Be Quiet! Silent Loop 360mm, Shadow Rock TF2, & White Dark Base Pro 900

Continuing our Coverage of Computex 2017, we met with the Be Quiet! team at their booth to discuss some of their new and upcoming products. We took a look at their Silent Loop CLC CPU cooler, the new SFX-L PSU, the Shadow Rock TF2 air cooler, and the limited edition Dark Base Pro 900 - White Edition case.

The Dark Base Pro 900 was a case we covered last year at Computex, if it feels familiar. This year, Be Quiet! displayed their new iteration of the Dark Base Pro 900 - now in white. The White Edition uses the exact same tooling as the Dark Base Pro 900, with changes entirely cosmetic. Be Quiet! reps noted that the color-matching process was the most time consuming, and that the run will be limited at first to gauge market reception. The first all white case from Be Quiet! will be limited to 2000 units worldwide, with a specific number being given to each enclosure (a nameplate in the top-right corner, near the drive cages). The White Edition will ship with an included three 140mm Silent wings 3 fans in black, contrasting the white (we’re not sure if we like that just yet), and hosts all the usual features of the DBP900. The chassis is capable of hosting three 140mm fans at the front, another three 140mm fans on top, a single 140mm at the rear for exhaust, and another single 140mm fan at the bottom, near the PSU; that brings it up to eight possible fans in total.

This being a Be Quiet! product, the company seems to have kept the noise aspect in mind: on the right side panel and front panel door, Be Quiet! has added the usual noise damping material, designed to stifle high-frequency noises by breaking the wave against dotted foam. The left side panel is made of tempered glass, and the motherboard tray is still modular and invertible if desired.

We also had a chance to talk with Be Quiet!’s engineering team about the material used for noise damping. The team relayed that the perforated solution helps primarily with high frequency noises, as the wave gets trapped in the ‘pin holes’ and breaks into smaller waves. Eliminating lower frequency noises is much more difficult, as it is largely done by increasing panel thickness.

Pricing for the Dark Base Pro 900 - White Edition is set to be around $260, and is set to be available in Q4 of this year.

Be Quiet! SFX-L PSU

Be Quiet! was also showing a new SFX-L form factor power supply at the booth. SFF/Mini-ITX systems are gaining popularity in the market, and we’ve seen a number of SFX-L power supplies at this year’s show. Be Quiet!’s SFX-L unit is a fully modular 80 Plus Gold rated unit with a 12V-rail, and will be available in 500W and 600W configurations. Be Quiet! is including an SFX-to-ATX bracket for mounting the SFX-L PSU in larger cases if needed. The 500W unit will sell for $110 and the 600W unit will sell for $130 and should be available for purchase in August.

Be Quiet! Silent Loop & Shadow Rock TF2

Be Quiet! has had trouble introducing its closed-loop liquid coolers to the US market, given Asetek patents, and will continue its game of keep-away with the new 360mm Silent Loop solution. The cooler is built by AlphaCool, as is the radiator, with some customizations made by Be Quiet! -- the largest change, as always, is just the fans. This cooler will land at around $160 and will see availability in regions outside of the US, acting as a no-frills 360mm cooling option. We may yet review one, despite lack of availability in the US.

As for the new air cooler, the Be Quiet! Shadow Rock TF2 is a small-ish form-factor cooler at 111-112mm tall, using a 135mm fan for cooling. 5x6mm heatpipes are present in the cooler, making direct contact to the IHS. Pricing for this one falls at $60. We’ll look into this in more detail, too.

Editorial: Ryan Greenberg
Editorial: Steve Burke