be quiet! Light Base 500 LX Review

Introduction and Technical Specifications of the be quiet! Light Base 500 LX

After its presentation at the last Gamescom 2025 in August, we now have the review of the be quiet! Light Base 500 LX, one of the company’s newest and most advanced models that now adopts the panoramic format with a double tempered glass design on the front and side.

This model accompanies the Light Base 600 LX within the company’s catalog of panoramic boxes, but does so in a more conventional format, with vertical orientation. Of course, it does not do without a high cooling capacity thanks to the support for no more and no less than 10 120 mm fans.

Technical Features be quiet! Light Base 500 LX

• Materials: SGCC steel, tempered glass
• Supported formats:
  • Motherboard Compatibility: ATX / M-ATX / Mini-ITX
  • 400mm GPUs
  • 200mm PSU
  • 185mm CPU cooler
• Expansion slots: 7 horizontal
• Storage:
  • 2.5″/3.5″: 2
• Front panel:
  • 2x USB 3.2 Type-A
  • 1x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C
  • 1x Microphone and audio connector
• Fans included:
  • 3 x Light Wings LX Reverse 120 mm PWM Black (sides)
    • 1600 | 1500RPM
    • 51.5 CFM / 87.5 m³/h air flow
    • 1.34 mmH₂O static pressure
    • Maximum noise of 25.5 dBA
    • 4-pin PWM connector
  • 1 x Light Wings LX 120mm PWM Black (rear)
    • 1600 | 1500RPM
    • 51.5 CFM / 87.5 m³/h air flow
    • 1.34 mmH₂O static pressure
    • Maximum noise of 25.5 dBA
    • 4-pin PWM connector
• ARGB PWM controller/HUB.
• Fan support:
  • Top: 2 x 140mm / 3 x 120mm
  • Side: 3 x 120mm
  • Rear: 1 x 120mm / 1 x 140mm
  • Bottom: 3 x 120mm
• Radiator support:
  • Upper: 120 / 240 / 280 / 360mm
  • Side: 120/240mm
  • Rear: 120mm
• Dimensions: 432mm x 305mm x 436mm
• Weight: 10.95kg
• Price: 144.90 euros.

Design and Connectivity

We can say little about the panoramic format that we have not commented on in other reviews. Beyond each person’s personal tastes, the truth is that its popularization has been a breath of fresh air for the PC case market, taking the use of glass one step further to reveal the components.

This be quiet! Light Base 500 LX that we have here is the “Black” variant in black, with a steel structure in that color, both inside and outside, and two tempered glass panels: one on the side and one on the front, occupying the leftmost area of ​​this part.

It has total measurements of 432 mm x 305 mm x 436 mm, so we are looking at a box in a semi-tower format that is not too large, and stands out for having a wider depth than traditional boxes to be able to house the power supply, storage and cables in the back. It must be taken into account that this box does not have a square space at the back, making the area smaller, hence the importance of having a wide bottom to have more margin.

The small panel between the front and the back is striking, which forms an angle to allow air to pass through to the fan area. At the back, we have a large steel panel that is perforated to allow air to pass directly to the fans and inside.

The tower is supported by four bases that keep it stable in its natural position.

We will get into the topic of cooling later, for now comment that we have four fans with ARGB pre-installed, and a controller/hub system with ARB support for many more fans.

On the front we have USB-A connectivity with two ports, USB-C in one port, combined 3.5 mm audio minijack, power button, reset button and to control the lighting.

On the back we have space for the typical I/O ports of the motherboard, as well as seven expansion slots in horizontal format. Luckily, for those of us who like to place the graphics card vertically, be quiet! It includes a specific module to be able to place it in this way.

Cooling Capabilities of the be quiet! Light Base 500 LX

As standard, the Light Base 500 LX includes four fans, three of them introducing air from the side to the front area, and a fourth extracting air from the rear.

The four fans are Light Wings LX from be quiet! itself, but while the rear one is a normal 120 mm PWM model, the three on the side are the “Reverse” variant with the direction of rotation reversed for aesthetic reasons (the structure that crosses the fan is behind and cannot be seen).

