In the absence of Computex, Be Quiet! has instead hosted some virtual briefings for press to detail the launch plans for three new products in Q4: the Silent Base 802 chassis, the Pure Loop family of all-in-one liquid-coolers, and a white iteration of its Shadow Rock 3 air-cooler.
All images below are supplied by Be Quiet!
New Case: Silent Base 802
Kicking things off, the Silent Base 802 is a new and improved version of the Silent Base 801, a case it will directly replace in the lineup when it launches in late November. The core chassis remains unchanged, but the new one will have better airflow options, improved USB connectivity, and a refreshed range of colour options.
It’s becoming common to see ‘Airflow’ or ‘Mesh’ variations of the same case, but with the Silent Base 802, Be Quiet! is giving both choices to every customer by including interchangeable panels for both the front and roof i.e. you can leave the default closed panels in place to prioritise noise reduction or switch the roof or the front (or both) to the bundled mesh alternative to prioritise airflow and cooling. Be Quiet! has shared some internal test data with us indicating that the mesh covers can help improve both CPU and GPU temperatures, which is no surprise.
A rework of the front I/O (found on the roof) sees the solitary USB 2.0 Type-A port ditched for a USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C port – a wise move in anyone’s book.
Whereas the Silent Base 801 is a black chassis with three colour highlight options, the Silent Base 802 will come either as an all-black chassis or white with a few black highlights (as pictured). Both colours will be available with a steel side panel or a tempered glass one, bringing the total SKU count to four. The glass will be tinted on the black version and clear on the white one.
The rest of the chassis remains as it was. This means users get three pre-installed 140mm Pure Wings 2 fans connected to a three-step fan controller, which can control up to six fans in total. The case also continues to support inverted layouts thanks to the design of its motherboard tray and side panels.
Be Quiet! is targeting late November for this release and has the MSRP currently set to €159.90 / $159.90 for the non-window edition and €169.90 / $169.90 for the windowed version (both subject to change).
New and Refillable AIOs: Pure Loop
With its previous product family (Silent Loop) now end-of-life, Q4 will also see Be Quiet! re-enter the all-in-one liquid-cooler market with a new family, Pure Loop. Much like Pure Base serves as Be Quiet!’s entry-level case family, the Pure Loop coolers have been designed as entry-level and are earmarked for price-conscious users. To achieve this, the radiators have changed from copper to aluminium, and an unnamed middleman in the supply chain has been bypassed. However, Be Quiet! is not willing to disclose who the OEM is on these parts.
The Pure Loop family incorporates four radiator sizes: 120mm, 240mm, 280mm, and 360mm. The radiator is slimline in every instance (27mm thick), and each is supplied with the appropriate number and size of Pure Wings 2 PWM fans.
The pump is described as ‘doubly decoupled’. The first decoupling refers to its mid-tubing position as opposed to the more common pump head/coldplate combo, while the second decoupling occurs within the connection between the pump itself and the tubes. The aim of this, of course, is to minimise pump vibration noise.
The CPU block has an ‘aluminium-style’ design (plastic posing as metal) and features white (not RGB!) LEDs for illumination and contrast. The coldplate at the bottom is nickel-coated and safe for use with liquid metal thermal compounds.
The Pure Loop coolers have on more trick up their sleeve, which is their ability to be refilled – something which should help counter the performance degradation that slowly occurs due to evaporation over the years. Be Quiet! will be supplying 100ml of extra coolant with each cooler and estimates that a 15ml top-up every two years or so should be sufficient. Doing so will not invalidate the three-year manufacturer’s warranty either.
Hoping to make things simpler for consumers, Be Quiet! is moving away from wattage/TDP ratings for these coolers and instead focussing on CPU families when it comes to recommending a radiator size for your CPU (e.g. 240mm for AMD Ryzen 5 or Intel Core i5). We think this is a sensible move, as the wattage rating has never really seemed like a useful metric – it’s useless and potentially misleading for less technical users unaware of their CPU’s TDP, and since different brands arrive at their ratings in different ways, it’s largely unhelpful for specific cooler-to-cooler comparisons as well.
The Pure Loop coolers are scheduled for an early October launch. The MSRPs (subject to change) are listed below, and UK pricing is still very much TBC:
- 120mm: €84.90 / $84.90
- 240mm: €94.90 / $94.90
- 280mm: €104.90 / $104.90
- 360mm: €119.90 / $119.90
Shadow Rock 3… White!
Wrapping up today’s announcements, Be Quiet! will be testing the waters with an aesthetic tweak to an existing air-cooler. The Shadow Rock 3 was launched in March this year, and come late October it will also be made available in a striking white design with a black top plate and a black fan for contrast.
Be Quiet! says it chose the Shadow Rock 3 as its first foray into white-coated coolers for its mainstream appeal, both in terms of pricing and its offset design which makes it compatible with taller memory modules.
The coating is achieved with the same method that Noctua uses for its black Chromax coolers. Quizzed on whether the coating affects thermals at all, Be Quiet! said that while its own coating does negatively affect performance, the variance is usually less than 1°C – of no concern, in other words. As a result, the 190W TDP rating (yep, we’re back to those) has not been altered for this cooler.
The Shadow Rock 3 White will launch in late October with an MSRP €10 / $10 higher than the original: €59.90 / $59.90. UK pricing is again TBC, but £50-£55 seems likely given the current £45 retail price of the uncoated one.