be quiet! Pure Base 500 FX RGB

When it comes to crafting exceptional platforms that are subsequently refined into multiple variants, be quiet! stands out as the go-to company. Their Pure Base 500 mid-tower case series strikes the perfect balance for a wide range of requirements in today’s market. The 500 FX model upholds this same principle while introducing the added allure of ARGB lighting. As a result, it emerges as one of the most feature-rich enclosures in its size category, all without exceeding the budget.

Be Quiet! is a premium brand manufacturer of power supplies and cooling solutions for your desktop PC. With numerous awards under their belt and considered the best German power supply manufacturer from Germany since 2006 – was awarded nine times in a row as “Manufacturer of the Year” in the power supply category by the readers of the well-known German hardware magazine PC Games Hardware. In the category “fans”, be quiet! earned the first rank for five consecutive times and belongs to the Top 3 CPU cooler brands for more than three years in a row. The community of Hardwareluxx also voted be quiet! as “Manufacturer of the Year” in the PSU category for four consecutive years.

Prices and Availability

It should retail for $149.90 / €149.90 / £146.99, which is a decent value considering you get 4x ARGB fans with an integrated hub and tempered glass.

Highlights and Specification

*Courtesy of their website.

Impressive lighting, exceptional airflow – The be quiet! Pure Base 500 FX Black offers impressive lighting with multiple modes and maximum airflow for high cooling performance.

* ARGB lighting at the fans, the front and inside the case
* Multiple colors and modes for an individual look
* 4 Light Wings PWM fans for high airflow and quiet operation
* ARGB-PWM-Hub enables synchronization of up to 6 ARGB components and 6 PWM fans
* High airflow intake front panel and top cover for maximum performance
* USB 3.2 Gen. 2 Type C for latest hardware
* Ready for radiators of up to 360mm
* 3-year manufacturer’s warranty

Visual Inspection and Component Installation

The packaging adheres to the standard, un-embellished design commonly observed with PC chassis. However, the FX variant stands out with its distinct branding prominently displayed on multiple sides of the box.

Protection is provided thanks to these Styrofoam pads and plastic cover.

All the supplied installation accessories are inside this labeled box. Thus you get a bunch of zip-ties and 3x individual bags to the screws.

Presenting the elegant be quiet! Pure Base 500 FX, a mid-tower chassis that measures 510mm (L) x 285mm (W) x 494mm (H). The distinctive feature of the FX is the set of light bars on the front cover.

Closing in, we can see the trio of 120mm ARGB pre-installed fans at the front.

The front I/O offers 1x USB-C 3.1, 1x USB-A 3.0, power ON LED button, microphone/audio combo jacks and a button to cycle through the available modes and colors for the ARGB fans and light bars. But here is no reset button which is odd.

On the top side of the chassis, a magnetic, removable dust filter takes the spotlight. Beneath it, you’ll find markings indicating the possible fan or AIO configurations for future installations. The chassis accommodates either 2x 120mm or 140mm fans, or AIOs in 120mm or 240mm sizes. It’s worth mentioning that support for a 280mm option is absent.

Underneath the chassis we have 4x generous ABS plastic feet with anti-slip rubber pads. Also present is a case long removable dust filter that slides out from the front of the chassis.

At the back of the case, we have 1x 140mm pre-installed ARGB fan which is set as an exhaust. Next in line are the standard 7-slot PCI-E cutouts, followed by an ingenious PSU bracket that enables you to install the power supply from the rear.

The side panel is affixed with thumb screws and coated in a dense layer of noise-reduction foam.

The tempered glass is hold into place via these large rubber grommets and thumbscrews.

The 3rd and final dust filer resides underneath the front panel. Worth mentioning here, is the elegant solution regarding the front illumination. This uses a contact pads with pins and thus eliminated the need for clunky wires.

This is an excellent feature that every case in this price range should offer it, which is this command module that handles the all the PWM function of the fans and even the ARGB. This means you only have to connect one PWM wire and one 5V ARGB to your motherboard.

It is conveniently powered by a single SATA connector (no pesky MOLEX) and besides the pre-installed fans, it has space for two more, including the 5V RGB. Even the wire-management is done for you so this is such home run from be quiet!

There are plenty of cable eyelets around the motherboard tray, in strategic places.

Next to the PCB module, which resides on a removable tray to access the back of the motherboard for the CPU coolers’ backplate, you can install one 2.5″ HDD/SSD. There are even more cable cut-outs at the top.

It accepts the standard sized ATX PS2 power supplies but if you need more space, just remove the HDD bay. The PSU will reside on 4x rubber pads and of course, it has its own ventilation and dust filter protection.

These are the front I/O cables and all of them are nicely done in matching color and even more importantly, they are quite flexible.

This removable tray can accommodate an additional 2x 2.5″ drives. Notably, it provides a significant wire management benefit by concealing the cables, as you will soon see.

Now onto the main area. The Pure Base 500 FX accommodates up to a standard ATX-sized motherboard but will comfortably accept even an E-ATX since you can remove the previously mentioned SSD vertical tray. Then the PSU area is fully hidden from sight and the motherboard tray has a decent cut-out for easy rear access. Lastly, the case accepts up to 190mm tall CPU air cooler which is awesome.

