Review Be Quiet Light Base 600 LX Case Review: Innovative design, lackluster thermal performance

[Admin]

Configurable in three layouts, Be Quiet’s Light Base 600 stands apart from the competition. We paired it with Intel’s i7-14700K and Radeon’s RX 7900 GRE to test its thermal performance.

Be Quiet Light Base 600 LX Case Review: Innovative design, lackluster thermal performance : Read more

 

[Neilbob]

I hope Be Quiet are going to be reprimanded for raiding their local aquarium.

 

[sailorjeff]

I have the Light Base 900. The cooling options are much better and it offers excellent thermal characteristics. There are some issues with the case though. Again, the filters are a pain to clean. I ended up removing them. Most of the screws holding the glass panels on stripped out and I had to drill and re-tap with bigger screws. Wires going from front panel to the motherboard go across and block airflow from the side panel where I have my GPU AIO exhaust. The biggest issue is the plastic feet that you can reposition from side to side to re-orient the case break off very easily due to a bad design. When I contacted Be Quiet regarding this issue they gave me a hard time when I tried to get replacement parts. For a part that probably cost maybe 5 cents at most to make, they wanted me to pay to return the case for a complete replacement. After I spent so much time configuring the case with my hardware this was not going to happen. They never would replace the broken feet (2 of them). I had a friend 3D print me some replacement parts that were much better. For such an expensive case Be Quiet should offer better support. Good case overall except for a few design flaws and horrible customer service.

 

[thisisaname]

A pretty case with poor thermals is still a bad case 🙁

 

[Dr3ams]

I have their Dark Base 900 with no windows...I'm pretty sure no one wants to see my cable management. 👀

Plus, those flickering lights are a seizure waiting to happen.

 

[Albert.Thomas]

I have the Light Base 900. The cooling options are much better and it offers excellent thermal characteristics.

I've got this one tested, but before I make any judgements I think I need to test a few more cases. Reason: They sent the version without fans, and I've only just begun to test cases with a standardized fan setup. That said, it seems to be alright.

 

[Albert.Thomas]

A pretty case with poor thermals is still a bad case 🙁

I don't know if I can agree with that. It's not going to make a lick of difference for the vast majority of consumers. You might say "But Albert, look at your data!"

I'll reply: If you're overclocking and/or running full-strength loads on your CPU AND GPU all day - sure, I suppose that might matter a tiny bit more. But really - for most folks I recommend ignoring thermal results and simply getting a case that runs quietly and has support for the features you need.

It doesn't really matter unless you are overclocking or are absolutely anal about needing the best potential possible temperatures.

 

[YSCCC]

I think for these type of fish tank cases it will always be better for water cooling rather than air cooling, as the intake fans need to let the intake air to hit the glass and turn around, which is almost always worse than traditional front intake. It may work well if get the bottom intake fans as well and make it very positive pressure will actually improve a lot

 

[thisisaname]

I don't know if I can agree with that. It's not going to make a lick of difference for the vast majority of consumers. You might say "But Albert, look at your data!"

I'll reply: If you're overclocking and/or running full-strength loads on your CPU AND GPU all day - sure, I suppose that might matter a tiny bit more. But really - for most folks I recommend ignoring thermal results and simply getting a case that runs quietly and has support for the features you need.

It doesn't really matter unless you are overclocking or are absolutely anal about needing the best potential possible temperatures.

From your own words:

However, the thermal performance of this case wasn’t impressive – actually amongst the worst I’ve tested so far – and I find that hard to accept from a case that typically costs $184.

Are the thermal comprised to keep the noise down or it is due to something else?