Cooler Master Sileo 500 Case

The computer chassis, commonly referred to as the case, is the enclosure in which all of the components and drives are installed to make a personal computer. Cases differ in size and appearance but all perform the function of holding the computer’s internal parts. Some provide better airflow to keep the internal parts nice and cool and we all know that a cooler computer is a better performing computer. Does the Cooler Master Sileo 500 live up to its name? How will it stack up among the plethora of PC cases on the market today?

Design and Installation

A big part of the usefulness and value of any case is the ease of installation for your components. Installing the motherboard and hard drives are a breeze with the wide open space inside the case. The Sileo 500 does not have a removeable motherboard tray but there is so much open space inside that it isn’t a problem. The hard drives require attaching the rails and then you simply slide them into place until they click.

The included cable tie makes it easy to keep the cables out of your way, unfortunately it is way too small and it is a standard zip-tie which means it is very hard to remove if you want to add cables later on. I think it is only intended to tie up the front panel wires, of which it is plenty sufficient for the task. You will most assuredly need a longer cable tie for all the drive and power supply cables in the end. There is room behind the drive bays to route the cables behind them, and the zip tie binds the front panel cables to the anchor of an included magnetic ring. The magnetic ring can then can be mounted whereever needed. Cable management in the Sileo 500 isn’t perfect, but is not much of a problem either.

In the Box

The box contains the Sileo 500 case and all the fittings necessary to install your components and drives. It also has a sheet the gives you the product features, installation guide and warranty information.

• 9 - Stand-off screws
• 19 – #6-32 screws (Motherboard tray and power supply )
• 19 – M3 screws (CD-ROM, Floppy and 3.5” drive)
• 1 – Cable tie
• 1 – Magnetic ring (cable binder)
• 1 – Saddle (for the cable tie)
• 6 – Sliding rails (for installing up to 3 Hard drives)
• 1 – SATA cable (preinstalled to the e-SATA front panel connector)
• 2 – 120mm case fans (preinstalled)
• 2 – 3-pin to Molex power adapters (preinstalled on the fans)

Specifications

• Supported MB type: ATX/EATX, Micro-ATX
• 5 – Internal exposed 5.25” drive bays
• 2 – Internal exposed 3.5” drive bays (1 used for front panel audio/USB/e-SATA)
• Dimensions: Depth - 480mm, Width – 200mm, Height – 435mm (18.91 x 7.88 x 17.14 inches)
• Weight: 8.0 kg
• Color: Black
• Power supply: None included (optional PS/2 standard ATX/EATX supported)
• Front panel access for audio out/microphone, 2 - USB ports, e-SATA, power button and reset switch

Cooler Master Sileo 500 Box	Contents and Internal View	Front View

The case came with two 120mm fans preinstalled but the case’s two fan mounts supports 80 mm, 90 mm or 120mm fans. The fans work together to pull cool air into the case from the lower portion of the front and expel the hot air out of the upper rear of the case. This causes a directional airflow that effectively cools the inside of the case and in turn helps to cool the components including the processor and graphics card(s). Using an internal temperature probe, I measured the temperature inside the case while under full load. The case keeps an average ambient temperature of about 19° above room temperature when the computer is under load, which is not bad at all.

The metal edges inside the case are all rounded to keep you from accidentally scraping or cutting you hand while working inside the case. The only sharp edges are found at the opening for the power supply. The drive bays are wide open with no dividers between the drives which makes it much easier for large handed people to install the drives and even the motherboard as well. The rails also make drive installation very easy and quick. The rails are made of plastic and attach to the drive by simple pins and are held in place by the walls of the drive bay.