My favorite computer case
I’m still using the be quiet! brand Dark Base Pro 901 computer case that I acquired earlier this year [1]. Every single time I write out the brand name for be quiet! I want to put in quotes “be quiet!” to help showcase that the stylized branding is intentional based on what was intended by the brand and not a typo on my part. In this case, I resisted the quotes until I showcased what I was indeed resisting. I tried or at least considered trying. You have to give me a small amount of credit on that one.
This new case purchase was my second Dark Base Pro series case. I have been really pretty happy with them in terms of design, build quality, and overall usability. Generally speaking, I like to build a computer and then just replace components as necessary. Actually switching out computer cases is a big commitment. I moved from the Dark Base Pro 900 to the Dark Base Pro 901 without hesitation outside of the price of course. For me at the time, it was worth making the change. That change involved a new CPU, RAM, and motherboard making this one of my most substantial computer builds in years.
Computer cases are a very personal decision based on what you want to achieve with your build. For a lot of people, it is thermal management and usability. That makes total sense. I throw in a constraint for noise as well which is where my affinity for the Dark Base Pro series originates. Years ago, I ended up moving all my computer parts into a really large Lian Li aluminium modular cube case and that was my primary build setup for years. It worked super well and was only really retired when I moved away from keeping so many 5.25 drive bays active on my build.
I can remember having 5 distinct computer builds over the last 20 years:
Lian Li modular cube case however ChatGPT thinks it was actually a Yeong Yang built case or maybe something different altogether
Cooler Master Stryker SE Full-Tower Case
Corsair Carbide Series Air 740 - High Airflow ATX cube case
be quiet! Dark Base Pro 900
be quiet! Dark Base Pro 901
I have a photograph of what I think was a Lian Li cube case from back in 2018 when I apparently finally parted with the case. My entire photo collection in Google Photos only had a couple views of this computer case. I apparently did not document setting it up way back in the day using a digital camera. It’s possible that some actual film was used when this thing arrived.
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