be quiet! Pure Base 500 FX
4. Conclusion
The overall result was nice to watch, this case is elegant and for sure will cover most of your needs, provided that you want such a middle-sized case. For testing the performance we compared a 30min run with the same setup, we used to test the be quiet! Pure Rock LP with the be quiet! Silent Base 802, which is a much larger and more precious internal space. Note that the Silent Base 802 also has different case fans, so a comparison is not 100% correct, but we wanted to see if users will see differences in temperatures if they decide to move from a larger to a medium PC case.
From our tests, we did see slightly higher temperatures for the CPU with the Pure Base 500FX compared with the Silent Base 802, in terms of +3 Celcius for the Pure Base 500FX (compared with the Silent Base 802). The maximum reported temperature was the same in both cases, so we can assume that the smaller internal space and the differences in fans (Pure Base 500 FX has the Light Wings vs Silent Base 802 Silent Wings 3 High-Speed RPM speed).
The RGB Lighting effect for sure is appealing to the eye and users can easily either sync RGB with the motherboard or work alone with different light effects. We did notice that after reboot, you had to re-sync RGB lighting, this setting won't stay default, perhaps this should be as default and users could change colors if they wanted, but this is how to be quiet! designed the case after all.
Overall we have no problems suggesting this beautiful case for all users who wish to get a middle-sized case, with performance, look, and lights. The Pure Base platform is already established in the market and the FX version adds four RGB fans and two Light strips at the front. The retail price of the case is ~150 Euro (including VAT) and is being sold around the globe.
Positive
+ Well-designed case with RGB Lighting and great aesthetics
+ Excellent build quality and materials
+ Includes four RGB fans
+ Users can add two more fans at the top panel
+ Users can use up to 360mm AIO cooler at the front and up to 280mm at the top
+ Top panel is magnetic
+ Retail package includes screws and cable ties
+ Case has good cable entrances for easy cable management
+ Good acoustic insulation
+ Includes RGB and fan controller
+ 3-year warranty
+ Good retail price for the overall package
Neutral
- No installation option for 5.25" optical drives
- Printed manual could be slightly better
Negative
- The default thumb screws are hard to twist with bare hands :/
- Used RGB/Fan controller doesn't seem compatible with Asus AI Suite 3 software and you need to set RGB settings manually