Cooler Master Sileo 500 Silent Mid-Tower Chassis

Mar 27th, 2009 | By Nivedh

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Cooler Master Sileo 500 Silent Mid-Tower Chassis


Date
: 03/28/09 – 12:27:20 AM

Author
:

Category
: Cases


Page 1 : Index

Manufacturer
: Cooler Master

We've reviewed many products from Cooler Master here at Overclockers Online. They have consisted of everything from CPU coolers to computer cases. Found over 10 years ago, Cooler Master is known for their innovative designs and attention to quality.

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One of the types of products Cooler Master is well-known for is cases. Today, we will take a look at the
Cooler Master Sileo 500
, a mid-tower case which features sound dampening material.

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Page 2 : Package & Contents

The package of the Sileo 500 is classic Cooler Master, easily identifiable by the white and purple color theme. It is also a simple package showing only the Cooler Master logo and the product name along with a picture of the case itself.

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The smaller sides of the box have carrying handles. One of the sides has another picture of the case along with the identifier that it is a mid-tower case. The other side shows off the specifications. We will look at these in greater detail on the next page.

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The other side of the box displays several views of the case and showcases some of its features.

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Opening the package, we find the plastic-wrapped case to be well-protected amidst styrofoam blocks.

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Before we unwrap the case and take a look at it in detail, let's review the features and specifications.


Page 3 : Features & Specifications

I went to Cooler Master's USA site to find information on the Sileo 500. I found its dedicated web page from which I have quoted a lot of the following information.

First, we have the introduction:

Design Concept

The Sileo 500 is Cooler Master's latest introduction of a silent mid-tower chassis. It is fully equipped with acoustic foam sound insulation material on the top, bottom and sides. It also includes anti-vibration pads inside the detachable HDD trays to reduce noise and noise reduction pads for the power supply. The Sileo 500 also has tool-free 5.25′ and 3.5′ drive bays for easy installation and maintenance; a true testament to silent computing.

The defining feature of the Sileo 500 is its inclusion of sound dampening material installed throughout. In my experience, sound dampening material is highly effective if used properly.

The features and highlights, similar to those shown on the package:

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It turns out that the guts of this case are exactly the same as that of the NZXT Guardian 921 I reviewed not too long ago. Each company has used the same basic frame and modified it with their own special touches.

The specifications:

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Note that there is no side panel fan, due to the fact that the side panel is covered with acoustic foam. Two 120mm fans are included standard and the case supports up to ATX-size motherboards.

We can now start our tour of the case.


Page 4 : Exterior

Starting at the front, we are greeted with copious amounts of brushed metal. The Cooler Master logo is found at the top. Five external 5.25′ bays and one 3.5′ bay are present. The front I/O panel featuring two USB ports, mic and headphone jacks, and an eSATA port is found below the 3.5′ bay. Below that is an elegant vertical strip which consists of the power button, reset button, and hard drive LED. The strip is translucent which allows the power button to also double as a LED.

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The sides of the case are equally pleasing with a nice black finish. The front bezel features rubber around the edges which have several inconspicuous slits to allow the front fan to intake air.

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The back has the usual arrangement – power supply area on top, 120mm exhaust fan, seven expansion slots, and air vents.

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The bottom of the case has four semi-hard rubber feet. There is a small vent below the front bezel and we can see the full extent of the hard drive LED strip.

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Removing the two thumbscrews from the side panel allows access to the interior.


Page 5 : Interior

The side panel is covered almost entirely with soft, sound absorbent foam which feels quite heavy.

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An installation manual is included in addition to a box containing all the mounting hardware. Screws and standoffs are complemented by mounting rails for hard drives. The rails feature rubber grommets to further minimize noise.

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The floor of the case is also covered with sound dampening material. The interior is spacious and the drive bays feature the same tool-less mechanism we saw in the NZXT Guardian 921. There is space for five optical drives, one floppy drive, and three hard drives.

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There is a Cooler Master branded 120mm fan on the rear panel. Above it, we can see that the power supply mounting area and the ceiling of the case also have their fair share of acoustic material. However, there is none on the back or front panels. Seven expansion slots with tool-less design complete the rear.

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The front panel connectors include USB, audio, eSATA and the usual power switch and LED, reset switch, and HDD LED.

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The other side panel is also covered with acoustic foam. The motherboard tray, unfortunately, is not removable. Also, there isn't much space on this side of the case to aid in cable management.

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Removing the front bezel reveals the inner frame of the case.

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I removed a couple of metal placeholders in preparation for installation, which we will now look at.


