Cooler Master Silencio 550 Chassis Preview

Now some of you may have heard on our forums that the official release date of the Cooler Master Silencio 550 was the 23rd May. We do here at eTeknix like to give you the reviews, when possible, at the earliest time that we are allowed to release them.

Unfortunately, some times other aspects of life do get in the way – it is exam season after all – and as we want to show you this product in as much detail as possible we are not going to be releasing the review straight away. It is, we feel, quite a unique product and as such we want the review to do Cooler Master justice and to highlight the good and bad (if there are any) points about this case.

In the mean time we thought we would tease you a little bit more with a small preview of the review coming soon:

It seems that quite a few cases have been released recently and while this might seem a bit repetitive it does at least allow us to compare the cases quite well.

Today’s case is the Cooler Master Silencio 550 Chassis which is trying to be slightly different to your standard case but at a price that will not break the bank. The name itself might give it away slightly but if it’s not obvious Cooler Master do claim ‘near silent’ operation when using this case. That seems like quite a tall order when most users will be using fairly hefty CPU Coolers and a decent powered PSU. All we can say from the start is that they certainly haven’t compromised the looks of this case.

Cooler Master are a huge player in the computing world and are probably best known for their cases so we are expecting very good things. They are also certainly willing to listen to the public and to give the support that is needed to their customers, which in turn is helping them to create even better products and we certainly hope this Silencio Chassis is one of those.

In Cooler Master’s words:

The dominating part of the Silencio 550 is, as the name already suggests, the very low sound it produces when the case is turned on. Insulated with silencing foam padding internally on both sides cancels the noise made by the slight reverberations of the fans and the whirrs and clicks of hard drives. Combine this with a solid-steel unshakable frame, shiftless rubber feet and two Cooler Master low noise fans and you will get a
chassis which you will hardly hear when it is on; perfect for those who value peace and quiet as a must in the computing environment.

Specifications:

[TABLE=class: grid, width: 100%]
[TR]
[TD]Available Color[/TD]
[TD]Full Black[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Material[/TD]
[TD]Steel body, Plastic front bezel[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Dimension (W / H / D)[/TD]
[TD](W) 210 x (H) 415.5 x (D) 505.2 mm / 8.3 x 17.8 x 19.9 inch[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Weight[/TD]
[TD]9.2kgs (20.3lb)[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]M/B Type[/TD]
[TD]Micro – ATX / ATX[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]5.25″ Drive Bay[/TD]
[TD]3 (without the use of exposed 3.5″ drive bay)[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]3.5″ Drive Bay[/TD]
[TD]7 Hidden[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]3.5″ X-Dock[/TD]
[TD]1 Exposed (converted from one 5.25″ bay)[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]I/O Panel[/TD]
[TD]USB3.0 x 1, USB2.0 x 1, Mic x1, Audio x 1, SD card reader x 1[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Expansion Slots[/TD]
[TD]7[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Cooling System[/TD]
[TD]Front(Intake): 120mm x 1, 800rpm silent fan pre-install

(Support 120mm fan x 2 or 140mm fan x 1 optional)

Rear (Exhaust): 120mm x 1, 800rpm silent fan pre-install[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Power Supply[/TD]
[TD]Standard ATX PS2 (optional)[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Maximum Compatibility[/TD]
[TD]CPU cooler height: 6.10-inch (154mm)

VGA card length: 11.10-inch (281mm) (With HDD cage)

15.80-inch (400mm) (Remove HDD cage w/120*25 fan)

16.80-inch (427mm) (Remove HDD cage w/o fan)[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]