These fans have a rotation speed of 1,600 RPM with PWM and 1,500 RPM with DC. They are capable of offering a static pressure of 1.34 mmHd2O and an air flow of 51.5 CFM. All of them have ARGB LED lighting.

The linked system of the 3 fans on the side is striking, and how they can be easily removed from above along with their magnetic dust filter.

Additionally, this box allows the placement of another three fans at the bottom and another three at the top, to form a system with no more and no less than 10 fans. Where there are fans, a liquid cooling radiator can also be placed. Specifically, there is a radiator limitation of 360 mm on the lid, 240 mm on the front and 120 mm on the rear side.

All of these fans can be controlled from the controller/HUB built into the case itself, with pre-installed lighting modes and compatibility with ARGB synchronization systems on motherboards.

The bottom and sides have dust filters.

Assembly Experience

We begin the assembly with the power supply, and here we can choose between two positions, or place it in the lower or upper area of ​​the rear tray, since this box allows us to place it in those two positions. By default, the free space is the one below and there is space for 200 mm fonts.

Given the small size of the box, the fountain must be inserted at an angle.

The position that we do not use will be where the hard drive tray is placed. It draws attention to be quiet! decided to use this tray to place the fan controller, leaving one of the 2.5″/3.5″ bays unusable.

In this bay we can place units of both sizes, the 2.5″ ones behind and the 3.5″ ones in front for reasons of space and screws.

The entire rear part of the motherboard tray has perforations to allow cables to pass through and, in addition, to be compatible with motherboards with rear connectors in BTF format or similar. We can see that the space left for cables is large.

In the main chamber, we have space for ATX motherboards, there are no elements that restrict air flow or bother us when mounting the different components. It is another of the advantages of this type of design: everything is very accessible both visually and at the assembly level, and it also promotes good cooling with an air flow without interference.

The graphics card can be placed horizontally or vertically thanks to a module that is placed in the expansion slots. Unfortunately, a x16 riser is not included, so it must be purchased separately. Of course, the design of the expansion ports has a protection plate that, inexplicably, be quiet! It has been integrated with two flat screws, so every time we want to place something there, we will have to use the screwdriver, not only to remove the screws from each slot, but also to remove the protector itself.

Space for cable management is limited, especially if we have the HDD and controller modules mounted. There is an area just to the left of the fountain with quite a bit of depth, and we can lift them up behind the hard drive tray. Of course, we will not lack gaps to reach the plate area.

The resulting equipment has a very striking and compact design. It is not a large tower, but the large air openings allow cooling from practically any point.

In addition, the ARGB lighting attracts attention from practically any angle, both from the front and the side, thanks also to the ARGB fans and their placement, and the panoramic design.

Analysis and Conclusion

The be quiet! Light Base 500 LX It is a case that combines a panoramic design with a compact size and excellent cooling capacity.

It is an excellent model if we want to have an attractive, high-performance computer, without going to much more bulky models, and without having to give up keeping the temperature under control. The 4 pre-installed fans are enough for most computers, but there we have room for a total of 10.

There are some points to improve, for example, the expansion bay system could be easier to use if tools were not required. The space for cables has a good depth, but it is not too wide and it is necessary to plan well where we are going to pass them. It is practically mandatory to remove the hard drive tray to do it correctly, and then put it back.

That hard drive tray comes with the added controller, so we lose half of the space for storage units. However, today with M.2 SSDs so popular, the storage aspect can be covered with just one extra drive.

Herein be quiet! Light Base 500 LX We find good connectivity options and the addition of the module to place graphics vertically, however, the inclusion of a PCIe x16 riser is missing to complete the accessories.

There is no doubt about the construction quality, both in terms of assembly and finishes, it is a tower that we can classify as premium without fear of being wrong.

Without a doubt, this be quiet! Light Base 500 LX It is a model that has everything we can ask for from a high-performance panoramic tower, but in a more compact format.