Alright, lets start with the tangible: With the Silent Base 802, be quiet! has updated and thus phased out the Silent Base 801. That said, the interior frame and structure has essentially stayed the same, with a focus on the exterior to provide additional flexibility as well as functionality. On one hand, there are no longer any color accents, which, while completely subjective, is a nice simplification in my books. You now get a better sectioned-off top cover along with metal-mesh replacement options for both the top and the front, as well as a USB-C interface. What is not to like is that the new connector has simply been dropped into the space of what was another Type-A plug on the Silent Base 801. A simple tooling change for a cleaner look should have been possible as these openings are simply stamped out during the manufacturing process anyways.

On the upside, the mesh panels are super easy to place on the fly, which further underlines the level of engineering that has gone into the case and its frame. Inside, where things mostly remained identical to the 801, you still get to enjoy the semi-modular approach that makes externally installing both cooling components and the core hardware possible. This makes the be quiet! Silent Base 802 a great case for complex liquid-cooling setups. On top of that, you may flip the motherboard layout on its side if you like.

be quiet! was a bit sneaky and reduced the number of included single-bay 3.5" cages from three in the 801 to just one in the 802. This means you will have to shell out around $6 dollars for each additional one you will need, which brings me to pricing. Considering the core tooling has not changed at all, I would have liked to see those HDD cages included because you are now paying $10 more for the Silent Base 802 than you did for the 801 at launch. Don't get me wrong, I get that the inclusion of the top and front panel, along with the more intricate design, also adds cost, but it would have been nice to have the same storage options for both out of the box, especially as one phases out the other.

Now that we are past the cheeky part, the only thing that remains to be said is what really matters: The be quiet! Silent Base 802 is a potent chassis, with its signature be quiet! design and uniquely semi-modular approach not only making it a befitting be quiet! product, but also a clean and extremely useful long-term option.