These are the front 3x 120mm ARGB Light Wings fans that will spin up to 1700 RPM. Also this means that in front you can install up to a 360mm AIO by removing the lower HDD cage.

As for the rear fan, this one is 140mm in size and it’s rated up to 1500 RPM.

Let’s go back inside and start to build in it. You have up to 30mm of clearance from the PSU, 20mm from the motherboard and around 13mm from the SSD tray to comfortably trace and hide your cables.

First to go in, is the power supply. This modular 750W is 150mm long so it should fit without having the need to remove the front HDD cage.

The PSU is designed for rear installation, emphasizing the importance of connecting your cables to the power supply (especially if it’s modular) before mounting it within the case.

Then attach the securing PSU plate.

As you can see, there is plenty of room to keep the HDD cage installed even with a modular PSU.

The SSD tray offers such a clean look because that middle plate with the logo will cover the connecting cables.

Next to go in is the motherboard and it’s up to you if you want to install the CPU, RAM and cooling first.

Wire-management in this case is so easy since half of it is done from the factory.

For those who possess an NVIDIA Founder’s Edition RTX graphics card with the middle 12VHPWR cable situated at the card’s midpoint, it’s feasible to route that cable through the lower section of the case. Max accepted GPU length is 369mm.

Plenty of cut-outs to access all of your motherboard’s lower ports.

The SSD tray offers a further bonus that it covers the gap for the 24-pin and front I/O cables.

This CPU air cooler is just 155mm tall so it has plenty of headroom in comparison to the case’s 190mm mark.

Attach the side tempered glass panel and enjoy your clean build.

The built-in illumination can be cycled through its various effects and modes using the front case button. It’s safe to say that this case is undeniably visually appealing!

Here is full cycle through all of the built-in modes and colors.

Testing methodology

• The be quiet! Pure Base 500 FX case will be packed with a variations of component to test for any clearance issues
• The AMD Ryzen 7 2700 CPU will be overclocked at 3.8 GHz for 1.30v
• As the main torture test, we will employ a multi-core benchmark run in Cinebench R23 rendering test and a 2 minute stress test in AIDA64 for the CPU & GPU, with the case’s fans set at 30%, 50% and 80% RPM
• The CPU cooler and the GPU were left on auto RPM to simulate real life usage scenarios
• Room temperature was recorded at ~22°C
• Thermal paste used Noctua NH-H2
• All of the side panels will be attached
• Any results over 90°C in any condition are considered a fail

Testing platform:

– CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 2700
– CPU Cooler: Alpenföhn Brocken 4 120mm Single Tower
– RAM: 16GB DDR4 Crucial LPX Vengeance 3200 MHz CL16
– Motherboard: ASUS ROG STRIX B450-F Gaming II ATX @ BIOS 5102
– Boot SSD: Samung 840 PRO 256GB MLC SATA III SSD
– Video card: MSI GTX 970 4G OC
– PSU: be quiet! Dark power 13 750W ATX 3.0 PCIe 5 Titanium

Software:

– OS: Windows 10 Pro x64 Version 22H2
– NVIDIA Drivers – 536.40
– CPU-Z v1.95 – To verify the CPU’s and RAM’s statistics
– Core Temp v1.18 & HW Monitor v1.51 – To see the temperatures in real time
– AIDA64 Extreme v6.60 – Memory analysis and Benchmark suite
– MSI Afterburner v4.64 – To record the FPS and load/temperatures
– Cinebench R23 – Great overall CPU benchmark tool
– 3D/Game(s) – Rise of the Tomb Raider, set at 1080p, high quality settings, no V-Sync

Testing, Results and Analysis

We’ll commence by examining the CPU temperatures, with our focus directed towards the case’s airflow in relation to the RPM of its fans. If you use an aftermarket air-cooler like we did, the airflow benefits can be witnessed.

Regarding the GPU, the same story is valid, that proper case airflow will help up to a certain point.

Next up is one of the most critical tests: assessing the noise output. In this evaluation, we manually controlled the case’s fans through the motherboard’s fan software control at different RPM levels. Don’t forget to refer to the accompanying video for a comprehensive understanding.

Conclusion

Undoubtedly, the Pure Base 500 FX case from be quiet! stands as a champion in the mid-tower category. It captivated us with its robust build quality and remarkable attention to detail. With minor quirks that can easily be overlooked, it’s quite impressive what be quiet! is offering in this package. Features such as the inclusion of 4x premium ARGB fans, tempered glass, ingenious design elements, a smart fan/light hub, and the remarkable ease of building within it collectively position this case as a must-have item on anyone’s wish list!

The good:

+ Outstanding feature set and build quality
+ Impressive PCB fan/RGB hub integration
+ Inclusion of 4x ARGB Light Wings fans
+ Exceptional airflow design
+ Effortless building process and effective wire management
+ Comprehensive package: Includes 3x dust filters, Velcro strips, and an excellent SSD tray
+ Versatile compatibility with a wide range of components
+ Compact and elegant design enriched with modular features
+ ARGB offers manual mode for customizable lighting effects
+ Front supports up to a 360mm AIO radiator
+ Remarkable value for the price

The bad:

– No reset button
– No 280mm top AIO support

Glob3trotters “Must Buy” Award – 5 out of 5

Many thanks to be quiet! for supplying us with this case!