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SilverStone Kublai Series KL04
February 4, 2012
by Keith Soreghen
in Reviews
If you are new to the PC building scene, it’s possible that you have never heard of the Kublai Series from SilverStone. If you have heard of it, you may have wondered when the series might be updated. Today, we are reviewing the newest case in the series, the KL04. It has been a number of years since the KL03 debuted, and this new model is quite different from it’s predecessors. The KL04 marks the first in the series to ditch the aluminum front panel in favor of stylized plastic. While some features have crossed over from SilverStone’s other popular case series, like USB 3.0, a large CPU cutout, painted interior and positive pressure design, the KL04 has enough unique features to bring new life to the Kublai Series.
Constructed with a steel chassis and plastic front panel, the KL04 sits firmly between the budget Precision Series and the higher end Temjin Series. The Kublai series has always been geared for enthusiast level storage and the KL04 does not disappoint. This chassis has four 5.25” drive bays, and can accommodate up to nine 3.5” hard drives, and up to six 2.5” SSD’s. All of this storage is packed into a Mid-Tower chassis with special features to keep it all running cool. If mass storage is an important feature to your next build, the KL04 is worth taking a look at. Check out our full review after the jump.
SilverStone Sugo Series SG08
December 11, 2011
by Keith Soreghen
in Reviews
It’s been a while since a Sugo series case has landed in our lab for testing. The last one to be reviewed was the SG07 back in August 2010. That model earned a 9 verdict for it’s sturdy construction, good looks and many great features. While the SG07 set the bar for small form factor enclosures, SilverStone’s latest SG08 takes everything we loved about the previous model and adds some improvements. The new case sports two USB 3.0 ports, something SilverStone has included with all recent product lines. The front panel has a fresh new design, made from 10mm thick aluminum. The SG08 includes the features from the previous model like the ST60F-SG 600W custom power supply, the AP181 Air Penetrator fan, removable fan filter and positive pressure design.
Since we haven’t tested a SFF case in a while, we thought this review would be a great opportunity to change out our testbed parts. We have updated all of our components to build an ultra compact gaming system that can handle most games with ease while barely taking up any space on our cluttered desk. To find out how the SG08 did, check out the full review after the jump.
SilverStone Precision Series PS07
December 3, 2011
by Keith Soreghen
in Reviews
The Precision series from SilverStone was created to bring cases with high end features to builders with a lower budget. The latest model, the PS07 is the first Micro-ATX enclosure in the series. While the design is strikingly similar to a recent offering in the Temjin series (TJ08-E) the exterior elements and the case cooling have been changed to fit into the budget mindset. First off, the front panel is plastic. The look of the case remains high quality, however, and allows the PS07 to blend in well within almost any environment. The case can accommodate one 2.5” and six 3.5” hard drives, has room for power supplies up to 180mm long, and can accept Micro-ATX, DTX, and Mini-ITX motherboards. Cooling is handled by two included 120mm front intake fans and room for an optional 120mm rear exhaust fan. These fans are hidden behind a door and feature an easily removable filter for maintenance. The front panel includes two USB 3.0 ports, mic and audio ports, and the power and reset switch. The PS07 is shipped with an adapter to convert to USB 2.0 if your motherboard does not have the required header for USB 3.0.
We recently decided to update our test bed components from a full size ATX motherboard (P67) to a Micro-ATX model (Z68). We felt we could design a high powered gaming system that had a much smaller footprint. Moving to a smaller case definitely has it’s challenges, but the PS07 seemed up to the task. How much hardware were we able to fit inside? Check it out after the jump.
SilverStone RVS02 External HDD Enclosure
August 25, 2011
by Keith Soreghen
in Reviews
For our fourth storage device review of the month, we have the new RVS02 from SilverStone. This is the second 2.5″ external hard drive enclosure from the Raven Series to be released and it is a considerable change from the previous model (RVS01). Where the RVS01 was more of a hard drive “wallet” , the successor has a more standard design with a molded plastic exterior and screwless drive install.
The RVS02′s chassis isn’t the only thing to get an upgrade, as this model is now USB 3.0 compatable. As more motherboards are coming with native USB 3.0 support, the inclusion of USB 3.0 should now be considered a must for new products being released. Let’s take a look at the RVS02 in detail
