In our streak of testing 360mm AIO coolers, we are now taking a look at the SilverStone PF360W ARGB V2 cooler. As the name suggests, this is version 2 of the cooler with only one difference which is the LGA1700 socket compatibility. SilverStone has sent us a white edition cooler which looks really cool in person. This unit has a same design as is on the original cooler. Key features include:

• Pure white colored radiator, fans and cables to help achieve the ultimate full white system build of your dream
• Integrated addressable RGB lighting for water block and fan
• Rubber pads included on fan for lower vibration and noise
• Includes addressable RGB controller with 10 lighting modes and ability to adjust brightness and color changing speeds.
• Compatible with Intel LGA775/115X/1200/1366/2011/2066 and AMD AM2/AM3/AM4/AM5/FM1/FM2 sockets
• Compatible with Intel LGA115x/1200/1700/2011/2066 and AMD AM2/AM3/AM4/AM5/FM1/FM2 sockets (V2)

Item:                     SilverStone PF360W-ARGB-V2

Price:                    £99.98 [SCAN UK price at the time of this writing]

SilverStone SST-PF360W-ARGB-V2 Cooler Specifications

Packaging and Unboxing

This unit comes inside a cardboard box. The model of this unit is printed over here along with compatibility with RGB sync technologies of various motherboard manufacturers. We can see LGA1700 compatible label.

SilverStone has printed specifications and diagrams with dimensions over here.

There is an egged carton onto which the cooler and accessories are nicely tucked.

Accessories

It is time to see what is provided.

SilverStone has provided a user manual with instructions about installing this cooler on supported sockets. There is also a manual for the A-RGB controller.

There are:

• Backplate for Intel LGA1700 Socket
• Backplate for Intel other Sockets
• Bracket for Intel Platform
• Bracket for AMD Platform

There are:

• 4x Spring-loaded Thumb Screws
• 4x Intel LGA1700 Bolts or Thumb Nuts
• 4x Intel LGA20xx Bolts or Thumb Nuts
• 4x Intel Other Sockets Bolts or Thumb Nuts
• 2x AMD Clips or Buckles

There are:

• 1x 3-way PWM Splitter Cable
• 1x Thermal Paste Tube

SilverStone has provided:

• 1x Digital RGB Splitter Cable
• 1x 4-pin Peripheral Adapter Cable for pump

There is a dedicated A-RGB controller provided with this cooler. It has three buttons to control the lighting effects. The M button can be used to toggle between the RGB modes. The + and – buttons can be used to increase/decrease the brightness and or speed of dynamic lighting modes. Pressing M button for 3 seconds will turn the lights off and pressing it again will load the last lighting effect.

There is a 4-pin header or port on one end of this controller to which you can connect the A-RGB cable.

The other end has a 2-pin port. This is where SATA cable is connected to power the unit.

There are a few other cables as well. One is the SATA cable to power the controller. Other is an A-RGB cable having a 4-pin port at one end that goes into the controller housing. There is also a motherboard RGB sync cable.

Closer Look

SilverStone releasing a Version 2 or V2 of PerfaFrost series coolers indicate that they intend to carry this series further ahead. Well, nothing wrong with that as these coolers are still good. Let’s start.

Since we are taking a look at the white color unit, we can see that the radiator housing is white color paint coated including the fin stack. This radiator is made of aluminum alloy and it has a size of 394x120x28mm. This radiator has a thickness of 28mm which is 1mm above what the majority of AIOs have. Adding 120x25mm fans would increase the overall height to be 54mm or so including the screws’ heads. This unit has a FPI count of 20 and there are 12 channels for coolant flow. SilverStone has stated that they are using an automotive-grade radiator that has excellent anti-corrosive properties and can easily survive harsh elements that include vapor, liquid, grease, and solvent.

SilverStone has done a good job with fin stacking since we did not observe any broken fins.

The far end has a slim design to it and there is no branding of any sort over here.

Looking at the tube side of the radiator, we can see a serial number label and a part or model number label. There are white clamps hiding the connection between tubes and fittings. There is what seems to be a refill port cover. It seems to be a factory use reserve. Don’t temper with it as it might lose the vacuum pressure of the loop.

The sides of the housing are riveted to the main housing and there is no branding of any sort on these frames.

SilverStone is using rubber tubes having nylon braided mesh sleeves in white color for aesthetics. These tubes have a length of 400mm. These tubes are not that flexible.

The pump housing is quite a distinctive design on this unit. This housing has a size of 61x61x50mm (LxWxH). Here 50mm refers to height of this housing. There is a step design on top that blends in quite well with the rest of the design flow. There are A-RGB backlit 4 intersections. All sides of this housing have the same layout. The housing is white color coated. Oh, and this housing is made of plastic material.

Looking at the top of this housing we can see a SilverStone logo that is backlit. Since this logo would look the same from all angles, there is no consideration with respect to the installation orientation of this unit. Also, we can see that there is a certain gap between the housing and the tubes.

Looking at the backside, we can see that there are 90° right-angled fittings on which the tubes are connected. They can be moved towards right and left depending on the requirement. The inset in the black color body is where the mounting brackets are installed.

There is a flat cable with a 3-pin connector to power the pump.

The other flat cable has standard 3-pin, 5V interfaced connectors for A-RGB LEDs.

This unit has a copper base measuring 55x55mm. SilverStone is using 0.2mm micro channels on the cold plate for better heat transfer. The pump on this unit has a dual-chamber design to separate the coolant’s inflow and outflow areas. SilverStone has used a 6-pole, 3-phase design for the motor. This is to improve energy efficiency. An automotive-grade sine wave generator is used to drive the pump motor. This is AEC-Q100 certified according to Automotive Electronics Council’s standard making it more durable. This motor is rated to spin at 3400 RPM ±10% using 12VDC and 0.39A current.

There are three white color high-performance fans with this cooler. These are AB 120RW. These fans have A-RGB LEDs. LEDs are housed inside the hub. Each fan has 9 blades. These are frosted blades. There is a sticker on the hub having a SilverStone brand logo. Each mounting corner has an anti-vibration pad.

The frame of these fans is also in white color. It is quite sturdy. We could not see any arrow marking that shows the direction of airflow and the direction in which the blades spin for novice users.

Looking at the backside of the fan, we can see a 4-arms assembly. Wires are routed on an inset on one arm. We can take a glimpse at a green color PCB. The power rating of these fans is printed over here. We can see a ribbed design on the blades. According to SilverStone, these suppress air turbulence and its noise.

Each fan has two flat cables in white color. One cable has a 4-pin PWM connector to power the fan’s motor. The other cable has standard RGB connectors.

Salient specifications are:

Installation

We are not covering the details of installation. Please refer to the online user guide for detailed instructions about installing this cooler. We did not notice any particular issue with the installation. One thing that we somehow noticed during the removal of this cooler is that the thumb nuts were stuck on thumb screws or bolts and removing thumb nuts actually removed the thumb screws from the socket of the backplate. This is something SilverStone should look into. Also, it is not easy installing a top left thumb screw on the socket since that particular hole sits closer to the capacitors. I wish SilverStone take note of EK Water Blocks’s idea of using a tool to install/remove screws.

RGB Lighting

Since SilverStone is using standard RGB connectors, the A-RGB lighting is compatible with RGB sync technologies of motherboard manufacturers. The lighting solution is compatible with:

• ASUS AURA SYNC
• ASRock POLYCHROME SYNC
• GIGABYTE RGB FUSION 2.0
• MSI MYSTIC LIGHTING SYNC
• BIOSTAR RACING

Here are a few pictures:

Testing

We have used below-mentioned configuration: –

• Intel i7 10700k
• MSI MAG Z490 TOMAHWAK
• XPG D41 16GB @ 2666MHz DDR4 Kit
• GGIABYTE GeForce RTX 3060 VISION OC
• addlink S70 256GB NVMe SSD
• bequiet! Straight Power 11 850W Platinum PSU
• Thermaltake Core P6 TG Snow Edition in an open frame layout

Here is the settings table for testing:

We are reporting the absolute temperature on the graph. The testing is done on an open-air bench system. Once inside the chassis, the temperatures are expected to rise and would largely depend upon the optimal airflow inside the chassis. Not every run of the stress test may yield the same result. This could well be due to many factors like mounting pressure, thermal paste application, and varying ambient temperature. Not to mention the silicon differences even among the same category of chips. Hence, it is pertinent to mention the testing methodology along with the specifics.

Results

This is not a bad result as we can see a difference of 1°C between both coolers.

Noise

These fans were making a noise output of 53~54 dB(A) at an ambient sound level of 32 dB(A).

Conclusion

In our continued testing of 360mm coolers, we have taken a look at SilverStone PF360W-ARGB-V2 cooler. This is a V2 of an original cooler with only one difference. The V2 is compatible with Intel LGA1700. This is due to the fact that when PF360 was released, LGA1700 was not released by Intel. The release of V2 also shows that SilverStone intends to continue this cooler in the coming time. We have tested a white edition cooler. This unit is compatible with Intel LGA115x/1200/1700/2011/2066 and AMD AM2/AM3/AM4/AM5/FM1/FM2 sockets.

As is the case with majority of the AIOs, this unit has an aluminum-made radiator having a size of 394x120x28mm. However, this unit has a tad bit more thickness by only 1mm. After installing 120x25mm fans, the overall thickness would be 54mm or so including the heads of the screws. It has 12 channels for coolant flow and fin density is 20 (FPI). SilverStone has mentioned that these coolers are using an automotive-grade radiator that has excellent anti-corrosive properties and can easily survive harsh elements that include vapor, liquid, grease, and solvent. This cooler has rubber tubes that run to 400mm in length and they have nylon braided mesh sleeves for aesthetics.

The pump housing is made of plastic material and it has a copper base. The top of the pump has a SilverStone logo that is A-RGB backlit. In addition, there are intersections in the housing in step design and each is A-RGB backlit. This creates some vivid visuals. This housing has a dimension of 61x61x50mm where 50mm is the overall height of this housing. SilverStone has mentioned that this pump is using dual chamber design. The pump of this unit has a 3-phase, 6-pole design for quieter operations. An automotive-grade sine wave generator is used to drive the pump motor. This ensures electrical noise and vibration are kept to a minimum. It is also AEC-Q100 certified according to Automotive Electronics Council’s standard so it has great quality and durability. The copper base measures 55x55mm. The cold plate has 0.2mm microchannels. All this is done to ensure maximum heat transfer. This motor is rated to spin at 3400 RPM ±10% using 12VDC and 0.39A current.

PF360 series of coolers come with Air Blazer series fans. These are high-performance fans generating 94 CFM at 12VDC with a static pressure of 3.53mmH₂O. The maximum noise level is 35.6 dB(A). Their speed range is 600 to 2200 RPM using a PWM connection. The blades of these fans are using a unique ribbed edge to generate more airflow and pressure with an optimized geometrical shape. These fans have A-RGB LEDs for lighting effects. SilverStone has used standard RGB connectors making this solution compatible with the RGB sync technologies of various motherboard manufacturers. SilverStone has mentioned that the lighting solution is compatible with:

• ASUS AURA SYNC,
• ASRock POLYCHROME SYNC
• MSI MYSTIC LIGHTING
• GIGABYTE RGB FUSION 2.0
• BIOSTAR RACING

We have used MSI Z490 TOMAHAWK motherboard and Mystic Sync App to control the lighting. It was working fine. SilverStone has also provided a dedicated A-RGB controller that would come in handy where motherboard does not have RGB solution.

Now addressing the installation part, this cooler has a convenient installation for AMD platform. However, for Intel platform, we would need 10 items to install a block on the CPU. Installation is simple and we did not notice any issues during installation. However, when removing this cooler, the thumb nuts and thumb screws were jammed with each other and taking the thumb nuts off actually removed the three thumb screws from the backplate’s socket.

This cooler is listed on SCAN UK at £99.98. This is a good price point for this cooler. SilverStone is offering a 2-year warranty on this cooler. This is a low warranty period and it should have at least been a 3-year and preferably a 5-year warranty. This cooler has performed quite well going against the mighty Liquid Freezer – II 360 but this performance comes at a high noise output from the fans. I would suggest using a custom fan curve and you are good.

Pros:

• Thermal Performance
• White Edition AB-120RW Fans
• Digital RGB Lighting
• Dedicated RGB Controller
• Supports Intel LGA1700
• Supports AMD AM5
• Price

Cons:

• Low Warranty Period
• Loud Fans

Personally, I am a fan of SUGO series from SilverStone when it comes to SFF/HTPC PC Cases though ALTA G1M changes that. SilverStone released a new ITX base SFF PC Case named MILO 12 last year. We got one for review but it got delayed due to my total hip replacement surgery and rehab. Well, I am getting back at it so here is the content. The MILO 12 seems to have its footprint in ever popular RVZ series of ITX PC Cases from SilverStone but this time this case has a different outlook and SilverStone is using chamber design for optimal cooling of the key components.

Here are some salient features:

• Compatible with Mini-ITX motherboard & ATX PSU
• Supports 3-slot graphics cards up to 345mm length
• Horizontal or vertical orientation
• Modular design with 4 removable panels (top, left, right, bottom)
• ATX to SFX adapter bracket included – 9.5mm slim ODD can be installed when using SFX PSU
• CPU cooler opening on motherboard back plate for convenient assembly and upgrade

Item:                     SST-ML-12B

Price:                    MSRP USD 189.99 at the time of the review

Specification

Dimension

Closer Look

The chassis is shipped inside a cardboard box of brown color which is a standard for chassis shipping. Slim and Compact are the two keywords here from SilverStone describing this case.

