W
hileit’sbetterknownforcoolersand
PSUs,bequiet!hasbeenreleasinga
slowtrickleofPCcasesoverrecent
yearsandthe500DXis thelatestfroma
companythatusuallytriestobea littledifferent
withitscasedesigns.The500DXis maybenot
asuniqueassomeofitspredecessors,witha
fairlystandardinterior,butit’sthecheapestcase
ontestandstillmanagestopacka punchwhen
it comestofeatures.
Availableinblackorwhite,thecaseis
dominatedbya largedoublemeshatthefront
andsandwichedbetweentheseventsis a twin
RGBLEDstrip.It’sa lookthat’sinnovativeand
elegant,elevatingwhatwouldotherwisebea
fairlyconventionalfrontdesign.
There’sa hugenumberofpre-programmed
lightingeffects,withsomeseriouslyfunky
KnightRider-esquepatterns,butif youprefer
morecontrol,there’sa 3-pindigitalRGB
connectortohookthelightinguptoyour
motherboardtoo.Asif thiswasn’tenough,the
casealsohasanLEDstripintheroof,which
lookedfantasticdancingoverthewhiteinterior
BE QUIET! 500DX
/£90incVAT
SUPPLIER scan.co.ukof our sample, butwe’d
imagine it would look a little
flat in the black version.
Despite leaving you with
change from £100, you get
a full-fat USB 3.1 Type-C
port on the front panel as
well as a single USB 3 port.
There’s a large magnetic
removable filter in the roof
too, plus additional filters on
the underside and behind
that front mesh, although the
latter requires the removal of the
front panel to get at it. Inside, be quiet! includes
three Pure Wings 2 140mm fans, with two of
these located in the roof and rear of the case.
This will likely offer excellent cooling for CPU
air coolers and motherboards, but will result in
negative air pressure with the third fan sitting
alone in the front of the case.
There’s a plentiful 190mm clearance for
CPU coolers too. This compares to 165mm for
the Thermaltake H550 TG ARGB, for instance,
which isn’t enough to house large coolers such
as the Corsair A500.
If you want to dabble in liquid cooling then
there’s space in the front for a slim 360mm
or 280mm radiator. A removable drive cage
offers a home to either two 3.5in hard disks or
a single SSD, with four more 2.5in SSD mounts
dotted around the rear of the motherboard
tray. Cable tidying isn’t quite on a par with the
Phanteks P600S or NZXT 510 Elite, but you get
a more lavish arrangement than Thermaltake
or Corsair’s offerings this month, with a helping
of Velcro ties and a large cable-routing section
next to the motherboard.
The 500DX was one of the quieter cases on
test, but those 140mm fans also did a good job
of cooling, with the 50°C CPU delta T being the
second best on test. The GPU delta T of 44°C
was less impressive, but far from the worst.Conclusion
The be quiet! 500DX is a corker of a case. In
fact, we’d go as far as saying it looks and feels
better than Lian Li’s already fabulous Lancool
II. If you want RGB lighting and good cooling,
it’s a fantastic choice and only spending more
to get the Phanteks P600S will bag you a case
with more features or upgrade potential.SPEC
Dimensions (mm) 285 x 510 x 501 (W x D x H)
Material Steel, plastic, glass
Available colours Black, white
Weight 7.8kg
Front panel Power, 1 x USB 3, 1 x USB 3.1
Type-C, stereo, mic, RGB lighting button
Drive bays 1 x 2.5/3.5in, 4 x 2.5in
Form factor(s) ATX, Micro-ATX
Cooling 3 x 120/2 x 140mm front fan mounts
(1 x 140mm fan included), 1 x 120/140mm rear
fan mount (1 x 140mm fan included), 2 x 120/1
x 140mm roof fan mounts (fans not included)
CPU cooler clearance 190mm
Maximum graphics card length 369mmVERDICT
For the money, the 500DX is unbeatable and
cools as well as it looks.COLD BEER
+ Good cooling
+ Snazzy lighting with
motherboard control
+ Space for large air and
liquid coolersCOLD TEA- Only two hard
disk mounts - GPU cooling not
chart-topping - PSU area is a
little cramped
COOLING
27 / 30
DESIGN
26 / 30FEATURES
16 / 20
VALUE
19 / 20OVERALLSCORE
88 %
cc
uuss
tommPP
CCA
P
PR
OVE
D