A Closer Look - Inside

Let's take a look at the side panel before we dive into the chassis' interior. be quiet! lined it with sound-dampening material, while there is a spot for a fan in its middle. There is also a metal-mesh dust filter, and you can push the cover out to allow for more or less airflow through the cooling unit.


Look at the interior and it becomes apparent that be quiet! chose to take the "trusted and true" route by offering a traditional layout, while putting their own spin on the details. One noticeable visual aspect are the rubber grommets, which come in the same color as the enclosure's exterior accents. Given the chassis came with orange grommets, you will have gray or black grommets in those other Silent Base 800 variants. The motherboard tray employs bumps instead of spacers to hold the board in place. While probably not an issue, such little bumbs may cause a short if a board has long leads extruding out of the back of its PCB. It would have been better of be quiet! to use traditional spacers instead. There is around 22 mm worth of room to route cables between the side panel and the motherboard tray, which should be enough, though sound dampening and fan mounting will take up some of that space.


You may install up to two SSDs, or 2.5" drives, onto the motherboard tray since be quiet! includes two such frames. Each of these is held in place by a single thumbscrew.


Take a look at the Silen Base 800's front interior and you will be greeted by two hard-drive cages. You may take both out of the chassis if you need the space for something else, like a liquid-cooling setup. be quiet! has not only put some nice details into these cages as these, the trays and the base, are made out of nothing but steel, which is unlike other manufacturers who opt for plastic to hold the trays in place.


You will find the three 5.25" drive bays in the top. Each of these comes with a one-sided locking mechanism out of plastic. While many manufacturers offer such a feature, be quiet!, once again, made several poignant changes for a sturdy, tool-less mechanism.


The bottom-mounted PSU in the rear is meant to sit on four foam pads, while a similar lining on the back of the chassis ensures that no vibrations pass on to the Silent Base 800's frame. Above the PSU bay are the seven motherboard expansion slots, each protected by an individual, reusable cover a thumbscrew holds in place. You will also find another retail quality fan in the very top - this time set to push hot air out the back of the case.


Look at the ceiling and you will find two more mounting possibilities for 120 mm or 140 mm fans. The thick top cover even allows you to place cooling fans above the frame, while a radiator hangs off the ceiling. As such, either a 240 mm and 280 mm radiator will fit. Another fan-mounting possibility for, once again, a 120 mm or 140 mm unit can be found on the floor.


All the cables within the Silent Base 800 are of the standard variety, so you should run into no issues while connecting them to a modern motherboard. Naturally, all the leads are sleeved black to go with the enclosure's overall color scheme.