Be Quiet! Silent Base 802 Window Review
Source: Geeknetic added 28th Nov 2020
Introduction and technical specifications of the Be Quiet! Silent Base 802 Window
We present the review of the Be Quiet! Silent Base 802, the latest creation of the company for its mid-range mid-tower market high that comes with a double chamber format together with a modular design that allows you to choose between greater noise reduction or greater ventilation capacity, all included with the tower so that you do not need to purchase extra accessories.
Integrated fan controller, support for large format radiators and a mounting system without tools are some of the features that we will find throughout this analysis.
Technical characteristics of the Be Quiet! Silent Base 802 Window
- Supported formats
- E-ATX, ATX, mATX and mITX boards.
- ATX fonts 282 mm.
- 7 horizontally.
- 1 x USB-C 3.1 (3.2 Gen 2).
- 2 x USB 3.0 (3.2 Gen 1).
- Input minijacks and output minijack.
- Power button.
- Reset button.
- 4-position switch for fan speed.
- 6 3-pin fans.
- 3 x 120 / 140 mm front.
- 2 x 180 mm front (Pure Wings 2 140).
- Until 360 / 420 front mm.
- Until 185 / 360 mm higher.
- Until 140 mm rear.
- 1 x lower zone
- 1 x front area
- 1 x top panel
- Screws and flanges
- 1 x extra 3.5 “bay
- Perforated top panel
- Perforated front panel
Design and connectivity
The model we have in the laboratory is the Be Quiet! Silent Base 802 Window White , that is, the model with a white finish and a large tempered glass window. But first of all you have to assemble it, since curiously, the box comes without the two legs on which it is supported. We can mount it without them, but it will rest against the metal at the bottom and there will be hardly any space for air to enter through the lower openings.
The legs are fixed by pressure and thanks to the tabs they have on the lower are subject.
Now yes, we already have the Silent base 802 ready to start. As we said, it is a semi-tower box with a double chamber distribution, the majority today. That allows you to divide the part of the motherboard from the source area and the hard drives although, as we will see later, we will also have storage space in the main camera.
One of the star features of the Be Quiet! Silent Base 802 is the modularity of its panels. In the upper part, we have two caps with magnetic anchor as standard. The smallest one has grooves that help to expel the hot air backwards, while the largest one, closes practically its entire area and isolates it acoustically with foam.
Going fixed with magnets, it is very easy to remove them for cleaning or replacement.
In the box packaging we also have another panel with a grid that allows much more air to pass through. In this way, the user can choose if he wants greater ventilation capacity when exposing air, or if he prefers to contain the possible noise of the components.
The same occurs on the front, with a rigid steel panel that covers the removable dust filter.
This panel has a considerable layer of foam to acoustically isolate the interior.
Like at the top, Be Quiet! It includes another front grille panel to boost the air intake directly from the front through the two fans that are standard. Again, we can create a computer with higher ventilation capacity or lower noise levels, or something in between by combining different types of panels above and in front.
The The lower part, although it does not have insulating panels, does have a large filter that covers from front to back to prevent dust from entering the power supply and other components.
Regarding the connectivity of the box, we have on the upper part, towards the front, two USB-A 3.0, a reset button, the power button, two minijack for audio and microphone, a USB-C 3.1 and a button to control the fans and their speed.
At the rear we can see the 7 horizontal expansion ports and two vertical.
Be Quiet! It has dispensed with screws in its opening mechanism for the side doors, both the door on the right side in steel and the one on the left side with tempered glass, are fixed by means of a locking system that is released by pressing two buttons on the back , each for one door, making it very easy to open and close it effortlessly, but without compromising the integrity of the door.
Both doors are very robust and surprise to have them in hand. Once removed, we have access to the interior, with the main chamber without elements that prevent work or air from passing through.
The compartment The fountain is covered by a metal casing and with four plastic covers that can be removed to access some areas from above or to allow the placement of other fans in that area.
The rear tray, also in white, is screwed to the chassis and, as a curiosity, allows it to be removed to turn it over and have an inverted computer 185 degrees.
The steel cover of this part hides a large acoustic insulation panel, a hallmark of the Be Quiet boxes and that in this model is maintained with a rather striking thickness.
Cooling
As standard, the Silent Base 802 by Be Quiet! comes with three Pure Wings 2 fans 140 from 154 mm, one at the rear and two at the front, although has support for 8 fans in total of 140 mm, three at the front, three at the top, one at the rear and one in the fountain compartment.
That naturally means that we can put liquid cooling radiators of size equivalent, i.e. with radiators up to 420 mm at the front. The upper part is “limited” to triple radiators of 360 mmm
The three fans that it brings are controlled From a small board with its own SATA power connector and its PWM cable that connects to the board, in this way, it is possible to control up to a maximum of three 3-pin fans, either with automatic control or by setting speeds manually.
To do this, use the small lever located on the front of the upper panel, being able to leave it in Auto, so that it controls the board through PWM with the values that we have defined, or in manual mode with three speeds from lower to higher.
Even with the acoustic insulation panels, the cooling of the Be Quiet! Silent Base 802 Window is very good, the air enters through the two large side vents from the front and exits through the back and openings at the top. Fans of 120 mm enable quieter operation.
