Be Quiet! Pure Base 500DX Review

Manufacturer: Be Quiet!

UK price (as reviewed): £90 (inc. VAT)

US price (as reviewed): $TBC (exc. tax)

If you have around £100 to spend on a case right now, there's an awful lot of choice out there. Antec's P120 Crystal, Be Quiet's own Pure Base 500 and Corsair's iCUE 465X RGB are all worthy mentions. However, Be Quiet! has felt compelled to offer up something different and the Pure Base 500DX could certainly not be more unlike the Pure Base 500. 

In a rare move for Be Quiet!, the 500DX has a large, twin mesh at the front-end with two strips of digital RGB lighting running nearly the full length of the front panel. It feels more like something from Lian Li than Be Quiet! and in white, the case is completely unrecognisable as a Be Quiet! case. That large mesh means this is a high-airflow case, too - a far cry from the Pure Base 500, but thankfully the front panel, roof and base are all protected by removable dust filters.

The top of the case has another removable filter and here it's a sturdy plastic-framed one rather than the flimsy things we often see. This attaches using magnets and it's honestly a bit over-engineered for its role, but given the price tag, we welcome it so long as there are no shortcomings elsewhere. In fact, the entire exterior feels very well-made and solid so we have no complaints over build quality.

Below you can see how the case comes together and how flexible things are inside. That front panel pops off with a reasonable amount of force allowing you to get to the dust filter and fan mounts beneath. The side panel is maybe not as simple to remove as other cases, requiring four thumb screws as opposed to a hinge or flip-down mechanism, but again, very few sub-£100 cases do.

Impressively, the case includes a full-fat USB 3.1 Type-C port, which will require the appropriate header on your motherboard, but there's a USB 3.0 Type-A port, too. The front panel is angled as well, which really sets the 500DX apart from your typical ATX tower aesthetically and overall, it's a very clean-looking case, especially in the white our sample sports.

Specifications

• Dimensions (mm) 285 x 510 x 501 (W x D x H)
  
• Material Steel, plastic, tempered glass
  
• Available colours Black, white
  
• Weight 7.8kg
  
• Front panel Power, 1 x USB 3.0, 1 x USB 3.1 Type-C, stereo, microphone, RGB lighting button
  
• Drive bays 1 x 3.5"/2.5", 1 x 3.5", 4 x 2.5"
  
• Form factor(s) ATX, micro-ATX
  
• Cooling 3 x 120/2 x 140mm front fan mounts (1 x 140mm fan included), 2 x 120/1 x 140mm roof fan mounts (1 x 140mm fan included), 1 x 120/140mm rear fan mount (1 x 140mm fan included)
  
• CPU cooler clearance 190mm
  
• Maximum graphics card length 369mm
  
• Extras Removable dust filters, RGB LED controller, noise insulation