The case is made of plastic and steel material with steel being the main material used for main body of this case. This case supports only mini-ITX size motherboards which is obvious.

SilverStone has provided:

• Zip Ties
• Various Screws
• 4x feet
• A warranty guide

Let’s start taking a look at this case. The bezels of this case are made of plastic whereas the main body is made of steel material. This case has a dimension of 105x393x378mm (WxHxD). This case has a volume of 15.6 liters having a net weight of 4.89 kg.

The front cover is made of plastic material and it has a beautiful layout. This is the side that would be facing the user if placed over the table. This case can be placed horizontally as well as vertically which could help particularly in vertical layout where it would take less space. There are two buttons up top. One is to power the build and the other is for resetting. We can see a mesh over here. Its purpose is to provide airflow for an optional 80x15mm size fan that can be installed on the front (inside) to provide fresh air directly to the graphics card. There is an LED indicator on the corner facing the power button.

We can see connectivity options in the center. These are:

• 2x USB 3.0 Type-A
• 1x USB Type-C (Key-A)
• 1x Combo Audio

The lower half of the front cover is hard plastic without any perforation. Looking closely we can see that there is a cover under which a user can install 9.5mm slim ODD provided the user is going for SFX size PSU. This ODD is not possible with ATX size PSU.

The front of the case is made of Acrylic and plastic materials. It is finished in a mirror effect for a premium outlook. On the top right, we have a cover for a slim optical drive which is optional. The case supports one slim optical 12.7cm or 9.5mm drive. We have power and reset buttons on the base with two blue color LED indicators. There is a SilverStone branding on the right of the front panel.

The above picture shows that this case can be placed horizontally over the table.

The front cover can be removed by pressing the tabs from the inside of the PC Case that would release this panel and it will come off.

There is a circular large-size cutout on the right. This is where the 80x15mm fan can be installed as this fan faces the GPU Chamber of this case. There is an additional 2.5” drive caddy on the left side.

The caddy can be removed to easily install a 2.5” drive on it and then put it back on the main frame. SilverStone has wisely used this space to provide additional storage support. There is a large cutout facing the 2.5” drive bracket from where the SATA cables can be routed towards the PSU and motherboard.

Now we are looking at the front of this case from the inside. The 2.5” drive bay faces the PSU bracket. The opening for the 9.5mm slim ODD is beneath this 2.5” drive bracket. This slim ODD would slide down the PSU bracket and can be used only if using SFX size PSU.

One good design aspect of this case is its modularity in terms of the panel’s design. The left and right panels are easily swappable with each other.

The above picture shows the other side panel.

These panels have a dust filter that is washable as well.

Similarly, the top and bottom panels are swappable with each other. This is a bottom or base view of MILO 12 case.

These panels don’t have any dust filters.

The above picture shows a base view of this case. We can see a standard design that we have seen in many cases where the power cable is routed from the back of the case towards the front side for connection with the PSU unit. The same is the case with this PC Case.

The right side has an opening. This is where the PSU is installed and faced with its power port side. SilverStone has wisely used the leftover space on the other end and provided a 2.5” drive caddy. They have also offered a cutout in front of the caddy to route the cables.

The above picture shows a rear view of MILO 12. Up top, we can see a triple slot design with a bracket. These slots have vented and reusable covers. The lower section has a large size cutout on the right that would face the rear IO panel of the motherboard. There is also a vented area. The bottom has a power port. I wish brand start to provide the switch on/off button with this power port!

The above picture shows a top view of MILO 12 with panel removed. This is facing the GPU chamber.

We are taking a look at the backside first. We mentioned that this case is using a chamber design for optimal cooling and preventing heat from one chamber to go into the other chamber though we would need a fan effectively make this happen. The upper chamber has a space in which a graphics card can be installed. The graphics card’s limitation is 160mm in height and 345mm in length. This case supports a triple slot graphics card easily. In case placing a graphics card is difficult, a top beam can be removed as well before installation. We can see a slot for an 80mm fan on the front side. This is optional and the user can install an 80x15mm fan here depending on the length of the graphics card. If the length of a card is less than 25mm thick fan can also be installed. There is a cutout at the floor of this chamber from which the cables can be routed towards PSU.

The bottom section has a solid cover on the right side. This is where PSU is placed on the other end of the case. We have a large size cutout on the left side. The left end is the motherboard tray. SilverStone has managed to provide a large enough cutout for an easy installation of the CPU cooler while ensuring structural integrity. But it is off-center and this could prevent installing an M.2 SSD on the backside of the motherboard after the motherboard is installed.

The above picture illustrates that. There is and should not be an issue for the cooler’s backplate but we can’t install a full-length M.2 SSD after the motherboard is installed first. We can also see a gap between the motherboard and the tray which is coming from the height of the standoffs.

There is an adjustable graphics card holder in the upper chamber. This is where the graphics card is rested. Its width can be adjusted according to the width of the graphics card.

There is a cutout towards the floor or base of the upper chamber. This is where the bundled PCIe Riser 4.0 cable is installed.

SilverStone has provided a PCIe Riser 4.0 cable with a slot. This is not a flexible cable and it is designed to exactly match the space requirement in MILO 12.

The above picture shows that PCIe Riser 4.0 cable and slot are installed. The graphics card is installed in this PCIe slot. In case you are wondering about the motherboard connectivity.

The above picture shows the PCIe Riser 4.0 Cable installed on the motherboard and the slot screwed to the case’s frame.

The above picture shows the graphics card installed in MILO 12.

Thea above picture shows the top view of the installed graphics card.

The above picture shows another angle of the backside view in MILO 12.

Now we are coming to the main business which is the side where most of the components are installed. This is a side view of the MILO 12 case right after removing the side panel. The riser cable box is attached to the PSU bracket whereas the accessories are provided in a separate container.

We have 4x key areas here to discuss:

1. PSU Bay
2. Motherboard Bay
3. 5” drives brackets
4. 140mm fan place

We have numbered these areas in red color for ease of identification.

There is a mount provided for an optional installation of a 140mm size fan only. This would come in handy if the graphics card is an open design on the backplate side as this would provide more ventilation for the graphics card.

SilverStone has provided an ATX to SFX adapter bracket that is pre-installed in the case using 2x screws on the rear and 1x screw in the center towards the front. We can spot a gap between this bracket and the main frame of the case that has been used wisely by SilverStone by providing the option of installing a 9.5mm slim ODD in this area from the front of the case. In case you are going for a standard ATX size PSU, you would need to remove this bracket completely and in that case, ODD is not possible either.

We removed the bracket for the installation of SFX-L PSU.

We removed that bracket and installed the SilverStone SX1000 Platinum power supply which is SFX-L size PSU.

The above picture shows the PSU bracket installed in the case. I would suggest connecting the desired cables to the PSU out of the case. Maximum supported length is 160mm for the PSU.

The above picture shows the power cable connected to the power port of the PSU and the power switch turned on. Don’t forget to switch this button on otherwise you would need to access this side of the case after completing the system build just to switch it on.

There is a large size cut-out on the motherboard tray. This would make the installation of the CPU Cooler easier even after installing the motherboard in the case. We have mentioned above that this cutout is off-center so that is a limitation for the M.2 drive’s installation on the backside of the case. The standoffs have a bit of height from the floor of the case to provide good ventilation. A motherboard of only mini-ITX size can be installed in this case. The maximum height of the CPU cooler is 77mm meaning we are left with a low-profile cooler only for this case. There is a cutout on the right side of this tray on which the PCIe Riser 4.0 Cable is installed.

There are 2x brackets for 2.5” drives on the main frame of the upper chamber. This would make a total count of 4x such brackets in this case.

The system panel connectors include:

• Power LED
• Power
• Reset
• HDD LED

There are three more cables:

• USB 3.0 Type-A Connector
• USB Type-C (Key-A) Connector
• HD Audio Connector

SilverStone has provided another box in the main packing that has stand brackets in it.

The above picture shows these stand brackets. Each bracket has two arms having rubber padding on the ends that would meet with the PC Case and the table. The center of one of these stands has a hole whereas the other stand has a pin-style connecting mechanism that would go inside the hole and both brackets are installed in a cross pattern.

The above picture shows the brackets attached to each other.

The MILO 12 is standing on the brackets.

Installation

Now, that we have covered the design and included the build pictures, let us go through some other build pictures before moving on to the conclusion.

The test build configuration is as under:

• AMD Ryzen 7 7700X
• ASRock B650E-ITX PG WiFi
• Noctua NH-L9a-AM5 chromax.black
• Sabrent Rocket DDR5 32GB @ 4800MHz CAS 40
• Samsung SN850 500GB Black NVMe SSD
• GIGABYTE GeForce RTX 3060 VISION OC
• SilverStone SX1000 Platinum PSU

I started with the motherboard first though you should start with the PSU in my opinion. This is because the length of EPS connector could be factor to take into consideration when routing the cable. Having this cable and the 24-pin ATX cable installed on the motherboard before the installation could make your life easy. The RAM and cooler were installed out of the case. Next, the PSU was installed. I installed the PSU without the cables and ended up removing the PSU, attached the cables and then install the PSU.

The above picture shows the upside view of the components installed.

The cables are routed and connected. We took advantage of the space beneath the PSU bracket and tried tucking most of the cables there. The system panel connectors can also be problematic after the motherboard’s installation. You can connect them to the motherboard before installing the board.

The above picture shows the complete build ready for some action. I have skipped some parts as we have already shown the pictures and discussed above. This picture actually indicates the true design element of this case which is the dual chamber layout separating the graphics card from the CPU and motherboard.

The above picture shows the rear side of the assembled PC. The ports are easily available on the backside of the motherboard. The graphics card is a dual slot design hence third slot is unused.

Conclusion

We have got MILO 12 and SUGO 16 for review from SilverStone. In this article, we have taken a look at the relatively new and promising MILO 12 ITX case that is slim and compact in its layout. This is not the first ITX case we have tested from SilverStone. So far we have tested many ITX cases from SilverStone including:

• SUGO 14
• ML09
• ALTA-G1M

SUGO 16 is in the queue and it will soon be tested. I am in rehab after having a total hip replacement surgery which is my fourth surgery in 6 years and still following the precautions. I am resuming the work slowly and going through the queued items first.

The SilverStone MILO 12 is an SFF/HTPC PC Case that is aimed at a user who would want to save space on the table or set up an HTPC build for home use without compromising the performance and features. This case is made of plastic and steel materials. It has a dimension of 105x393x378mm (WxHxD). This case has a volume of 15.6 liters having a net weight of 4.89 kg.

This case supports motherboard of mini-ITX size motherboards only. It is based on a dual chamber layout separating the two main heat producers in any build i.e. CPU and graphics card. The upper chamber is used for the graphics card and it is separated from the lower chamber though there are a few openings that could transfer the heat from the lower chamber to the upper but overall it is a well-planned design. PSU and motherboard are installed in the lower chamber. The CPU Cooler height is only 77mm so we can use a low-profile cooler only in this case.

SilverStone has provided support for a standard PS2 ATX size PSU as well as for the SFX/SFX-L size PSU. There is a removable bracket installed in the case to house the SFX/SFX-L size PSU. SilverStone has wisely utilized the space beneath the PSU bracket to install (optional) 9.5mm slim ODD from the front side of the case. However, if you are going with an ATX-size PSU, then ODD can’t be installed. The maximum length of a PSU can be 160mm.

The graphics card of triple slot design having a length of 345mm and 160mm height can be installed in the chamber. SilverStone has provided a PCIe Riser 4.0 cable for that matter. This cable and bracket sit between the motherboard tray and the upper chamber providing a connection between the motherboard and the graphics card. This is a cut-to-size cable that is not flexible which is understandable since we are working in a space-constraint case and this cable has an exact size length to sit in the dedicated space. You can connect Gen5 graphics cards to this cable and set the PCIe interface to Gen4 or lower (as per requirement) in the UEFI/BIOS. Optionally, a user can install an 80x15mm fan on the front to push fresh air on the graphics card from the front side for which there is a mesh portion on the front panel. Optionally, the user can also install a 140mm fan on the upper chamber from the left side. This would be fruitful for the open-design graphics cards. However, the heat from the lower chamber can be pulled by this fan and pushed into the graphics card.

In terms of storage, this case can house up to 4x 2.5” drives. Two drive brackets are located on the side. One is on the front side and the last is on the base. There is no support for a 3.5″ drive and somewhat limited storage support is not supported by the price. The main panels have dust filters and both panels can be swapped with each other. The top and bottom panels can also be swapped with each other but they don’t have dust filtration.

In terms of connectivity, SilverStone has provided:

• 2x USB 3.0 Type-A
• 1x USB Type-C (Key-A)
• 1x Combo Audio

There is an LED indicator on the top right side. The IO panel is located in the middle. This case can be placed horizontally or vertically on the table. SilverStone has provided two stylish foot stands for this purpose. Placing this case vertically will save space.

There is a large size cutout on the motherboard tray that would make the CPU cooler’s installation convenient. This cutout is rectangular in design. They have not only managed to provide a large-size cutout but are also able to maintain the structural stability of this case. However, after installing our AMD motherboard, we were not able to install M.2 drive on the backside of the motherboard. This limitation could prevail for all models as long as the M.2 port is below the CPU socket. I did not face any issues during the installation. If installing a thick graphics card seems difficult, you can remove the top beam from the main frame. This would open the area of the graphics card. Don’t forget to put the beam back on after installing the card. The cable routing was easy and we tucked many cables beneath the PSU bracket to save clutter and provide a clean look where possible. I would suggest installing PSU with cables first and attaching EPS, 24-pin ATX, and system panel connectors to the motherboard before installation.