Page 6 : Installation

After removing the metal placeholders for the drive bays, I replaced the front bezel.

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The floppy drive was installed by sliding it into place and then using the slider on the side to lock it into place.

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The optical drive was installed in a similar fashion.

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To install the hard drive, I placed one rail that we saw earlier on each side – they do not need to be screwed on since the rails just slip onto the holes where the screws would normally be installed.

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I then slid the drive into one of the three spaces on the drive cage until it clicked into place.

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Next, I installed the motherboard by placing standoffs in the appropriate holes and then used the included screws to secure the motherboard.

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The power supply was next. I simply pushed it into the spot and secured it with four screws. There is an extruded ledge that helps support the weight of the PSU. It took quite a bit of force to install the PSU since all the acoustic material surrounding it caused it to be a tight fit.

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To install the video card, I simply rotated the plastic expansion slot holder out of the way and removed the slot cover. I then installed the video card and re-rotated the plastic clip back into place to secure it.

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All the wires were then connected and the side panels attached back in place to complete installation.

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The power LED glows a light blue while the HDD LED is a bit brighter. Together with the vertical strip, it makes for an extremely refined and professional look.

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Page 7 : Testing & Performance

Since the Cooler Master Sileo 500 is extremely similar to the NZXT Guardian 921, I will be comparing the two cases to each other.

Control
:
CPU: AMD Phenom 9950 X4 BE 2.6GHz
Motherboard: Asus M3A78 Pro
Memory: OCZ Vista Upgrade Edition DDR2-800 (PC2-6400) 4GB (2x2GB)
Video Card: HIS ATI Radeon HD 3650 IceQ3 512MB
Hard Drive: Hitachi Deskstar T7K250 160GB SATA II 8MB cache
Optical: Lite-On SATA DVD±RW
OS: Windows Vista Ultimate

Cases:
Cooler Master Sileo 500
, NZXT Guardian 921

Temperature measurements were taken under different conditions using Lavalys Everest Home Edition 2.20. SMART was enabled for the hard disk in order to allow temperature readings. Idle measurements were taken with the computer idling at the desktop for 2 hours and no CPU or hard drive intensive programs, such as antivirus software, running. Load temperatures for the CPU were taken while running SP2004 Orthos for 2 hours three times and taking the average. HDD load temperatures were taken while running HD Tach's ‘Long Bench’ test 3 times and taking the average.

The ambient temperature was approximately 23ºC throughout all the tests. Note that the Guardian 921's temperature probes were not used for any of the measurements.

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The idle temperatures were both exactly 30ºC and the load temperatures differed by only 1ºC with the Sileo 500 at a disadvantage. This could be attributed to the Guardian 921's side panel fan. Also, the Sileo 500 has sound dampening material which could have impeded heat dissipation. In any case, the results are too close to tell.

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The Sileo 500 was again at a disadvantage in the HDD temperature measurements by 1-2ºC.

One area where the Sileo 500 absolutely blows the Guardian 921 away is in terms of noise. Granted the Sileo has one less fan, the system was almost dead silent. I had to check the power LED to make sure it was on! Though I do not have a sound level meter to quantitatively test the two cases, I can say that the Sileo 500's sound dampening material definitely works. The lack of noise fully makes up for the slight thermal disadvantage the Sileo 500 had in the temperature measurements and then some.


Page 8 : Conclusion

In working with the Cooler Master Sileo 500, I was utterly blown away by how well the sound dampening material works. Being the defining feature of this case, I can attest to the fact that the sound dampening material really sets this case apart from other cases I have worked with.

In terms of other features, the Sileo 500 is your typical mid-tower case. With a minimalistic design, its elegance will appeal to everyone. The tool-less drive bays, simple hard drive mounts and tool-less expansion slots are great and make installation very quick and easy.

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The Sileo 500 would be perfect if it had a removable motherboard tray, more sound dampening material in the front and rear, and a filter for the front intake fan. Some users might also be put off by the fact that it can only harbor three hard drives.

Other than these minor shortcomings, the Cooler Master Sileo 500 is perfect in every way possible. If you are looking for a simple and feature-filled case that is almost
silent
, the Sileo 500 should be on your list.

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Advantages:

  • Almost dead silent, thanks to copious amounts of acoustic foam

  • Classy, elegant design with tool-less installation
  • Roomy interior

Disadvantages:

  • No removable motherboard tray

  • Only holds three hard drives

Overclockers Online would like to thank Cooler Master for making this review possible.

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