Now we just continue unpacking! And what do we see first? An airy side panel:
Which, on closer inspection, is carrying quite a bit of weight – thanks to a thick insulation layer!
A beautiful back can also be delightful. A look at the rear reveals that the case is extra-wide in both directions. On the one hand, this benefits the cable management and on the other hand, it gives the graphics card more air in case of a vertical installation.
A look through the outlet for the power supply reveals the dust filter inserted into the bottom.
This can be conveniently pulled out towards the front.
The glass side panel is solid. 4mm thick tempered glass, framed in angles made of sheet steel.
Back then, I always found such designs somehow overloaded, but now I appreciate it. The front I/O of the Dark Base Pro 901 leaves hardly anything to be desired.
There is even a Qi charger on top for wireless charging of a smartphone. In contrast to the predecessor, the charging power has been increased from 5 to 15 watts. The mesh insert is unlocked by pressing it.
And can then be easily removed. Cover plates are hidden underneath as standard.
These are supposed to keep the noise inside the case with their thick insulation layer.
However, we want to achieve an ideal airflow during the test and therefore remove the pre-mounted insulation panels. This was not possible with the predecessors, which was often a cause for criticism.
Ingenious: The easily removable fan mounts are equipped with pogo pins for connecting the fans!
The counterpart on the case:
There is even a secret compartment at the front:
Behind this hides a mounting option for an old 5.25″ drive. I actually wanted to install a BluRay burner for the nostalgia factor, but unfortunately when I installed three 140mm fans in the front, the bottom fan blocked the slot for the drive. Too bad.
The entire front can be removed with a hearty tug. In this view, you can see that even with the front and lid closed, air can flow in and out through the mesh on the sides. However, the airflow is not ideal under these conditions.
The front is equipped with this closed and insulated insert as standard, which we will replace with the mesh version later in favor of the airflow.
The dust filter on the front is split so that all fans are still covered when using the 5.25″ drive.
Two of the three pre-installed Silent Wings 4 fans are located in the front.
Let’s take a look inside.
The PSU compartment cover features a subtle ARGB accent stripe.
For inverted mounting (we’ll get to that in a moment), this can be removed and mounted on the other side.
The front cover can also be removed in favor of a large radiator on the front.
Alternatively, the included airflow variant can still be installed there to direct the airflow from the bottom fan towards the graphics card. Someone has put some thought into this!
I haven’t seen that in ages: Back in the day, it was called a motherboard sled.
The entire bracket can be removed to conveniently pre-mount the motherboard outside of the case.
The highlight of the Dark Base Pro 901: You can then also slide the sled back into the case upside down on the opposite side and thus invert the complete installation. Ideal for setups where the PC is on the left side of the desk.
There is so much going on at the back that you first have to get an overview. Countless cable channels, installation and conversion options everywhere.
Plenty of room for cable management and SSDs.
Hard drives can be inserted at the bottom left, or the entire holder can be replaced with the included 5.25″ bay.
The PSU is buffered on thick rubber, even the bracket in the back is covered with foam to minimize the transmission of vibrations.
The five covers in the right half of the picture hide the HDD bays below.
There is also room for 2.5/3.5″ hard drives here, cooled directly by the airflow from the front intakes.
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