I have used AMD Ryzen 7 7700X (PBO 85°C) over ASRock B650E ITX motherboard and installed GIGABYTE GeForce RTX 3060 VISION OC graphics card. The MSI RTX 3090 was in use on another test build which is why a triple-slot graphics card was not used. The ambient temperature was 26°C. Under the Time Spy Extreme stress test, the graphics card reached 74°C whereas the CPU was operating at 85°C (this is how the new Ryzen platform works). However, the single-core boost frequency of 5.40GHz was maintained under CINEBENCH R23.2 single-core test. The minimum that I saw on the clocks under CPU Multi load was 4.70GHz. This is not a bad performance given that we were using a low-profile cooler.

The SilverStone MILO 12 has an MSRP of 189.99 at the time of this writing. This is quite a steep price for this case. I think SilverStone is offering a 1-year warranty depending on the region though I am still waiting to hear from them. This PC case has a form and function combined to deliver a good user experience and comes recommended by us.

SilverStone recently released their next generation, high-performance edition fans named Shark Force (SF). These are available in 120mm and 140mm sizes. We have earlier tested SF120 fans. This time we are taking a look at Shark Force SF140 fans. SilverStone has joined our coming-up comparative performance of 140mm fans on ALPHACOOL SuperNova 1260mm radiator and sent us 20x SF140 fans for this purpose. This is a dedicated review of these fans. These are performance enhanced 140mm PWM fans having a maximum airflow rating of 140CFM and air pressure rating of 4mmH₂O. These fans feature a daisy-chain cabling system which simplifies cable management.

Product:               SST SF-140

Price:                    USD 27.36 [AMAZON Price at the time of this writing]

Specifications

Dimension

Packaging

Fans are shipped inside a brown color cardboard box. Printing is done right over this cardboard packing box. Shark Force 140 is printed over here showing the model of this unit.

Salient specifications are listed over here. The maximum rated speed on these fans is 2200 RPM generating a massive airflow of 120 CFM using 4mmH₂O static pressure.

Contents

SilverStone has provided the following in the box:

• 1x 140mm Fan
• 1x Warranty Paper
• 4x Self-Tapping Screws
• 2x Cables

SilverStone is offering a 1-year limited warranty in the North American region. The warranty period varies from region to region.

There are 4x self-tapping screws provided with these fans.

Closer Look

Let’s take a closer look at the fan starting with the salient features:

• Distinctive “Shark Force” fan blade design for lower noise and higher performance
• Wide 0~2,200 RPM speed range via PWM control
• Unique three phases, six-pole design which allows for smoother, quieter operation compared to most single-phase, four-pole design. Energy efficiency also improves greatly.
• Modular cable design simplifies connection and management of cables
• Extensive of applications
• Reliable and durable fluid dynamic bearing

This fan has 7 blades, unlike the 120mm version which has 9 blades. However, basic geometry and design are the same in both sizes. These blades are made of Polycarbonate material. We can see that a complete assembly is in a black color. However, there is a distinctive design element over the blades. We will cover that shortly. There is a SilverStone branding in the center. The frame has a square-looking design. All 4 borders in the center of frame have a thin line style layout compared to the mounting arms.

The above picture is showing a close-up view of the fan blades. Here is what SilverStone is saying about this design element, “Inspired by the hydrodynamic properties of shark skin which acts as drag-reducing mechanism to improve their aerodynamic motion. When similar pattern is applied on fan blades, results in passively altered flow to favorably affect the pressure gradient along the fan blades which improves the overall airflow performance and noise level.”

There are cut-to-size anti-vibration pads on all mounting corners.

The frame is quite sturdy and has line patterns all around. The frame is made of PBT material.

The above picture shows one corner of this fan in particular. These fans are using a modular design to simplify cable management but use a proprietary design. There are two headers built right into the frame of the fan. The top header is the 4-pin port labeled FAN. There is a covered port with a LED label. It is clear that SilverStone is using same frame for the A-RGB version of these fans. No cable is attached to the fan port out of the box.

The above picture shows the 4-pin PWM connector and a 4-pin proprietary connector. The proprietary connector is connected to a 4-pin port on the fan. This is a simple connectivity and actually does not represent any modularity in its true form.

The above picture shows a Y cable. This cable is using 4-pin proprietary connectors. 2x of these are connectors whereas one is a socket to daisy chain. Using this cable, we can connect two fans.

The above picture shows a simple 4-pin cable attached to the fan.

The above picture shows a Y cable connected to one fan on its 4-pin fan port.

We can see two SF140 fans connected using both cables. The Y cable connects both fans and the 43-pin PWM cable is connected to a socket connector of the Y cable. As simple as it can get.

There is a 4-arms assembly on the back of these fans. One of the arms is wider and has an inset with a catcher. The wires are routed from the center towards the corner of this fan over it. There is a SilverStone branded sticker in the center showing the power rating of the fan.

SilverStone has used a 3-phase, 6-pole powerful motor in these fans for smooth and quieter operations. This is further augmented by using the Fluid Dynamic Bearing to increase the life span of the fans. This is particularly important given the high specifications of these fans. The fans feature an advanced PWM controller for smooth ramp-up of the fan’s speed under load which also provides quieter operations at a lower speed.

These fans feature a fan stop function which is another plus to the design. However, the UEFI/BIOS must support the fan stop feature otherwise fans would not come to halt. Please refer to your motherboard’s manual to check if the motherboard supports Fan Stop function.

Here is the specification table:

Thermal Testing

We have used a below-mentioned configuration for this testing:

• Intel i7 13700k
• GIGABYTE Z790 AORUS ELITE AX
• DIY Setup
• Sabrent Rocket DDR5 2x16GB @ 4800MHz CL40 kit
• Colorful GeForce GTX 1050Ti 4G [For Display]
• Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus 2TB NVMe SSD
• be quiet! Straight Power 11 850W Platinum PSU
• Thermaltake Core P6 TG Snow Edition converted into an open-frame layout

Following DIY setup is used:

• ALPHACOOL Eisblock XPX PRO AURORA Digital RGB – Full Brass Black
• ALPHACOOL Core 100 AURORA Acetal/Acrylic with D5/VPP Pump
• ALPHACOOL HF Clear Tube 16/10mm
• ALPHACOOL NexXxos HPE-30 280mm Full Copper Radiator
• ALPHACOOL 90° Rotary 16/10mm Fittings
• ALPHACOOL Quick-Release Fittings

Here is the settings table for testing:

Before we move on to the results, let me write a few lines on the new platforms from both camps. We have seen AMD AM5 and Intel Raptor Lake S CPUs taking more power and this time both sides have aimed at reaching the maximum clocks regardless of thermal limit. In fact they run into thermal limit right away depending on the cooling solution and the clocks being used. This has made testing of CPU coolers challenging because viewers/readers are not used to a new nomenclature which is what clocks are sustained under given load using particular cooler. That is if the cooler is capable of providing enough cooling head to sustain the high frequencies. Traditionally we are used to go the other way around which is which cooler is better in terms of thermal capacity. Despite this, we are using temperatures as a base of measuring this unit.

The testing is done on an open-air bench system. Once inside the chassis, the temperatures are expected to rise and would largely depend upon the optimal airflow inside the chassis. Let’s take a look at the results. This test was done using Intel’s default settings with power limits imposed. The CPU was drawing roughly 225W power so this is a 220W domain result.

For comparison, we have ALPHACOOL Core 140mm PWM 3200RPM Fan in the graph. Below is a specifications comparison:

Result

This is actually a very good performance from SilverStone fans as they have generally have a lower ratings compared to ALPHACOOL fans yet they have given a comparative performance while at lower noise output compared to ALPHACOOL fans.

Noise

The Shark Force 140mm fans were making 57 dB(A) noise output at an ambient of 32~33 dB(A) sound level.

Conclusion

We have tested SilverStone Shark Force 140 fans. These fans bear the same design as we saw on SF120 fans when we tested those earlier. We have tested non-RGB versions in both 120mm and 140mm sizes. The key feature of these fans is Shark Skin Design over the blades which SilverStone has mentioned mimicking the hydrodynamic properties of shark skin which acts as a drag-reducing mechanism to improve their aerodynamic motion. Another salient feature of these fans is the simplified cable management for which the SilverStone has provided two ports on a mounting corner. One port is to power the fan’s motor whereas the other header is for RGB lighting. SilverStone is using the same PBT frame for both types of fans (RGB and non-RGB). This is evident by a covered port having a label LED on our sample.

These fans pack brilliant features like 3-phase, 6-pole powerful motor and Fluid Dynamic Bearings. We saw the same design approach from ARCTIC on their P14/P12 series fans. The PWM controller of these fans is also quite good as these fans have a wide range of PWM control starting from 0 and going as high as 2200 RPM. These fans also feature an Auto Stop function but for that, your motherboard should support this feature. These fans are rated for a maximum speed of 2200 RPM and can generate a maximum airflow of 120CFM at 4.0mmH₂O air pressure. These are quite powerful numbers. The noise rating is 38.3 dBA which is high.

The Shark Force 140 is listed on AMAZON at USD 27.36 at the time of this writing. These fans were put up against the like of ALPHACOOL Core 140mm PWM 3200RPM Fans on a DIY setup to cool Intel i7 13700k using a 280mm radiator. These fans have put up a straight damn good fight against the ALPHACOL fans while operating a lower noise output and for that, they have our praise. One can always set a custom fan curve to lower the noise as fans will ramp up only under a certain load as per the user’s selected graph. SilverStone should consider increasing the warranty period from 1 year to a minimum 3-year in my opinion. These fans come recommended by us.

We are thankful to SilverStone for the provision of test units.

SilverStone has released new coolers named VIDA. Two variants are released which are 120mm and 240mm. The salient feature of these coolers is their overall thickness of 38mm including the radiator and fans which make them suitable for the SFF builds where we are space constrained. The typical thickness of the regular AIOs in the market stands at roughly 52mm in which the radiators are usually 27mm thick unless stated otherwise. In VIDA the thickness of the radiator is 22mm whereas the thickness (or height) of the fans is 16mm. Despite its slim profile, SilverStone has managed to provide A-RGB lighting on the block and the fans. These coolers are compatible with Intel LGA115x/1200/1700/2011/2066 and AMD AM4/AM5 sockets.

Item:                                     SilverStone VIDA 240 SLIM

Price:                                     MSRP $124.99

Specifications

Packaging and Unboxing

The cooler is shipped inside a cardboard box.

The packing box has the same SST theme that we have seen so far. This is a SLIM 240mm AIO from SilverStone featuring A-RGB elements.

The specifications of the cooler are printed over here. The pump is integrated into the radiator. The cap on the block is rotatable and has A-RGB lighting under the logo. The overall thickness of the radiator and the fans is 38mm.

The cooler and mounting hardware is tucked inside an egged carton for maximum safety during shipping. The accessories are placed inside a transparent container.

SilverStone has provided a comprehensive user guide for ease of installation.

We have:

• Dedicated backplate for Intel LGA1700
• Dedicated backplate for Intel LGA115x/1200
• Mounting bracket for Intel
• Mounting Bracket for AMD

We have:

• 4x Intel LGA20xx Standoff pillars
• 4x Intel LGA 115x/1200 pillars
• 4x Intel LGA1700 pillars
• 4x AMD AM4/AM5 pillars
• 4x Spring-Loaded Screws/Nuts
• 8x Long Length Philips Screws
• 8x Short Length Philips Screws

SilverStone has provided a thermal paste syringe as well.

SilverStone has provided the following:

• A PWM Y-Cable for the fans
• A 2-pin socket to MOLEX cable which is probably for the Pump
• A Y-cable for 3-pin A-RGB connectivity

SilverStone has provided the following:

• A dedicated A-RGB controller
• A SATA cable to power the controller
• A-RGB cable

The controller is the same as we have seen on their previous models. There are three buttons. The + button increases the speed/brightness of the dynamic mode whereas the – button decreases the speed/brightness of the dynamic mode. The M button toggles through the 10 loaded modes.

A SATA cable is connected to this port.

Daisy-chained fans and pump A-RGB cable are connected to this port.

Closer Look

Let’s start with the features of the AIO:

• 38mm total thickness for the fan and radiator
• SilverStone’s unique 22mm radiator design, allows for effective heat dissipation in cases with space constraints
• The water pump integrated into the radiator
• The aluminum alloy cavity pump strengthens the overall structure
• Three-phase, six-pole motor design
• 9-bladed pressure-optimized fan blades
• The rotatable CPU water block
• Integrated rubber padding on fan mounts to further reduce vibrational noise
• ARGB controller included 10 lighting modes, adjustable brightness, and color-changing speed

The dimension of the radiator is 275 x 120 x 22mm. The thickness of the radiator is 22mm. With 16mm fans, the overall thickness would be 38mm without the heads of the screws. The radiator has an 18 FPI count. There is a gap of 105mm between any two fan mounting holes on the radiator.

The radiator is made of aluminum hence it is lightweight. The blocks on both ends of the radiator are rectangular. The fin stack is dense and taking into account the left and right side channels, it has a total of 12 channels for water flow.

The far head of the radiator is also rectangular with insets on the exterior side.

The above picture shows a close view of the fins. SilverStone has done a good job in the overall finishing. I am not sure about the OEM of the radiator.

