the seven expansion slots, each protected by a reusable cover that is held in place by a thumb screw. In the very top is a fourth 140 mm retail-grade fan of the Light Wings line. This one is set to push air out the back of the Shadow Base 800 FX.


In the top, there is a magnetic shroud, which may be removed to reveal mounting holes for three 120 or 140 mm fans. Alternatively, a radiator of up to 420 mm should fit here as well. The mounting holes are elongated and offset nicely, so you should have no issues installing such cooling units alongside bulky motherboards. The IO includes a single USB Type-C connector and two USB 3.0 ports. On the other side of the white LED framed power switch are the two audio ports and an LED toggle button.


Beneath the chassis is another dust filter that stretches across the entire underside. Thankfully, you may just pull it out through the front for cleaning, making that task super convenient and painless.