In case of need, we have already seen that the panels can be installed without acoustic insulation and with perforations, which will further improve the air flow. Depending on the system and components that we assemble, it may pay us more to prioritize the air inlet or outlet and thanks to the modular system of this tower, we can configure that aspect to our liking.
Assembly and Storage
With the breadth of space that we could already see in the review of the design of this Be Quiet! Silent Base 802 , we already anticipate that setting up a PC here is child’s play .
The source uses a back plate that is pre-screwed in order to insert it from behind, so it can be easily positioned without colliding or getting in the way of anything.
This plate has a foam coating that avoids leaving marks on the source and also slightly dampens vibrations, a detail that is appreciated and that, without a doubt, is a quality touch from many others that this box hides .
We can see that the space for the font is quite generous, also, if we remove the hard drive module from that area, we would have even more space.
If we want to place 3.5 “or 2.5” hard drives in In this area, we have that module with space for two units that can be removed to facilitate assembly. It has rubber buffers to prevent vibrations that may produce noise.
Additionally, there is another small module for 3.5 “or 2.5” drives that allows you to place either a 3.5 “drive or two 2.5” drives.
These bays are placed in slots that are covered by small caps plastic that can be removed to insert the bay and fix it with three screws.
The “problem” is that they will be seen inside the PC and it will limit the length of the graph if we fill in the ones below. However, it is a pretty smart way to take advantage of the space and that makes this Be Quiet! Silent Base 802 can boast of exceptional storage capacity.
To the modular units that we have just seen, it is added also a small rear bay for 2.5 inch SSD or HDD.
In addition, just the tray behind where the motherboard socket would go, also has holes for two more SSDs.
For cable management we have several holes in the form of a vertical column and covered with rubber to avoid chafing of the cables and to hide them somewhat more.
It should be noted the large space that there is in the upper part, which allows us to pass the 8-pin cables of the CPU without problems and which would allow us to place radiators with considerable thicknesses in that area.
The graph, in addition to the traditional placement, if it is two slots or less thick, also can be placed vertically. Unfortunately we don’t have a PCIe X riser 16 included. The chart is fixed with 2 screws, plus an additional plate that is raised by loosening a third screw. It should be noted that, although most of the tower has mechanisms or screws that can be loosened by hand, these require a screwdriver and are especially hard.
The vertical graphic gives a more attractive touch to the equipment, not offering another improvement beyond of the aesthetic aspect.
The space between the plate and the lower tray is somewhat scarce, we can pass a fan cable or the power / reset cables, etc., however, it is not possible to pass, for example, the front USB 3.0 cable and you have to do it from the side.
The pre-installed cables are attached with wires to the box, in addition, several velcro ties and multiple anchor points are also included for leave the cables well fixed and organized in the wide space at the back to leave the cables.
The end result is a device with a very clean finish and a cable management with many possibilities.
You can see that Be Quiet! has put a lot of care and care into the details of the Silent Base 802, They are small things that are not seen with the naked eye, but when you discover them, you see that there has been a very well thought out planning and elements that facilitate the assembly of a very clean and elegant PC.
For example, the rear fan cables are fixed along their route by a small metal tab built into the frame itself.
All this to create a computer with a very clean design that allows us enjoy the assembly, with elements that are where they should be, modules to configure the equipment to your liking and plenty of space for high-performance equipment.
Analysis and conclusion
Be Quiet! It has always been known for its PC case designs created with silence in mind, and the very name of the company “be silent” gives us enough clues. The inclusion of rubber gaskets to damp vibrations or panels with acoustic insulation are some of the characteristic elements of its towers.
These elements are not lacking in this Be Quiet! Silent Base 802, but taken to a new level. The panels are now much thicker than usual and muffle the sound even more and the steel covers have a greater thickness which, in addition, gives it greater rigidity that is clearly noticeable when we remove one of the side panels.
All this is added to a modular design that allows from completely reversing the placement of the PC, to removing the covers with a button, without forgetting a very important feature such as the inclusion of front and upper panels that dispense with insulation acoustic and integrate microperforations to facilitate the flow of air that enters and leaves.
Also, except for a couple of screws (those in the vertical graphic that are devilishly hard too) , the vast majority of elements and modules of the Be Quiet! Silent Base 802 do not require tools. The inclusion of a PCIe x riser 16 series would have been the icing on the cake and would place it very close to perfection.
The space it offers is plenty to mount high-performance computers, with oversized cooling systems and without forgetting of the enormous storage options it offers both in the back and in the main compartment itself. Perhaps, of all that space that we have above for radiators of considerable thickness, a little more space could be passed towards the bottom of the plate, especially to pass the USB or audio cables, but that does not cloud the rest of the available space.
Due to its good finishes, the space for high-performance systems and plenty of storage, due to a well thought out modular design, due to the possibilities of configuration and choice that gives the user a level of ventilation and acoustic insulation, and without forgetting those little details of care and excellent planning that can be seen in every corner of the Be Quiet! Silent Base 884, is worthy of the award to the best box that has passed through our laboratory.
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