The pump is integrated into the radiator. There is a 3-pin flat cable coming out of the pump housing. The pump specifications include:

There are cutouts on the top and bottom sides of the aluminum housing from where the flat cable can be routed toward the power source. The pump is using a three-phase, six-pole pump motor integrated within the radiator to further overcome interference issues.

The above picture shows the 3-pin power connector coming from the pump housing.

This cooler is using two barbed fittings with covers for reinforcement and better aesthetics. There is a refill port but it is reserved for factory use only. Opening it may reduce the vacuum pressure in the loop. There are serial number stickers pasted over here.

SilverStone is using rubber tubing with a length of 400mm. The soft material tubing is flexible and does not produce kinking which is always a plus. SilverStone is using mesh sleeves on the hoses to give them clean look.

Since the pump is now on the radiator, the block has lightweight. The block has a size of 74x41x74mm. This is a low-profile design. The top cap has SilverStone branding with a stylish layout using cuts underneath A-RGB LEDs.

The above picture elaborates on the unique design clearly. The user can rotate this cap at 90° and 180° so that the installation of the block does not affect the orientation of the logo.

The tubes are installed in a 90° mount on the base of the block so that they can be rotated as per the requirement to the left or right side position. Two cables are coming out of the pump housing.

SilverStone is using proprietary connectors for the A-RGB LEDs. Here we have a socket and a connector so that the block can be daisy-chained with the fans’ A-RGB cables for a single control.

There are two arrow symbols on the main body pointing upward. The rotating cap has a single arrow mark pointing downward. At any time, the downward point arrow must align with either of the two upward pointing arrow symbols.

Let’s take a look at the base of the block. The copper base has a size of 55x55mm approximately which is good enough for the majority of the consumer-side CPUs. There is a protective cover on the base which needs to be removed before the installation.

The SST-VIDA240-SLIm comes with 2x 120mm fans having a height or thickness of 16mm. Each fan has 9 frosted blades. These are A-RGB fans. The center has a large diameter as it houses A-RGB LEDs. The mounting corners have anti-vibration rubber pads. The fans are made in China. There is a 4-arm assembly on the back side with one arm being wider as it catches the wires.

The frame of the fan is quite sturdy. The above picture compares the 16mm fans on the VIDA 240 SLIM against the standard 25mm thick fans.

Each fan has two sets of cables. One cable has a 4-pin PWM connector whereas the other cable has a proprietary socket and connector for A-RGB LEDs.

The above picture shows the fans inter-connected and then further attached to the A-RGB controller. This is for illustration purposes.

The salient specifications of the fans are:

The picture illustrates the total height of the solution which merely stands at 38mm tall.

A-RGB Lighting

The A-RGB lighting is compatible with:

• ASUS AURA SYNC
• GIGABYTE RGB FUSION 2.0
• MSI MYSTIC SYNC
• ASROCK POLYCHROME SYNC

Here are some pictures:

Installation

The installation is simple and convenient. We need 10 components to set up the mounting hardware for the block. We are no longer covering the installation steps in the regular content. You may refer to the user guide for that. We did not observe anything, in particular, to be mentioned here during the installation except that the backplate on Intel needs to be fixed (2x self-adhesive pastes). Personally, I am against this concept.

Clearance

The cooler is an AIO and has no clearance issue for the RAM and PCIe slot. However, make sure that your case supports 240mm AIO. This being a slim version has better clearance overall with respect to the radiator and the fans.

Testing

The following test bench is used: –

• Intel i7 12700k
• GIGABYTE Z690 AERO G
• GIGABYTE GeForce RTX 3060 VISION OC
• XPG Lancer RGB 32GB @ 6000MHz
• Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus 2TB NVMe SSD
• be quiet! Straight Power 11 8500W Platinum PSU
• Thermaltake Core P6 TG Snow Edition in an open-frame layout

Here is the settings table for testing:

Not every run of the stress test may yield the same result. This could well be due to many factors like mounting pressure, thermal paste application and varying ambient temperature. Not to mention the silicon differences even among the same category of chips. Hence, it is pertinent to mention the testing methodology along with the specifics.

Results

There is no other 240mm AIO in the graph as we have recently made some changes in the setup and moved on to Windows 11. The other cooler in the graph is DeepCool LS720 which is a 360mm high-performance AIO. It is impressive to see that the SilverStone VIDA 240 SLIM, despite having a slim radiator and fans has put up a good fight. Yes, the 5°C is a large margin but we need to remember that we are comparing the SLIM 240mm AIO with the regular 360mm AIO.

Noise

We are not measuring the noise level at the moment due to environmental noise which is beyond our control. The fans don’t make that loud a noise and the PWM fan curve is there in case one is not comfortable with the sound level.

Conclusion

SilverStone has released two new coolers under the VIDA SLIM series. These are 120mm and 240mm AIOs which are specifically designed keeping in mind the space constraints in the SFF builds. The main feature is the overall 38mm height of both the fans and the radiator (16mm+22mm) as opposed to a standard 52mm height on the regular AIO including fans and the radiator (25mm+27mm).

We have tested the SST-VIDA240-SLIM. This is a 240mm CLC solution. The dimension of the aluminum-made radiator is 274x120x22mm. The thickness of the radiator is 22mm which would be 38mm approximately with the 16mm thick fans. The FPI count is 18. The soft tubing is made of rubber and they have a length of 400mm. The soft material tubing is a bit flexible and doesn’t produce kinking which is always a plus. Another key feature highlight is an integrated pump on the radiator. The pump features a 3-phase, 6-pole powerful motor that can go up to 4200 RPM ±10%.

The block is a low-profile design that actually looks quite good thanks to its stylish outlook design with SilverStone branding which is A-RGB backlit. The cap is rotatable to 90° and 180°. This would help in having the upright position of the logo regardless of the block’s orientation. The block has a copper base of roughly 55x55mm in size which is good enough to cover the majority of the consumer-grade chips. This cooler is compatible with Intel LGA115x/1200/1700/20xx and AMD AM4/AM5 sockets. It uses AMD’s stock backplate hence it will work on AM5.

SilverStone has provided 2x 120mm fans with a thickness of 16mm each. These are A-RGB fans rated for up to 1800 RPM and generating 66.83 CFM at 2.59mmH₂O pressure. The maximum rated noise is 33.9 dB(A). These fans have a 4-pin PWM connector as well as the proprietary A-RGB socket and connector. The fans and the block’s A-RGB elements can be daisy-chained. There is also a dedicated A-RGB controller provided with the cooler. The A-RGB elements can be connected to the motherboard as well. Since they use a standard 3-pin, 5V adapter so it should work for the majority of the motherboards.

The installation is simple and we have to deal with 10 components to install the block on the CPU. The Fans and the block are daisy-chained. The fans were connected to the CPU_FAN Header using the bundled PWM Y-Cable.

The SST-VIDA240-SLIM has an MSRP of $129.99. This is steep pricing, particularly when many of the standard size 240mm AIOs are in this price range. However, this cooler gives maximum clearance for the SFF builds, unlike those regular AIOs. We have tested this cooler on an Intel i7 12700k and found it to be a good performer in its class. It was put up against the like of DeepCool LS720 and it was sitting under the 80s under full load. There is roughly a difference of 5°C between the two coolers which is understandable. A better comparison would come from a regular 240mm AIO against this cooler.

The SST-VIDA240-SLIM may be slim in design but not in the performance department. It carries a solid punch to deliver a good performance. SilverStone is providing a 2-years warranty on it. I wish this warranty would be a minimum of 3 years to justify this steep price somewhat. Still, this cooler would serve its purpose in quite a fashionable manner.

We are thankful to SilverStone for the provision of the testing unit.

SilverStone has introduced new products recently including their new fans. We have earlier tested their Shark Force 120 PWM fans and found them to be high-performance fans. This time we are taking a look at Air Penetrator 120 SK ARGB fans. The air penetrator has been a distinctive series from the SilverStone featuring a specially designed grill at the back of the fans to improve the focused and enhanced flow inside the case for effective ventilation. SilverStone has taken a new approach when it comes to the cable management of their fans in the new releases. They are now providing modular and integrated cable management for some neat and clean cabling. This new air penetrator fan also features the same design approach for both the PWM connector and ARGB connectors.

Product:               Air Penetrator 120SK ARGB

Price:                    MSRP $25.99

Specifications

Dimension

Closer Look

The fans are shipped in the cardboard box packing material. The specifications of the fans are printed along with the EAN, UPC, and JAN info labels.

SilverStone is providing a limited 1-year warranty on these fans which could vary from region to region.

Let’s take a closer look at the fan starting with the salient features:

• Distinctive “Shark Force” fan blade design for lower noise and higher performance
• Wide 0 ~ 2000 RPM speed range via PWM control
• Industry-leading air channeling fan
• Modular cable design simplifies connection and management of cables
• Utilizes standard ARGB 4-1 pin for compatibility, displays any color combination by use of an addressable RGB controller or capable motherboard
• Fluid Dynamic Bearing for long life expectancy

Here is the specification table:

Looking at the front of the fan, we have 9x blades that are made of Polycarbonate material. The frame of the fan is in the black color whereas the blades are in a translucent white color finish. This fan is also featuring the Shark Skin-themed design that we saw on the SF120 fans. There is a SilverStone branding in the center. We have a square shape frame with thin bezels on the center line.

Here is what SilverStone is saying about this design element, “Inspired by the hydrodynamic properties of shark skin which act as a drag-reducing mechanism to improve their aerodynamic motion. When a similar pattern is applied on fan blades, results in passively altered flow to favorably affect the pressure gradient along the fan blades which improves the overall airflow performance and noise level.”

Looking at the mounting corners, we can see cut-to-size anti-vibration pads. But there is a subtle change on one of the mounting corners. The size of the anti-vibration pad on that particular corner has almost half the size of the other three mounting corners. This is due to the implementation of the modular power cables in that corner.

Each mounting corner of the fan has a circular cut-to-size anti-vibration pad.

The frame is quite sturdy. There are arrow indicators with the labels of AIRFLOW and ROTATION. These help users identify the direction in which the air will move and the direction in which the blades will spin.

We have mentioned above that these fans feature simplified cable management. The above picture glimpses that. We can see two connectors. One is the 4-pin PWM connector whereas the other is a 3-pin connector for the ARGB LEDs. Both are proprietary connectors. SilverStone has provided cables for connectivity.

The above picture shows the supplied cables. One cable has a standard 4-pin PWM connector and the other end has a proprietary 4-pin connector. The second cable allows connecting two fans in daisy chain.

The above picture shows the ARGB cables. One cable has a standard 5V, 3-pin (male/female) connector with the other end having a proprietary 3-pin connector. The second cable allows the daisy-chaining of two fans.

The above picture illustrates the daisy-chaining of two fans using these cables. In the end, we would have only one cable to power the fan’s motor and one cable to power the ARGB LEDs.

The above picture shows the cables connected to the fan.

The above picture is showing the back view of the fan. Instead of having a usual 4-arms assembly, we have a spiral-designed grill at the back to generate the focused airflow with a good throw to cover the maximum area inside the case for ventilation. Notice how they have routed the fan cables towards the frame.

The above picture illustrates the reach or throw of this fan. SilverStone has mentioned that the reach is 1.5m at the full speed of the fan. Notice the inter-twisting movement of the air coming out of the fan. The standard fans have a pattern that air is pushed out in a split design on the exterior side which is not the case with this fan.

Just imagine if you have to clean this fan from the back side!

SilverStone is using an all-copper Fluid Dynamic Bearing (FDB) and an actively-cooled motor allowing Air Penetrator 120SK ARGB to exhibit a low level of friction with high durability and operational efficiency.

These fans feature a fan stop function which is another plus to the design. However, the UEFI/BIOS must support the fan stop feature otherwise fans would not come to halt. Please refer to your motherboard’s manual to check if the motherboard supports the Fan Stop function.

Screws

There are 4x self-tapping screws provided with these fans.

ARGB Lighting

The fan was tested on MSI MAG Z490 TOMAHAWK motherboard and the Mystic Sync app was used to check the ARGB lighting. The fan was responding to the changes in the modes, flawlessly. Here are a few pictures:

Testing

The following test configuration is used:

• Intel i7 10700k
• MSI MAG Z490 TOMAHAWK
• PCCOOLER PALADIN EX400
• Addlink S70 256GB NVMe SSD
• GIGABYTE GeForce RTX 3060 VISION OC Rev 2.0
• be quiet! Straight Power 11 860W Platinum
• Thermaltake Core P6 TG Snow Edition in an open-frame layout

Speed and Air Flow testing

We measured the speed attained by the fan at various PWM duty cycles and measured the airflow on each duty cycle as well. The fan was connected on the CPU Fan Header. The anemometer was placed roughly 2” away from the fan.

Here is the table:

Does this fan has 150cm throw reach?

In order to answer the above question, we designed a modular tunnel using cardboard boxes. The fan was placed at one end of the tunnel. The tunnel was concealed on all three sides. The length of the modular tunnel was 150cm. A paper was hung on the other end of the tunnel. The fan was made to run at its full speed (100% duty cycle). The paper was floating in the opposite direction confirming that the air is reaching the other end of the tunnel though not at full strength which is understandable. But, yes, it works.

Thermal Testing

AIDA64 Extreme 6.35 (FPU) was used to stress the CPU.

