Reviews - Cooler Master Silencio 550 chassis review

[HEXUS]

Can Cooler Master's Silencio keep a high-end setup running cool and quiet?

Read more.

[oolon]

"mini-ATX, mATX, ATX"

What exactly is the difference between mini-ATX and mATX or perhaps you meant mini-ITX?

EDIT:

I see the review has now been changed to read mini-ITX

[Ross1]

"mini-ATX, mATX, ATX"

What exactly is the difference between mini-ATX and mATX or perhaps you meant mini-ITX?

mATX is usually microATX, which is bigger than mini-ATX. mini = 1 expansion slot, micro = 4 expansion slots, ATX = 7.

Anyway, another p182 clone isnt all that interesting. fractal design clearly cloned it better.

[Terbinator]

mATX is usually microATX, which is bigger than mini-ATX. mini = 1 expansion slot, micro = 4 expansion slots, ATX = 7.

Anyway, another p182 clone isnt all that interesting. fractal design clearly cloned it better.

There is no mini-ATX AFAIK, its ITX.

Edit: So there is both mini ATX & ITX. Now I'm confused.

[miniyazz]

Here you are

Mini-ATX motherboards were designed with MoDT (Mobile on Desktop Technology) which adapt mobile CPU for lower power requirement and less heat generation, which makes them ideal for home theater PC (HTPC) and car PC for consumer and application PC for industrial.

So looks like mini-ATX is for laptop CPUs whereas mini-ITX handles desktop CPUs.

[this_is_gav]

It's good to see Hexus reviewing some good all-round performers and not just meshboxes. We all like a bit of free speed from overclocking, but I'm sure most of us like that speed without compromising too much on noise.

As the Fractal Design R3 was out of stock this week when I made an order, I would have considered this if the review had been a few days earlier. It looks a bit more 'clunky', for want of a better word, than the R3 and has less fans (and fewer options for upgrading them), but equally it's not as deep and costs £20 less.

A worthy alternative, depending on what's important to you.

Good to see some different thinking with regards to front-panel options too. It would have been nice to see Firewire and eSATA, but there shouldn't be a reason for every chassis not to come with at least an SD card reader now.

[duc]

Expelliarmus!

[iworrall]

Good to see some different thinking with regards to front-panel options too. It would have been nice to see Firewire and eSATA, but there shouldn't be a reason for every chassis not to come with at least an SD card reader now.

Would you really need eSATA when it has the included hot-swap bay?

[kalniel]

Would you really need eSATA when it has the included hot-swap bay?

If you have an external hard drive that you keep in an enclosure for use on other computers then sure. Far easier than taking it in and out of the enclosure just to hook up.

[this_is_gav]

Would you really need eSATA when it has the included hot-swap bay?

I use both 3.5" and 2.5" drives - usually when backing up someone else's system before wiping it. At the moment I have to use a USB enclosure with eSATA connectivity.

There's little point in having eSATA around the back of a tower in among a maze of cables - you want it up front.

[razer121]

Hm i quite like that case, kind of wish i had that to mod....is perfect in every aspect! guess it will be the next big mod... nice review man

[Roobubba]

Great to see Hexus reviewing a more silence-orientated case! Thank you!

I suppose one question I have that remains is: would putting in other quiet-but-decent 120mm fans (eg Apaches) be of benefit in here, or would they really negate the benefits of all that noise damping?

Roo

[Jimbo75]

Should have got a negative for the name. Silencio? Come on who ran out of ideas at Cooler Master.

[PeteG@Scan]

I haven't had my hands on this yet, but it's on the to do list having read this review.

I'd say through that anyone serious in wanting a quiet machine would use a decent after market cooler on the CPU and if a gamer use after market solutions on the GFX card as well which would increase cooling performance whilst still keeping the noise levels down.