be quiet! Light Base 500 LX / Fractal Design Era 2

be quiet! Light Base 500 LX: BGW85 · black, empty chassis

Fractal Design Era 2: Era 2 Mini-ITX case; Silver (FD-C-ERA2N-01), Midnight Blue and Charcoal Gray. The original Era is a separate model.

Specificationbe quiet! Light Base 500 LXFractal Design Era 2
Release year20252024
Announcement and availabilityAnnounced October 7, 2025; on sale from October 21, 2025 be quiet!—
MotherboardATX, Micro-ATX, Mini-ITX be quiet!—
Rear-connector motherboardsASUS BTF, MSI Project Zero, Gigabyte Project Stealth layouts be quiet!—
Dimensions432 × 305 × 436 mm; length × width × height, with feet be quiet!—
MaterialsSGCC steel, ABS, glass be quiet!Anodised aluminium exterior and side panels; FSC-certified walnut top panel; bottom dust filter Fractal Design
Side fans3 × 120 mm Light Wings LX Reverse PWM be quiet!—
Rear fan1 × 120 mm Light Wings LX PWM be quiet!—
Top fan positions3 × 120 or 2 × 140 mm be quiet!—
Bottom fan positions3 × 120 mm; fans separate be quiet!—
Rear fan compatibility1 × 120 or 140 mm be quiet!—
Radiator120 / 240 / 360 mm at the top be quiet!—
CPU cooler clearanceUp to 185 mm high be quiet!—
Graphics card clearanceUp to 400 mm long be quiet!—
Power supplyATX PS/2; under 200 mm long; not included

Allow additional space for cable and connector bends.

be quiet!		SFX or SFX-L

GamersNexus says SFX-L significantly reduces cable space and recommends standard SFX.

Fractal Design
Drive bays1 × 3.5-inch HDD and 2 × 2.5-inch SSD be quiet!—
Expansion7 PCI slots be quiet!—
Front connections1 × USB-C 3.2 Gen 2; 2 × USB-A 3.2; combined HD Audio be quiet!—
LightingARGB button and ARGB/PWM hub; 3-pin ARGB be quiet!—
Dust filtersSide and bottom intakes be quiet!—
Motherboard and form factor—Mini-ITX; 18.97 L volume

A small-form-factor case that accepts only Mini-ITX motherboards.

Fractal Design
Graphics card—Up to 326 mm long, 137 mm tall, 48 mm thick; 3 expansion slots; pre-installed PCIe 4.0 riser cable

Fractal says the slidable central wall gives 15 mm of internal flexibility. GamersNexus notes that in wall position 3 GPU thickness rises to 63 mm (3.1 slots) while the CPU cooler limit drops to 55 mm.

Fractal Design
CPU cooler and radiator—Air cooler up to 70 mm; 120, 140, 240 or 280 mm radiator on top

The 70 mm limit means low-profile coolers; for more powerful CPUs a 240/280 mm liquid cooler on top is more suitable.

Fractal Design
Fans—2 × Aspect 12 PWM installed at the bottom; mounts for 2 × 120/140 mm on top and 2 × 120 mm at the bottom Fractal Design
Storage—4 × 2.5-inch drive mounts

There is no 3.5-inch hard drive support.

Fractal Design
Front I/O—2 × USB-A (5 Gbps); 1 × USB-C (20 Gbps); combo audio/mic jack; illuminated power button

The 20 Gbps USB-C runs at full speed only if the motherboard has a USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 header.

Fractal Design
Size and weight—366 × 165 × 314 mm; 4.6 kg net Fractal Design
Colours and warranty—Silver, Midnight Blue and Charcoal Gray; 2-year warranty Fractal Design