Here is the settings table for testing:

The testing is done on an open-air bench system. Once inside the chassis, the temperatures are expected to rise and would largely depend upon the optimal airflow inside the chassis. Not every run of the stress test may yield the same result. This could well be due to many factors like mounting pressure, thermal paste application, varying ambient temperature, and temperature sensor of the die. Not to mention the silicon differences even among the same category of chips. Hence, it is pertinent to mention the testing methodology along with the specifics.

Let’s take a look at the results.

The temperature was 80.5°C using the SilverStone Air Penetrator 120SK ARGB fans which is near 2°C high compared to the stock fan of the EX400 cooler.

Noise

The fans at full speed are a bit loud. They remain silent till the 80% PWM cycle. Above that mark, they start making noise but it is bearable. Overall the sound profile is ok for these fans.

Conclusion

SilverStone has released new fans recently. We took a spin on their SF120 fans earlier. This time we have taken a look at the Air Penetrator 120SK ARGB fans. These fans feature a Shark skin design on the blades mimicking the hydrodynamic properties of shark skin which acts as a drag-reducing mechanism to improve their aerodynamic motion. Another salient feature of these fans is the simplified cable management for which SilverStone has provided two connectors on the frame of the fans. One connector is using proprietary 4-pin layout for the fan’s motor power whereas the other connector is for the A-RGB LEDs. This feature also makes these fans modular and gives them daisy-chaining function.

And as is the case with the air penetrator series from SilverStone, these fans feature a spiral-shaped grill at the back of the fan which allows the air to come out in a spiral direction. This allows the air to have more reach with the focused flow. SilverStone has mentioned that at the fan’s full speed the airflow reach is 1.5m. SilverStone has used the same Fluid Dynamic Bearings and advanced PWM controller as we have seen in the SF123 fans. These fans feature a fan stop function which is another plus to the design. However, the UEFI/BIOS must support the fan stop function. These fans are rated for a maximum speed of 2000 RPM and can generate a maximum airflow of 51.32CFM at 2.1mmH₂O air pressure. The noise rating is up to 33.5 dBA. The ARGB LED lighting was tested using the MSI Mystic Sync app and the fans were responding flawlessly to the changes in the app. The colors are vivid and bright.

The Air Penetrator 120SK ARGB has an MSRP of USD 25.99. We have tested these fans to check the thermal performance of Intel i7 10700k under load using PCCOOLER PALADIN EX400 cooler. These fans at full speed are a bit loud though it is not bothersome. The thermal performance difference between these fans and the stock fans on the EX400 is near 2°C with these fans trailing. SilverStone is offering one-year warranty on these fans. With good ARGB LED lighting and focused flow, It is clear that these fans are best suited for case ventilation after all.

We are thankful to SilverStone for the provision of test units.

Low profile coolers are designed in top-flow orientation and are best suited for the ITX or SFF builds where there is a limitation around the CPU socket and the overall space constraint in the small-size PC Case. SilverStone has released a new low-profile cooler named Hydrogon H90 A-RGB. The salient features include:

• Total height of 48mm, flawless compatibility with the current market’s Mini-ITX motherboards and space-constrained cases.
• 11 bladed high performance 92mm PWM controlled fan, with an outstanding balance of cooling and quietness
• Spring screw mounting design included for a firm and straightforward installation for both Intel and AMD platforms
• Four Ø6mm copper heat pipes and aluminum fins for excellent heat conducting efficiency
• Fan included 10 ARGB LEDs which can be controlled by ARGB controllers or capable motherboards
• Anti-vibrational rubber pads included for additional noise dampening

Item: Hydrogon H90 A-RGB

Price: $60 at the time of the review

Specifications

Dimension

Packaging

The cooler is shipped inside a cardboard packing box in the typical SilverStone theme. The model of the cooler is printed over the top.

High performance, low profile CPU cooler is the tagline. The A-RGB elements are compatible with the leading motherboard manufacturers’ onboard solutions.

The cooler is compatible with the LGA1700 socket. The air pressure of the fan is 2.29°C using 45.73CFM airflow.

The heatsink comprises 4x heat pipes and aluminum fins. These pipes are 6mm thick.

There is a transparent shell inside the box. The mounting hardware is placed on the top.

Contents

The SilverStone has provided a plethora of accessories for the installation.

SilverStone has provided two backplates for the Intel platform. The one on the left is for the LGA115x/1200 sockets and the one on the right is for the LGA1700 socket.

The above picture shows the spacers. I like the presentation though our sample came with the middle spaces out of the holder. Starting from the left:

• 4x Intel LGA20xx Spacers
• 4x Intel LGA115x/1200 and AMD Spacers
• 4x Intel LGA1700 Spacers

The user manual is somewhat comprehensive.

Similarly, SilverStone has provided 4x screws for each type of the mentioned socket. The container labeled Intel is for the LGA115x/1200 and 1700 sockets.

There are 2x mounting brackets. Look closely and you will find small arrow symbols on each. When installing, make sure that arrows are pointing towards the socket.

SilverStone has provided a thermal paste as well.

Closer look

Let’s take a look at the cooler.

The fan comes pre-installed on the heatsink. You don’t need to remove the fan for the installation which is a plus to the design. The cooler has a dimension of 95x48x95mm. The 48mm is the height of the overall solution. The height of the heatsink is 33mm. When it comes to low-profile coolers, height is the main factor. The 48mm is a good height though we would like to see how this cooler actually performs standing this tall. The cooler has a net weight of 305gm.

The above picture shows the side of the cooler. There is an inset in the center of the heatsink which gives access to the pre-installed spring-loaded screws. The overall thickness of the heatsink varies from point to point. The outside side has two areas where the fins have joints. The exterior fins are prone to break apart and this side is also a bit sharp so take care when handling.

The above picture shows the other side view. We can spot two heat pipes terminating on the top and two heat pipes terminating right above the base plate. There are angular cutouts in the heatsink providing the space through which the heat pipes are routed.

The above picture shows the top view of the heatsink only after removing the fan. We have a dense fin stack comprising 61 fins. The mid-section has cutouts on the exterior side. This section has 12 fins. The section above has 24 fins and the section below has 25 fins. Clearly, with dense fin stack, we would need a high static pressure-rated fan. The assembly is jointed in the center. This joint is somewhat flimsy.

The above picture shows the base of the heatsink. This assembly comprises 4x copper heat pipes which are nickel coated and joined with the aluminum fins.  The area below the heat pipes and the base plate has joints. The base is almost square measuring 35×35.5mm. The base is also nickel coated. The cross-bar is pre-installed on the base.

The above picture shows the close-up view of the middle inset where the SilverStone has provided a spring-loaded screw.

The above two pictures show the close-up of the heatsink from both sides. SilverStone has done a good job in the overall layout of the heatsink and its design symmetry.

SilverStone has provided a 92x15x92mm size A-RGB fan with the cooler. The fan has a thickness of 15mm. we have 11x translucent blades with a large diameter center. This larger size is due to the fact that the center is housing the A-RGB LEDs. The mounting corners have cut-to-size anti-vibration pads.

The fan has a black color sturdy frame. There are arrow symbols indicating the direction of the airflow and the direction in which blades would spin.

There is a 4-arms assembly on the backside with one arm having catchers to hold the wires. The fan is made in China. This fan is using Hydraulic Bearing. The 0.32A is the instantaneous current for the motor. Once the motor’s operations are stabilized, the fan will draw 0.21A.

The fan has a 4-pin PWM connector.

The fan has standard, 5V, 3-pin connectors.

The fan’s specification is as under:

Installation

We are no longer showing the step-by-step installation processes. You may refer to the user guide for this purpose. We have tested the cooler on the Intel 1200 socket on the MSI MAG Z490 TOMAHAWK motherboard. Ideally, this cooler should have been tested on the ITX motherboard but we have lost our CPU which we could employ on the ITX motherboard.

The installation is straightforward though we can’t install this cooler if the motherboard is already installed in the case and the case is in a vertical orientation. You would have to lay the motherboard horizontally for the installation. Personally, I am against the mounting hardware which needs to be pasted on the motherboard. The Intel backplates of this cooler are required to be pasted.

Clearance

We placed the cooler on the Asus Strix B360i motherboard and noted any clearance issues. This cooler standing at 95x48x95mm has no clearance issue as such though it sits closer to the DIMM slot but does not obstruct it.

A-RGB Lighting

We connected the A-RGB cable to the MSI MAG Z490 TOMAHAWK digital light header and control the lighting using the Mystic Sync app. The fan was responding flawlessly to the changes in the app. Here are a few pictures:

Testing

The following configuration is used: –

• MSI MAG Z490 TOMAHAWK
• Intel i7 10700k
• T-Force NightHawk RGB 16GB @ 3200MHz
• GIGABYTE GeForce RTX 3060 VISION OC Rev.2
• addlink S70 256GB NVMe SSD
• be quiet! Straight Power 11 850W Platinum
• Thermaltake Core P6 TG Snow Edition in an open frame layout

Here is the settings table for testing:

We are using Noctua NT-H1 thermal paste for coolers testing. Using the same thermal paste for all coolers would ensure standardization. The testing is done on an open-air bench system. Once inside the chassis, the temperatures are expected to rise and would largely depend upon the optimal airflow inside the chassis. Not every run of the stress test may yield the same result. This could well be due to many factors like mounting pressure, thermal paste application and varying ambient temperature. Not to mention the silicon differences even among the same category of chips. Hence, it is pertinent to mention the testing methodology along with the specifics.

We have recently tested the Noctua NH-L9x65 cooler and have included that cooler in the comparison.

The SilverStone Hydrogon H90 is behind the Noctua cooler with a margin of 2°C. Please keep in mind that the coolers were tested with AVX load. These coolers could not do the job with the cores clocked at 4.6GHz. Even at 4.5GHz, the maximum temperature was 92°C on any core. This shows that the cooler can handle the gaming load effectively however, it is not suitable for heavy workloads involving AVX loads.

Noise

The fan at 2600 RPM makes quite some noise so better use Auto PWM mode or set a custom fan curve.

Conclusion

The SilverStone Hydrogon H90 A-RGB is a new low-profile category cooler aimed at the mini-ITX / SFF builds where the space constraint requires a small footprint but adequate cooling. This cooler stands at 48mm tall hence suitable for these builds. The cooler is compatible with the Intel LGA115x/1200/1700/20xx and AMD AM4 sockets.

The cooler has a dimension of 95x48x95mm including the fan. The net weight is 305 gm. The included fan has a dimension of 92x15x92mm where 15mm is the thickness or the height of the fan. SilverStone has managed to provide stunning and vivid A-RGB lighting on the fan despite its small footprint. This augmentation lifts the overall value of the cooler though that is subjective.

The heatsink comprises 61 aluminum fins and 4x nickel-plated, copper heat pipes with each having a thickness of 6mm. This gives the heatsink quite some heat transfer capability. We would need a high static pressure fan for this dense fin stack and SilverStone has covered that ground as well. The fan has a static pressure rating of 2.29mmH₂O and an airflow rating of 45.73CFM but for that, they have upped the speed to a maximum of 2600 RPM with a sound level of up to 34.6 dBA. The fan is using Hydraulic bearing having an MTTF of 30,000 hours.

The build quality is fine. The exterior fins of the heatsink seem prone to breaking apart so handle with care. The installation is a straightforward process but it requires the motherboard to be placed horizontally. I personally, don’t like pasting any mounting hardware like a back plate or washers on the motherboard. The Intel backplates are to be pasted on the motherboard. SilverStone has provided a separate backplate for the Intel LGA1700 socket. It uses the stock AMD backplate.

The cooler is rated for USD 60.00 at the time of the review. This is USD 10 above the Noctua NH-L9x65 cooler. The A-RGB fan covers up for that. Please keep in mind that the NH-L9x65 has a height of 65mm with 51mm height of the heatsink. The SilverStone H90 A-RGB stands at 48mm tall with 33mm for the heatsink only.  The SilverStone cooler has put up a good fight with the Noctua cooler on our Intel i7 10700k clocked at 4.5GHz all cores under AVX load. SilverStone is providing one year warranty for this cooler. This cooler can handle the gaming load effectively.

We are grateful to SilverStone for the provision of the test unit.

SilverStone has introduced new products recently including their new fans named Shark Force 120. These fans are available in non-RGB and A-RGB variants. SilverStone has sent us the non-RGB variant for testing. These are performance enhanced 120mm PWM fans having a maximum airflow rating of 100CFM and air pressure rating of 4.66mH₂O. These fans feature a daisy-chain cabling system which simplifies cable management.

Product:               SST Shark Force 120

Price:                    MSRP $26.99

Specifications

Dimension

Closer Look

The fans are shipped in the cardboard box packing material. The specifications of the fans are printed along with the EAN, UPC, and JAN info labels.

SilverStone is providing a limited 1-year warranty on these fans which could vary from region to region.

Let’s take a closer look at the fan starting with the salient features:

• Distinctive “Shark Force” fan blade design for lower noise and higher performance
• Wide 0~2500 RPM speed range via PWM control
• Three-phase, the six-pole design allows for smoother, quieter operation compared to most single-phase, four-pole designs.
• Energy efficiency also improves greatly.
• Modular cable design simplifies connection and management of cables
• Fluid Dynamic Bearing for long life expectancy

Here is the specification table:

Looking at the front of the fan, we have 9x blades made of Polycarbonate material. The complete frame and the blades are in the black color finish. There is a SilverStone branding in the center. We have a square shape frame with thin bezels on the center line.

The above picture shows a close-up view of the fan blades. Here is what SilverStone is saying about this design element, “Inspired by the hydrodynamic properties of shark skin which act as a drag-reducing mechanism to improve their aerodynamic motion. When a similar pattern is applied on fan blades, results in passively altered flow to favorably affect the pressure gradient along the fan blades which improves the overall airflow performance and noise level.”

