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Cooler Master Sileo 500 Mid-Tower Case
Introduction
The first time I saw a noise-dampening case, I thought, hey, that's a pretty bright idea. To be fair, the first time I consciously thought about manhole covers, I thought they were a pretty bright idea. There are probably a lot more bright ideas in existence that I haven't really made myself aware of. But yeah, noise-isolating cases. They were a bright idea until I realized how much they cost. The first one I saw cost around four hundred dollars, and for that kind of money, you can just go with water-cooling, I mean, it seems like it defeats itself. But Cooler Master, they used their noodle, they decided to break onto this turf with a One thought springs to mind. Is this case too budget? It's for sale well under a hundred bucks, which might mean that there are too many cut corners, or maybe that instead of some kind of NASA-developed space quiet foam, they're using leftover packing materials. Maybe the steel's only for show, and the case is made out of plastic with a metal veneer (Cooler Master, I know you did this that one time, you cheeky channel partner, case, and cooling company). Well, no matter what, it's moot if it's sturdy, pretty, and above all, quiet. First Looks There's one thing about this case that I like right off the bat. Instead of designing an I/O panel into the front or top bezel of the case, Cooler Master sprung for a removable 3.5" bay device with eSATA, USB, and audio jacks. If this were a swankier case, I'd probably have a problem with it, but for cases of this simple design and price range, I think it's perfect and mod-friendly. So often, when you're looking at third-party bay devices, they include redundant audio jacks or other functions that the case already has covered (and since when do they not?) so the fact that Cooler Master included one that you can just yank out is downright innovative.    And pretty soon, I can see which corners were cut--and I'm happy they picked the ones they did. The inside design and layout is nothing new; it's a standard ATX layout with the same bay designs they've been using for years, but that's not going budget, that's doing what you know, and they do that stuff well. It's the front bezel and bay bezels, they use a lot of plastic. It doesn't look bad, but it does look a little municipal. It's straightforward design in a way that makes the computer nothing if not unnoticeable--something I'm sure its prospective buyers have in mind. The case doesn't use a whole lot of ventilation, opting for a single intake behind the front bezel, deflecting noise out the sides, and a single exhaust out the back. It's a little unfortunate that Cooler Master decided to go with punched fan grills and not chrome grills, because those are without a doubt quieter, but if the fans are low airflow, this won't be a big issue.    The cases panels fit together smoothly and all the parts line up well, although besides the fan mounts the case uses little vibration-dampening material. There's a little bit around the PSU and that's about it, nothing around the side panel or bezel to halt vibrations. The Sileo 500 definitely opts for noise absorption over noise prevention. It's got five 5.25" bays, one un-purposed internal/ external 3.5" bay, the second's used for the I/O panel, and three internal 3.5" hard drive bays. The case has plain white rubber feet, and of course, foam lining the top, bottom, and sides of the case. Front and back get no love, though I don't really see an easy way to add foam to them. That would get in the way of stuff. Cooler Master does include two low-speed (800RPM) 120mm fans, one at the front, one at the back, in their familiar ATX locations. Both fans have 3-pin headers and included are two 3-pin-to-4-pin Molex adapters. Specifications Manufacturer's Website Dimensions: (D)480 x (W)200 x (H)432mm Weight: 9.7 kg; 21.38 lb Motherboards: Micro-ATX, ATX 5.25" Drive Bay: 5 Exposed 3.5" Drive Bay: 1 Exposed, 4 Hidden I/O Panel: USB x 2, eSATA x 1, Mic x 1, Audio x 1 Front fan: One 120 x 25mm standard Rear fan: One 120 x 25mm standard Power Supply: Standard ATX PS2 (optional)
Page 1: Introduction, First Looks, and Specifications
Page 2: Inside the Case Page 3: In Use and Conclusion 
Related Reviews Add Comment
3 User Comments 1 - Posted by
Bogeyman
on April 5, 2009 - 8:56 pm Enjoy the reviews, Max! I've always been impressed with CoolerMaster's cases. Whether its high end or more bargain oriented, they seem to have one that fits. I'm still using a Cavalier case (you guys reviewed in 2004) and love it. Yea, it's a little heavy and has a combination of plastic,aluminum, and steel. But it is a very nice looking case. The airflow might not be of the ideal nature, but none of my components run hot (even an oc'd e6600 and a x1900xt churning out heat). I just have to chase out the occasional "rogue" dust bunny every few months. Overall, you have to recommend CoolerMaster's cases for those who want to spend money somewhere else in their builds. They are rock solid cases. Bling on a budget! 2 - Posted by
straightarrow
on August 11, 2009 - 7:01 pm Coolermaster products are essentially well designed but quality control is poor. While all fans make noise - and fan noise is subjective - so called silent fans should not whine If you have a warranty issue with Coolermaster be lucky - very lucky. Nothing worse than buying a Silent case with whining fans for example or poor quality front connectors. You request a replacement fan from Coolermaster you get told to ship back the whole case just to avoid sending you a working non whining silent fan - maybe its because they don't often produce them? Who needs that? Buy cases only from companies that sends out spare fans/cables if their is a discernible problem. That ain't Coolermaster. 3 - Posted by
panos
on December 8, 2009 - 2:02 pm Cooler Master sucks! I really don't see the point why the supposably well-respected companies have to cheat their customer like this! I recently bought the PC chassis Sileo 500 by Cooler Master. In all the official pictures the case was presented with metallic silver pads at the base. Instead you get some cheap regular plastic feet not even rubberized in the tone of producing a silent vibration free product and look totally unappealing. Thank God you cannot even see them instead of the glorious demonstration of the fancy ones over the official site (and otherwise). At least the company can judge what is ugly and makes the choice to cleverly hide it. Prise to that Cooler Master! You can of course argue that this is a minor detail but always just always on those situations you get less to what you see. I can understand the cheap technique of having plastic mimic brushed aluminium but not the so striking changes where you get something totally different and always of lower quality both in terms of material and looks. I really don't see the point why companies act like that. While they succeeded in making me buy this product (by making a fool out of myself) they totally failed earning more money since I was planning to get more products from them. And of course the even bigger damage to their profit is that I do not find a reason which I should suggest Cooler Master to friends. So they loose even more money with those kind of cheap advertisement techniques. Bye bye Cooler Master (Cooler Sucker rather). I was planning of getting a PSU and CPU fun also from the same company with triple the price tag of the chassis itself but never gonna happen. Stay away if you have some self respect and want to be treated as a proud honer of a decent product. Never gonna make the same mistake twice. Add Comment To add a comment without being a member, you may omit the password field, but you must enter your name (or nickname) along with your comment. * Denotes required fields. |
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