Assembly

Installing the motherboard is easily done on the pre-installed spacers. An aligning pin in the center also helps with placing it before screwing it down. While the openings along the top and bottom line up well due to the extended depth of the Shadow Base 800 FX, you have a bit of distance between the cover and your motherboard to span for your cables. Also, due to the spacious size, there is virtually no GPU out there that could be a tight fit for the chassis in any scenario.


As the mounting plate for SSDs is already partially occupied and pre-wired by the ARGB/Fan PCB, we opted to install the 2.5" drive on the separate mounting plate which allows you to show off your drive alongside the other internal components nicely. This should really benefit those who purchased storage with built-in lighting as well. Drives are held in place with classic screws here and the central cover will hide any SATA power & data leads nicely.


For 3.5" drives, as the case offers no dedicated cages, you are left with a singular spot due to the PCB taking up the other. This is unfortunate, as be quiet! has multiple ways to easily rectify this issue - be it by actually including two cages or simply a second one of these mounting brackets. So it really comes down to a cost-saving measure on their part.


As you cannot remove the metal shroud, the only way to add a PSU is by screwing the frame down onto the PSU and sliding it all in through the back of the Shadow Base 800 FX, which is quick, simple, and easy. There is plenty of space for long power supplies, so you should not run into any issues when building a high-performance system.


Adding an AIO in the ceiling is a breeze thanks to the ample space. Even though it is a 360 mm unit, even 420 mm variants should easily clear everything along all dimensions.


With everything installed, the be quiet! Shadow Base 800 FX looks quite clean. The elongated, singular opening at the bottom of the chassis and the stretch on the side from the cover to the board does add a little distraction, however. In the rear, thanks to the well-placed and designed hooks for zip ties, we were able to cable route everything easily and spread it around. This would allow you to easily change configurations while only having to redo specific sections of the cable routing. As you can see, the space under the shroud towards the front of the case is noticeably empty due to the lack of storage.

Finished Looks

With everything turned on, the ARGB elements light up nicely as well. The ones in the front fans are dimmed slightly, due the two layers of mesh, but you can still see the entirety of each ring, which is a nice touch. The power button lights up in white beautifully as well.


Looking at the front, you can see the three fans as well as some glow from the components within shining through. The two LED strips look great from this direction as well, and are luminous enough to be noticeable even in brighter environments. Thanks to the clear glass window, you can easily view all the components within as well. In the rear, everything is where you would expect to see it and thanks to the secondary ARGB element of these fans, there is some visible on this side as well.

Thanks to the included controller and button in the front of the be quiet! Shadow Base 800 FX, you may toggle through a range of single- and multicolor animations. On top of that, it provides access to seven solid color options as well.