Each mounting corner of the fan has a circular cut-to-size anti-vibration pad.

The frame is quite sturdy and has line patterns all around. There are arrow indicators to help users identify the direction in which the air will move and the direction in which the blades will spin.

We have mentioned above that these fans feature simplified cable management. The above picture glimpses that. There are two headers o positions built right into the frame of the fan. The top header is the 4-pin labeled as FAN. There is a covered header with a label LED. It is clear that SilverStone is using the same frame for the A-RGB version of these fans. This also shows that there are still two cables per fan for the connectivity though no cable is attached from the factory which shows the modular design.

The above picture shows the supplied cable. One end of this cable has a 4-pin PWM connector whereas the other end has a 4-pin proprietary connector that is connected to the fan frame. There is another connector and header for daisy-chaining these fans.

The above picture shows the 4-pin PWM connector and a 4-pin proprietary connector.

The above picture shows the close-up view of the cable showing the proprietary connectors and header.

The above picture shows the cable attached to the header on the fan’s frame.

The above picture shows the back view of the fan. We have a 4-arms assembly holding and securing the motor and blades to the main frame. One of the arms is wider and has a latch to hold the wires from falling down. There is a SilverStone branded sticker pasted in the center with the power rating of the fan printed.

SilverStone has used a 3-phase, 6-pole powerful motor in these fans for smooth and quieter operations. This is further augmented by using the Fluid Dynamic Bearing to increase the life span of the fans. This is particularly important given the high speed and high specifications of the fans. The fans feature an advanced PWM controller for the smooth ramp-up of the fans’ speed under load which also provides quieter operations at a lower speed.

These fans feature a fan stop function which is another plus to the design. However, the UEFI/BIOS must support the fan stop feature otherwise fans would not come to halt. Please refer to your motherboard’s manual to check if the motherboard supports the Fan Stop function.

There are 4x self-tapping screws provided with these fans.

Testing

The following test bed is used:

• Intel i7 12700k
• GIGABYTE Z690 AERO G
• Raijintek Scyla Elite 360 DIY Kit
• Sabrent Rocket 2x16GB DDR5
• Sabrent Rocket Q 500GB NVMe SSD [For OS]
• Colorful iGame GeForce GTX 1050Ti 4G [For Display]
• be quiet! Straight Power 11 860W Platinum
• Thermaltake Core P6 TG Snow Edition in an open-frame layout

Speed and Air Flow testing

We measured the speed attained by the fan at various PWM duty cycles and measured the airflow on each duty cycle as well. The fan was connected to the CPU Fan Header. The anemometer was placed roughly 2” away from the fan. Unfortunately, we did not get any speed rating in the USEI/BIOS.  But the fans were responding to the change in the duty cycle.

Here is the table:

Thermal Testing

Cinebench R23 run of 20 minutes is used for testing and monitoring is done via HWInfo 64.

Here is the settings table for testing:

The testing is done on an open-air bench system. Once inside the chassis, the temperatures are expected to rise and would largely depend upon the optimal airflow inside the chassis. Not every run of the stress test may yield the same result. This could well be due to many factors like mounting pressure, thermal paste application, varying ambient temperature, and temperature sensor of the die. Not to mention the silicon differences even among the same category of chips. Hence, it is pertinent to mention the testing methodology along with the specifics.

Let’s take a look at the results.

At 100% the SF120 fans had a lead by 1.4°C over the Raijintek stock fans. Even at 75% duty cycle, these fans could maintain this lead. At 50% cycle, these fans were neck-to-neck with the Raijintek fans but these fans at 50% were silent which gives them a significant advantage.

Thermal performance is quite good on these fans as these are optimized for the radiator and heat sink use.

Acoustic

We are not measuring the noise output due to certain uncontrollable environment noise. Our subjective impression is that these fans at 100% are loud but not as loud as the Noctua iPPC NF-12 3000 PWM series fans. SilverStone has done a good job in this department. At 75% PWM cycle, we saw a good reduction in the noise output without losing the thermal performance.

Conclusion

SilverStone is releasing new products and one of their new products is Shark Force 120 fans. These fans catch our eyes due to their high airflow and air pressure rating. We have tested the Noctua iPPC series fans and are eager to find out how the new SilverStone fans are fair. The Shark Force 120 fans will be available in A-RGB as well as non-RGB variants. We have tested the non-RGB (black edition) fans.

These fans feature a Shark skin design on the blades mimicking the hydrodynamic properties of shark skin which acts as a drag-reducing mechanism to improve their aerodynamic motion. Another salient feature of these fans is the simplified cable management for which SilverStone has provided two headers on the frame of the fans. One header is using proprietary 4-pin layout while the other header is for the A-RGB LEDs which are covered in the non-RGB fans. It is clear that SilverStone is using the same frame for both variants. This feature also makes these fans modular and gives them daisy-chaining function.

SilverStone has used a 3-phase, 6-pole powerful motor in these fans. This is further augmented by using the Fluid Dynamic Bearings and advanced PWM controller. These fans feature a fan stop function which is another plus to the design. However, the UEFI/BIOS must support the fan stop function. These fans are rated for a maximum speed of 2500 RPM and can generate a maximum airflow of 100CFM at 4.66mmH₂O air pressure. These are quite phenomenal numbers. The noise rating is 41.2 dBA which is high.

The Shark Force 120 has an MSRP of USD 26.99. We have tested these fans to check the thermal performance of Intel i7 12700k under load. We could not get any RPM reading the UEFI/BIOS which is something SilverStone should investigate further. At 100% PWM cycle these fans were offering remarkable thermal performance but at an elevated sound level. At 75% PWM cycle we saw a good reduction in the noise output without much affecting the thermal performance. At 50% PWM cycle these fans were giving a tough fight to the Raijintel EOS 12 RBD ADD-3 fans but at almost silent noise output.

These high-performance edition fans come with a one-year warranty only. I would expect more years given the nature of these fans and the high price tag. The performance of these fans is excellent but it comes at the cost of high noise output which is controllable. It is recommended to set these on Auto PWM or a custom fan curve so that they ramp up only under heavy load much like how I do with Noctua iPPC fans. Even at 100% output, the noise signature is much better than the Noctua iPPC NF12 3000-PWM.

We are thankful to SilverStone for the provision of test units.

SilverStone has introduced multiple new products recently including their mid-range to high-end PC Cases. We are taking a look at the SETA H1. This case has mixed features set with 2x 160mm Shark Force series fans on the front and a single 140mm fan on the rear. The motherboard up to SSI-EEB is supported and there are multi-function brackets that can be configured for three different configurations. The case has ample room for the build. There is an ARGB LED strip on the front panel with standard 3-pin 5V connectors.

Here are some of the features:

• Perforated full mesh front panel with embedded ARGB lighting strip achieving vibrant aesthetics with completely unobstructed airflow performance
• Ample interior space with a highly versatile layout, setting no boundaries for creativity and inventiveness
• Extensive air and water cooling support
• Supports up to SSI-EEB motherboards
• I/O ports include USB Type-C x 1, USB 3.0 x 2 and combo audio x 1
• Superior dust prevention with removable dust filters on the top and bottom

Product:            SETA H1

Price:                  $179.99 [At the time of the Review]

Specifications

Dimensions

Closer Look

The chassis is shipped inside a white and blue color cardboard box.

SilverStone is marketing this case as High Air Flow tower with tremendous compatibility and durability. These are the things that we will be taking a closer look at.

The features and salient specifications are printed over here.

It is time to take a closer look at the chassis and see what it offers in this price range. The case stands at 494mm in Height with a depth of 232mm and a length of 480mm. It is made of Plastic, Glass, and Steel materials. The case has a net weight of 9.67kg. In terms of volume, this case stands at 55.01 liters.

Exterior View

Let’s start with an exterior view of the chassis.

The front has a total perforated panel finished in a dark black color. There is SilverStone branding on the top area. The panel has a slope side on the right bezel. We have a tighter hole pattern all around which could restrict the airflow up to some extent. The thermal testing would provide further insight.

The panel can be removed by placing a hand under the base of the panel and pulling it out gently. SilverStone has used standard plastic tabs to install the panel on the frame. We can see a black color mesh filter that does not cover the entire run of the panel as the base portion is exposed. There is an A-RGB strip comprising 20 LEDs. The thick diffuser is placed next to the strip for even and vivid color diffusion. They are removable.

We can see that the A-RGB LEDs can be powered using the standard 3-pin, 5V male/female connectors. I appreciate the standard connectivity provision.

The above picture shows the front view after removing the panel. There are 2x 160mm fans pre-installed on the backside of the fan bracket. The fan bracket is removable and it can be installed with the groove side facing outward. This would make more room for the 120mm fans and front radiator. There are 3x cutouts on the right frame from which the cables can be passed but in the current configuration, it is not feasible to pass the fans cables through these cutouts.

The fan bracket is secured using 4x Philips screws. The above picture shows one of these screws.

The above picture shows the bracket from its default position. The user can install:

• Up to 3x 120mm fans
• Up to 3x 140mm fans
• Up to 2x 160mm fans (with 140mm mounts) (only in the stock position of the fan bracket)

The above picture shows the bracket from the opposite side. The build quality of the bracket is quite solid and there is no flex in it.

The above picture shows the fan bracket installed in another position. Please note that the 160mm fans can’t be installed in this configuration.

The above picture shows the 160mm SF series fans. These fans have 140mm fan mounting hence they can be installed in the location meeting two criteria:

• The provision of 140mm mounts
• The extra clearance (20mm) in the surrounding area of the 140mm mount

Both fans have a 3-pin connector and they spin over 1200 RPM. At full speed, they are loud. These fans have a dimension of 16x25x160mm. This is SilverStone’s in-house design catering for the applications designed for the 140mm fans but providing enhanced cooling capability with more surface area by widening the overall structure of the frame and the blades.

Looking at the side panel, we have a dark-tempered glass panel. There is no handle with a care sticker on the protective sheet on the glass panel. The side panel fully flushes with the frame of the chassis. The panel is hinged and to make it even better, it is magnetic and has a raiser to easily open and close it. We can also see that the sides of the front panel are solid and don’t have a vented design.

The rounded shape object is the magnet. There are two magnets on the side that catch the side panel.

The above picture gives a closer look at the hook of the handle that can be used to open or close the side panel.

The rear side of the chassis has a standard layout. There is a vented portion on the top. This hints at the clearance or displacement from the top of the case to the motherboard. Up top, we have a cutout for the motherboard rear I/O plate followed by the mesh-designed fan mount. 1x 140mm fan is pre-installed and we can’t adjust its height but the height of the 120mm fan is adjustable.

In the middle section, we have 7 PCIe slot covers. There are two PCIe slot covers in a vertical layout. All covers are reusable. One good design aspect is these 7 covers are bridgeless. At the bottom, we have a provision for a standard ATX PSU. The solid steel side panel is secured using two thumb screws that are not captive. The glass panel is hinged.

The above picture shows the vertical bracket removed in front of the PCIe slots.

The 2x PCIe slots are secured using standard Philips screws, not the thumb screws.

The above picture shows the top hinge on which the glass panel is installed.

The other side of the chassis has a solid steel panel.

The top side of the chassis has a magnetic dust filter. There is a vented portion with the fan mount in the rail layout. This gives flexibility in adjusting the position of the fans/radiators. The front IO panel is implemented on the top frame of the chassis towards the back panel.

The connectivity options on the IO panel are:

• Power Button
• Reset Button
• 5mm Combined Audio Jack
• 2x USB 3.0 Ports
• 1x USB Type C port
• 1x LED Indicator

On the bottom side of the SETA H1, we have a non-magnetic removable dust filter covering the PSU bay only. There is a cutout on the bottom section of the front panel. This is where one has to grab the front panel and pull it over to take it out. One look at the PSU area is enough to tell that this case can house longer unit(s).

We have 4 black color feet on the corners of the chassis giving it approximately 16mm in height from the surface.

These feet are removable.

Interior View

It is about time to take a peek at the inner side of the chassis.

Let’s take an inside view of the chassis. If I remember correctly, the basic tooling is the same as we have seen in the SETA A1. However, the other design elements are quite different. The layout is spacious and can house the hardware without trouble within the specs. The two 160mm fans are taking 25mm space over the front cutout. The inner area is 415mm in length and 370m in height.

Side tray

The motherboard tray is made of steel and has a solid build quality. There is no flex as such in the tray. The markings are labeled for ease of identification for the installation of the motherboard. This case supports:

• SSI-EEB
• SSI-CEB
• E-ATX
• Standard ATX
• Micro ATX
• Mini ITX

The top displacement is 62mm which is quite good. This is coming from the 232mm depth of the case and the offset top rail design. The maximum thickness for the radiator and fans is 53mm to not cover the motherboard. If it covers the motherboard, the distance between 120mm fans with the motherboard is 41mm, which will be 21mm for the 140mm fans.

Only 6x standoffs are installed. The user will have to install the remaining 3 for the standard ATX motherboard. I am glad that SilverStone has provided a wrench so that the user can easily install the remaining standoffs or remove them.

We have three cutouts on the top for the CPU power cable and other cables routing. We have two large-size vertical cutouts on the side for 24-pin ATX and other side-mounted cable routing. There are two multi-function brackets on the right side. Take note that the top bracket is covering the 24-pin pass-through cutout.

The above picture shows the clearance and compatibility of hardware inside the SETA H1. The PSU length support is up to 250mm.

The above picture shows the cooling system provided in the SETA H1.

The PSU cover is not vented which implies we can only install the PSU with the fan side down. There are a total of 4 cutouts on the PSU tray. I was expecting rubber grommets on these cutouts in this price range! The cutout closer to the side panel is for the vertically placed graphics card.

The above picture shows the backside of the front-mounted 160mm fans. If we move the HDD cage back then we have 52mm of clearance for the radiator and the fans on the front which otherwise is 26mm.

There is a black color 140mm fan on the rear which is powered by a 3-pin connector cable. It was running near to 1150 RPM mark at full speed and was silent.

The above picture shows the PCIe slot covers. This is a bridgeless design.

Take a look at the top right section of the case from the inside. Typically, this is where the front or top IO panel’s PCB and connectors can be found. This is not the case in SETA H1. We have a clear area. That is because the IO panel is on the back side of the case.

The above picture shows the motherboard tray with the multi-function brackets removed. The user can remove the bracket is they are not required.

The above picture shows the multi-function brackets. These can be used for:

1. Housing the reservoir tube if doing a custom loop
2. Housing the 2.5” drives
3. Covering the cables on the side of the motherboard like a 24-pin ATX cable

These standoffs are required if the top multi-function bracket is to be used to cover the 24-pin ATX cable.

The above picture shows the top bracket prepped to hide or cover the side cables.

Now, it is time to take a look at the backside of the motherboard tray area. We have a dual chamber design. The layout is standard and we have 17x cable tie points. There are two 2.5” drive brackets on the back of the motherboard tray. They don’t have captive thumb screws. We have roughly 16mm of space behind the motherboard tray for cable management. The top right side shows the IO panel’s cable connectors.

The above picture shows the close-up of the 2.5” drive brackets.

The above picture shows the bottom chamber layout. We have an HDD cage on the left and a good enough cleared area on the right for the PSU.

The above picture shows the HDD cage in its default position. It can be adjusted in two positions which would have an impact on the PSU and front fans/radiator clearance. In the default position, we have 249mm total clearance giving room for up to 220mm for the PSU and 52mm for the front fans/radiator.

In the above picture, the HDD cage is moved towards the left which leaves roughly 26mm of room for the front fans and radiator but gives more room to the PSU and its cables (279mm).

The above picture shows the PSU bay. The feet have anti-vibration pads on which the PSU is rested.

The drive cage is not toolless. I was expecting the toolless design in this price range.

The above picture shows the platform on which the drive cage is installed. It is riveted and can’t be removed.

Speaking of the storage, the following is the storage provision in SETA A1:

• 2x 3.5” drives
• 2x 2.5” drives

We have:

• USB 3.0 Connector
• USB Type C Connector
• HD Audio Connector

We have front panel system connectors.

The above picture shows a closer view from the backside of the case. The screws are holding the multi-function brackets on the opposite side. There are plastic covers that can be removed. This would be required when installing the 2.5” drives on the multi-function brackets. The cables would pass through these cutouts.

The accessories are provided in a box.

The above picture shows the contents of the accessory box.

SilverStone has provided 2x GPU Support brackets. These brackets can only be used with the GeForce RTX series graphics cards above the RTX 3080 or so as these cards have dual hole support brackets on the front side of the card. The SST bracket is first installed on these holes and then secured with the case.

There is an A-RGB hub provided in the box as well. It is magnetic which makes the installation convenient. The A1 and A2 labeled areas have standard 3-pin ports to which the user can connect the A-RGB elements. PSU ARGB port is where the SATA cable is connected to. SW port is where the motherboard sync cable is connected to. This controller provides the flexibility to add two or more A-RGB elements in a daisy-chain configuration. It still needs to be connected to the motherboard.

The above picture shows the SATA and A-RGB cables provided for the hub.

The SilverStone is providing a year warranty on this product which would vary from region to region.

There is no user guide provided with the case. The user is required to visit the web page of the product and download the manual from there (150MB size).

Installation

Following is the configuration used to test the thermal performance of the SETA H1:

• Intel i7 10700k
• MSI MAG Z490 TOMAHAWK
• Noctua NH-U12A Chromax.Black
• T-Force NightHawk RGB 16GB @ 3200MHz
• MSI GeForce RTX 3090 Gaming X Trio 24G
• addlink S70 256GB NVMe SSD
• Thermaltake iRGB Plus 1250W Platinum PSU

The installation started with 3 leftover standoffs. The RAM and cooler were installed outside of the box. The motherboard was placed over the standoffs and it was installed without any hassle. Next, the PSU was installed.

In the next step, the graphics card was installed.

The cables were routed and connected to the motherboard and the graphics card. I don’t have any specific issue here other than the somewhat convenient installation of the GPU support bracket.

The bracket was installed on the graphics card outside of the case. Doing so is guesswork. The convenient way is to install the bracket after installing the graphics card but it is not possible without removing the top 160mm fan.

The EPS connector was installed conveniently.

The 24-pin ATX cable was an easy installation so is the USB Type-C connector.

The A-RGB connector was routed under the motherboard and was an easy installation.

The above picture shows the bottom connectivity on the motherboard. Ignore the dust. It was cleaned subsequently. The front panel connectors were installed easily.

The above picture shows the backside of the chassis with minimal cable management done. The side panel is easily closed with this management.

Here are some pictures of the chassis:

Testing

The following configurations were used to test the thermal performance:

• Thermal testing with front panel installed [Stock Configuration]
• Thermal testing with the front panel removed.

The chassis was tested with all fans including the air cooler’s fans at their full speed. The MSI graphics card’s fans were set to run at 65% of the speed all the time.

Each testing session was of 30 minutes using the FPU and GPU in AIDA64 Extreme 6.30. The maximum temperature of the graphics card is reported in the graph. The average of the core temperature of Intel i7 10700k is reported. Absolute temperature is in the graph. Between the testing sessions, the system was put idle for a minimum of 30 minutes.

Result

The idle temperature of the CPU and the graphics card are near to the ambient temperature of roughly 33.5°C to 33.7°C.

We can see that removing the front panel does not affect the thermals as such which tells us that the case does not have restricted airflow. The front fans are generating a good amount of airflow but they are noisy.

Conclusion

We have tested the SilverStone SETA H1. This is a mid-tower PC case available in black color. Unlike the SETA A1, this case has more space in it and comes with more features. The dimension of the case is 232x494x480mm (WxHxD). Compared to the dimension of the SETA A1 225x470x432mm (WxHxD), the SETA H1 is more spacious particularly has more depth which gives good enough clearance from the top. The chassis is made of steel, plastic, and tempered glass. The net weight of the chassis is 9.67KG with 55.01 liters volume.

Cooling Provision is:

• Up to 3x 120mm or 3x 140mm or 2x 160mm fans on the front [2x160mm fans are pre-installed]
• Up to 3x120mm or 2x 140mm fans on the top
• 1x 120mm or 1x 140mm fan on the rear [1x 140mm fan is pre-installed]
• 120/140/240/280/360mm radiator on the front
• 120/240/360mm radiator on the top
• 1x 120mm radiator on the rear

Clearance:

• Up to 182mm height for the CPU cooler
• Up to 374mm length for the graphics card with 182mm width
• Up to 250mm in length for the Standard ATX PSU

Storage:

• 2x 3.5″ HDD
• 2x 2.5″ SSD [2x more using multi-functional brackets]

Here are the key highlights of the design:

• A-RGB LED lighting on the front panel
• Fully perforated mesh front panel
• 2x 160mm Shark Force series fans on the front
• 1x 140mm fan on the rear
• Removable front fan bracket (configurable in two layouts)
• GPU Support bracket for GeForce RTX 30xx series
• Rubber grommets on the main cutouts
• 2x PCIe vertical slots
• Hinged tempered glass panel with magnetic handling and door handle
• A magnetic SATA-powered A-RGB Hub
• Multi-function brackets
• The magnetic dust filter on top
• USB Type-C port on the front panel

The case can house motherboards up to the SSI-EEB form factor. The PSU shroud is not vented hence the {SU can only be installed with the fan facing down. SilverStone is using standard 3-pin ARGB connectors for the front ARGB LED strip which is a wise implementation. The user can connect up to 2x ARGB devices to the hub. There is roughly 16mm spacing behind the motherboard tray.

The key feature is the multi-function brackets. These can be configured to house a reservoir tube if going for the custom loop or they can house the 2.5 drives. The top bracket can be prepped to cover the 24-pin ATX cable by using the bundled standoffs which would increase the height of the bracket. The GPU support brackets are only compatible with RTX 30xx series and even in that these are compatible with the cards which have 2x holes on the front side.

The front 160mm fans are spinning above 1200 RPM whereas the rear fan is near the 1150 mark. All three fans have 3-pin connectors. The front two fans under full speed are noisy. The PSU up to 220mm is supported with a default position of the HDD cage, which can be extended to 250mm by shifting the drive cage closer to the front. This will impact the consideration of the front fans and radiator placement. There is a clearance of 52mm for the fans and radiator on the front with the HDD cage in the default position. This clearance reduces to 26mm if the cage is moved to the second position.

The SilverStone SETA H1 is listed at $179.99 at the time of the review. This is a steep price for this case. The overall build quality is very good. The overall building experience, in this case, is good though it would vary from configuration to configuration. The case comes with a good feature set. Our thermal testing has shown that the case has unrestricted airflow.

We are thankful to SilverStone for giving us the opportunity to review SETA H1.

SilverStone MS13 is an M.2 SATA & NVMe to USB 3.2 Gen 2 enclosure with a salient feature of RGB lighting on the housing.

Its features are:

• Latest USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C interface up to 10Gbps SuperSpeed transfer rate
• RGB lighting effects
• Supports NVMe & SATA M.2 SSD
• Sandwich layered design enhances heat transmission rate
• Aluminum alloy body structure for efficient heat dissipation and overall structure stability
• Support various lengths of M.2 SSD (22x30mm, 22x42mm, 22x60mm, 22x80mm)
• Supports Bulk Only Transfer (BOT) and USB Attached SCSI Protocol (UASP)

Product:               SST-MS13

Price:                     MSRP USD 49.99

SilverStone MS-13B Specifications

Dimension

Closer Look

The enclosure is shipped inside the paperboard packing box. Three salient features are highlighted:

• Up to 10Gbps Speed
• USB Type-C
• Aluminum heatsink for better heat dissipation

The specifications and features are listed over here.

There is a paperboard container inside the main packing box. The enclosure is tucked on the top whereas the accessories are placed under it.

The enclosure is made of aluminum alloy material with plastic parts. The dimension of the enclosure is 43.8×15.9×105.4mm (WxHxD). The enclosure has a nice touch and feels to it and it is in black color. There is a SilverStone branding on the top middle. The top view shows the striped design which is there to enhance heat dissipation.

The above picture shows a diffuser running across the entire length on the side of the enclosure. The opposite end of the enclosure has a second diffuser. Each diffuser has 7 RGB LEDs underneath.

The backside of the enclosure has a similar layout as on the top. MS13 is printed over here.

There is a USB Type-C port on one end of the enclosure. There is also a power on/off switch to turn the RGB lighting on and off as per the requirement. The protective cover with holes for the port and switch is removable as it is secured using two screws.

The opposite side of the port end has a solid cover. The user is required to remove the two screws over here to access the PCB over which the SSD is to be installed.

The enclosure supports M.2 SATA and M.2 PCIe NVMe types of the SSD. The AHCI is not supported. The B-Key on the M.2 SATA is also supported.

The enclosure supports SSD of form factor:

• 2230
• 2242
• 2260
• 2280

The enclosure supports Bulk Only Transfer (BOT) and USB Attached SCSI Protocol (UASP).

SilverStone has provided a two-in-one design cable. We have USB Type-C to Type-C connector and Type-C to Type-A connector. Please keep in mind that the Type-A connector will give up to 5Gbps speed.

SilverStone has provided a single thermal pad having a conductivity rating of 1.5W-MK and an operating temperature range of -40°C ~ 220°C. It seems like only a single-sided SSD is supported on this enclosure.

There is also an aluminum cover finished in a shiny silver color. This cover is placed over the thermal padded SSD.

SilverStone has provided a screwdriver, rubber pins, and screws in the accessories. The users would not need anything on their own to prepare this enclosure for use.

SilverStone is providing one year warranty on this enclosure which varies from region to region.

The above picture shows the side cover removed. We have a sandwiched layered design to maximize the heat dissipation. The enclosure is made of a single piece of aluminum with sandwiched design inside and a striped design outside. According to SilverStone, this design enhances structural stability.

There is a slim black color PCB that needed to be slide out of the enclosure. Take note of the gold color mounting holes as they are labeled with the corresponding form factor of the SSD. The USB port and the power on/off switch are behind the M.2 connector. The 7 RGB LEDs can be seen on each side of the PCB.

The model of the enclosure is SST-MS13B. I assume that B stands for Black though I am not sure.

The main driving force of this enclosure is the Realtek RTL9210B-CG controller to convert/bridge the M.2 SSD to a USB Type-C interface connectivity.

Set-Up

Setting up the enclosure is simple. Remove the two screws from the solid cover side of the enclosure and slide out the PCB.

Install the M.2 (SATA/NVMe) SSD on the PCB using the rubber pins.

Remove the protective cover from one side of the thermal pad and place it on the SSD.

Remove the protective cover from the visible side of the thermal pad and place the aluminum cover over it as shown in the picture. Press it firmly over the SSD for a tight connection.

Slide the PCB back into the enclosure as shown in the picture.

Connect the USB cable to the enclosure from its single USB Type-C end.

The enclosure is ready for use.

RGB Lighting

As we have mentioned above this enclosure packs 14 RGB LEDs for illumination. There is a pet pattern of the lighting with each indicating the standby mode and data read/write mode.

• A single color breathing would indicate that the drive is in standby mode.
• Marquee mode would indicate data operation on the drive

Here are a few pictures:

Testing

The following test configuration is used:

• GIGABYTE Z690 AERO G
• Intel i7 12700k [Stock, Auto]
• Sabrent Rocket 2x16GB DDR5
• Sabrent Rocket Q 500GB NVMe Drive [OS]
• Sabrent Rocket Q 1TB NVMe Drive [For testing]
• DeepCool LS720 White
• Colorful iGame GeForce GTX 1050Ti 4G [For Display]
• GIGABYTE Thunderbolt 4 Add-In Card
• be quiet! Straight Power 11 850W Platinum PSU
• Thermaltake Core P6 TG Snow Edition in an open-frame layout

After initializing the drive, it showed up on This PC (MY Computer).

Synthetic Testing

The following software-based testing is done:

• AS SSD
• CrystalDiskMark
• ATTO Disk Benchmark
• Anvil’s Storage Utility
• 3DMark Storage Benchmark

Here are the results:

The drive reaches the 944.9MB/s sequential read speed. The overall numbers are healthy including the 4k speeds.

The maximum read speed was 1.087Gbps and the maximum write speed was 0.97Gbps.

The 869 is the overall score for the external enclosure.

A nice performance from the enclosure.

The write speed in compression has suffered whereas the initial read speed is not healthy and the large dip follows it. If you look at the result from ATTO, this trend can also be seen there. Either the drive is heating up and lagging or something else is at play here.

We are seeing a similar result here as well.

The enclosure scores 885 marks with 154.64 MB/s bandwidth and an average access time of 207 μs. This is not a healthy result from the gaming perspective but this is expected from up to 10Gbps speed.

Real World Testing

We have used a 97GB compressed file to check the read and copy speeds and timing of the drive along with 167GB size folder with multiple files and sub-folders including large compressed files to measure the directory copy speed and timing. The DiskBench utility is used for this purpose.

The average speed was 846MB/s to read the 97GB compressed file with a time of roughly 1 minute and 52 seconds.

We copied the same file on the drive with an average speed of 490 MB/s with a time of roughly 3 minutes and 14 seconds.

We have a 505MB/s average speed to copy the 167GB folder on the drive taking a time of roughly 5 minutes and 41 seconds.

Thermals

The ambient temperature was 31°C. However, none of the software provided the temperature readout of the drive hence we are unsure of the actual thermal performance of the enclosure.

Conclusion

SilverStone has released MS13 with a model number of SST-MS13B which is a SATA/NVMe SSD to USB 3.2 Gen 2 enclosure. This enclosure enables the user to install any M-Key NVMe SSD or M/B-Key SATA SSD in it and provides Super-Speed USB 3.2 Gen 2-based connectivity using a USB Type-C interface. The maximum rated speed is up to 10Gbps for which USB Type-C connectivity on both ends is needed. The supported form factors of SSD are 22302, 2242, 2260, and 2280.

The enclosure is made of aluminum alloy and plastic material. The enclosure is made of a single piece of aluminum alloy and it has a sandwich layered design from the inside and a striped design from the outside. This is done to ensure maximum heat dissipation and structural stability. The dimension of the enclosure is 43.8×15.9×105.4mm (WxHxD). The enclosure is finished in black color. It has a solid build quality.

The enclosure features RGB lighting with two modes. The breathing in static colors indicates the standby mode whereas the Marquee mode shows the data operations on the drive. There are two diffusers on the top of the housing each having 7 RGB LEDs with a total count of 14 LEDs. The enclosure is powered by the Realtek RTL9210B-CG controller. It supports Bulk Only Transfer (BOT) and USB Attached SCSI Protocol (UASP). SilverStone has provided a single cable with dual connectivity options providing USB Type-C to Type-C and Type-C to Type-A connectivity. SilverStone has provided a screwdriver, thermal pad, aluminum cover, rubber pins, and screws. The enclosure is not tool-less but the user should not worry about any requirement as SilverStone has covered all corners.

SilverStone MS13B has an MSRP of USD 49.99. It comes with one year warranty. The enclosure has performed quite well in real-world testing though we have observed lag in the synthetic testing. The RGB lighting adds augmentation to the solution though it has nothing to do with the overall performance of the enclosure. If you are looking for a Super-Speed USB 3.2 Gen 2-based external enclosure, then SST-MS13B is one handy option.

We are thankful to SilverStone for sending in the unit for testing.

We are taking a look at the HTPC case from SilverStone named ML09. As the name suggests, this is an SFF case ideal for HTPC users and users who would want to have a low profile, compact, space-saving case suitable to their particular requirements. Here are some salient features:

• Super small at only 7 liters
• Premium styling front panel with mirror finish
• Includes one 120mm fan and support up to two 80mm fans
• Multipurpose 4-in-1 bracket
• Supports Mini-ITX motherboard and SFX power supply
• Support dual slot low-profile graphics or expansion card
• Support four 2.5″ HDD/SSD

Item:                     SST-ML09 HTPC

Price:                    The listed price of ML09-B on Amazon is USD 101 at the time of the review.

Specification

Dimension

Closer Look

The chassis is shipped inside a cardboard box brown color which is a standard for chassis shipping.

SilverStone has provided:

• 1x slim optical drive Bracket cover
• Zip Ties
• Various Screws
• 4x feet
• 2x self-adhesive tapes
• A user guide

It is time to take a look at the chassis and see all the features. ML09 is based on ML06 but the internal tooling is different. Compared to ML06, the ML09 has the second expansion slot making it a dual-slot design though it can only allow a low profile graphics card due to height limitations. The case is made of 0.8mm steel. The front façade is made of Acrylic and plastic and finished in a mirror effect to give a premium look. The dimension of the case is 350 x 99 x 205mm (WxHxD). We have a total of 7 liters of internal volume. The dimension of the case with the feet is 350 x 109 x 250mm (WxHxD). The net weight of the case is 2.70kg.

Exterior

Let’s start by taking a look at the exterior of the chassis.

The front of the case is made of Acrylic and plastic materials. It is finished in a mirror effect for a premium outlook. On the top right, we have a cover for a slim optical drive which is optional. The case supports one slim optical 12.7cm or 9.5mm drive. We have power and reset buttons on the base with two blue colors LED indicators. There is a SilverStone branding on the right of the front panel.

We have a solid steep panel on the top. There are two perforated areas on this panel. The area with a large perforation is covering the motherboard tray whereas the area with a small perforation is covering the PSU bay. Please keep in mind that this case supports only SFX PSU. It would be better if the fan side of the PSU is kept upward to draw fresh air from the top perforation and exhaust on the rear.

SilverStone has made a smart move as they have provided a totally perforated area on the side. The user can install 2x 80mm fans inside the case for some airflow. This is the side that is facing the motherboard tray area and the graphics card. In the case of dual-slot, low-profile graphics card, slim design 80mm fans would do. We also have:

• 2x USB 3.0 ports
• 1x Audio Jack
• 1x Mic

The opposite side of the case is solid and there is no perforation on it.

Taking a look at the rear of the case, we can spot 2x low-profile PCIe slots on the right. There is a cutout on the base where the Rear IO shield is placed. Looking closely, we have a utility expansion slot on the top above the IO cover. This is a smart design allowing the user to install an add-in card in the case but keep in mind that this card along with the supporting cables would take up a considerable space above the motherboard and may limit the CPU Cooler or RAM selection. We also have a Kensington lock. The very left side has a cutout for SFX PSU.

The base of the case has a solid structure. There are circular areas on the corners. This is where you can attach the self-adhesive rubber feet. These feet are provided separately in the box. We are showing the feet attached to the case in the above picture.

Interior

It is time to take a look at the inside of the chassis.

The first thing you will see after removing the top panel is the 4-in multi-bracket pre-installed in the case. It has FRONT labeled on the side. Make sure that this side always faces towards the front of the case. It is secured using 4x screws.

There is also a support bracket between both sides which is secured using 2x screws. The cage visible on the left side is the 3.5” SDD/HDD cage. The unpopulated area on the left is where the SX PSU would be placed. The user can orient the SFX PSU in two directions but for the SilverStone SFX PSU, it is recommended to place it with the fan facing up.

SilverStone has provided a 120mm fan pre-installed in an intake position on the multi-bracket. The user can optionally install a 2.5” SSD or a 3.5” drive a slot-loading slim optical drive on this bracket. By default, we have a 120mm fan installed on it which is rated for 1500 RPM and has a 3-pin connector.

The above picture shows the internal of the ML09 after removing the multi-bracket. The motherboard is installed right below the multi-bracket for which 4x stand-offs are installed.

The above picture shows the internal of the ML09 after we have removed the support brace/bracket and the multi-bracket. We have to be up to the challenge when it comes to handling the cables in this case due to their compact size.

The provided storage cage can house up to 4x 2.5” SSD/HDD at a time. There is no support for a 3.5” drive which is understandable.

The above picture shows the system panel cables coming from the side of the case which has USB ports and audio ports.

The above picture shows the internal view of the front panel with the Power and Reset buttons along with the LED indicator.

The above picture shows the internal view of the case with everything removed. As can be seen, we have limited space particularly with respect to the cables to work around. There are two rubber feet on the lower left side. This is where the PSU will be placed.

SilverStone has provided 4x rubber feet which allow the case to be placed horizontally on the surface with some gap in between. In addition, they have also provided two plastic-made feet which are stretchable. This allows the user to place the case in a standing or vertical layout.

The above picture shows the ML09 in a vertical standing position using two feet.

SilverStone has also provided a magnetic dust filter that can optionally be placed on the extended perforated area of the top panel.

The above picture shows the USB 3.0 and HD Audio front panel connectors.

The above picture shows the system panel connectors.

Test Build

The following configuration is used:

• Intel i9 9900k
• Asus ROG Strix B360-I
• Noctua NH-L9i
• XPG Spectrix D41 8GB @ 2667MHz
• XPG SX950U 250GB SSD
• SilverStone SX500-G PSU

The motherboard was installed at first. The cooler was installed outside of the case which is totally up to the user. The RAM was installed right after. Everything went smoothly.

The SilverStone PSU was installed next as shown in the picture.

Now, is a good time to decide on cable management since we are having tight spacing around.

The above picture is showing the HD Audio connector connected to the motherboard. This would not have been this way if we were installing the low-profile graphics card.

The above picture shows the USB 3.0 connector on the motherboard.

The above picture shows the front panel connectors on the motherboard.

The above picture shows the EPS connector connected to the motherboard.

The above picture shows what we have to deal with for cable management. It was a simple process since we were not using a graphics card.

The above picture shows the build with all cables placed and connected.

The above picture shows everything assembled and ready for test boot.

A quick glimpse at the rear of the case.

Limitations/Clearance

• The maximum allowed CPU Air cooler height is 30~70mm depending upon the multi-bracket use.
• Single or Dual Slot Low Profile Expansion Card up to 175mm length and width of 74mm.
• SFX PSU
• Mini-ITX or Mini-DTX motherboard.

Conclusion

The SilverStone ML09 is an HTPC PC case built upon the footprint of ML06 but with fine refinements. We still have the 7 liters of volume in the ML09 but the internals has been re-arranged which has allowed the SilverStone to provide support for dual-slot, low profile expansion card. This case does not support a full-size graphics card so keep that in mind. Some of the striking features are:

• Mini-ITX and Mini-DTX compatible.
• Supports dual-slot, low profile expansion card
• Standard SFX PSU
• 4-in-1 Multi-Bracket
• Stylish Acrylic and Plastic made a front panel with mirror effect

Storage Options:

• Up to 4x 2.5” drives
• A single 3.5” drive on the multi-bracket which is optional

Cooling Provision:

• 1x 120mm fan on the multi-bracket [Pre-Installed]
• 2x 80mm fans on the side for air intake directly on the graphics card and the motherboard. [Optional]

The dimension of the case is 350 x 99 x 205mm (WxHxD). We have a total of 7 liters of internal volume. The dimension of the case with the feet is 350 x 109 x 250mm (WxHxD). The net weight of the case is 2.70kg. the CPU cooler’s height is within the range of 37~70mm depending upon the top-mounted multi-bracket. The cable management is challenging if we are using a graphics card and storage drives cage as well. The maximum length of the graphics card is 175mm with a width of 74mm.

There is also a provision to install an add-in card on top of the motherboard on the multi-bracket for which the slot is provided in the case from the rear. Keep in mind that this would limit the selection of the CPU cooler and the RAM. SilverStone has provided a magnetic dust filter to be used optionally on the extended perforated area on the top panel. The user can also install a slim optical drive in the case for which necessary mounting hardware is provided.

Since we have used a simple configuration for the test build, we did not face any issues and were able to set up the build in the least possible time with minimal effort. The SilverStone ML09B is listed at $101 at the time of the review. During our thermal testing, the i9 9900k peeked at 91°C under the Cinebench R23 Multi CPU run of 30 minutes. The ambient was 33°C. This is not a bad performance at all from this compact form factor build. In this price range, this is a good starting point for the HTPC users who would wish to build a configuration in a console/DVR-like form factor to game or for multimedia content recording in particular and comes recommended by us.

We are thankful to SilverStone for providing a review sample of ML09.