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Silverstone Computer Case Accessories

Silverstone is a relatively young computer case manufacturer, founded in 2003. Over the years it expanded into other fields like coolers, storage devices, input devices, fans, audio devices and accessories mostly for its computer cases.

Although Silverstone seems to be a very serious firm, most of the computer cases it makes are not optimized sufficiently. For example a high-end HTPC case, the Silverstone CW02 is huge and doesn’t follow the standard HTPC concept, because any configuration can be fitted inside with up to two or three graphics cards, 6 S-ATA hard drives and any full-ATX motherboard:

The inside looks exactly like a standard ATX case, the only difference is that the power supply fits under the motherboard in the left side (or bottom) of the case:

Other designs like the GD01 are even uglier:

With annoying doors covering all ports and devices this case wasn’t built for easy access:

It looks good only if all doors are closed and it’s still too big for a HTPC case. Smaller cases like the LC05 look acceptable, but still far from what users would expect from a respectable computer case manufacturer.

In conclusion I would advise against buying Silverstone computer cases, however Silverstone computer case accessories are much more optimized and competitive with other brands.

Silverstone NT01 for example is a very advanced passive cooler:

Based on five heatpipes and all copper construction it offers a very efficient solution for both AMD and Intel processors up to 89Watt TDP. More powerful processors are supported only if fans are mounted in the appropriate places and directions. Low-profile coolers such as the Silverstone NT07 provide a quiet solution for processors up to Core 2 Duo T7700. This is of course a laptop processor cooler that is usually used in very slim desktop computer cases.

A more interesting Silverstone computer case accessory is a liquid cooling system:

As the picture shows, it has a huge external component that houses the radiator responsible for getting rid of the heat. The water pump is also in the external unit so there’s more space left in the computer case for larger, high-performance components. Still, this water based cooling solution is not for overclockers, a good old Core 2 Extreme QX9650 overclocked to 3.8GHz raises the water temperature to 95 degrees Celsius at full load:

Silverstone designed a cooler for notebooks too. Combined with a port repeater/docking station:

It fits under the back side of a standard size notebook and connects to a single USB port and it also needs an external power supply, but it’s not a problem if you consider the fact that docking stations are for desktop use, not on the road.

Silverstone TS03 is a desktop computer accessory that permits the installation of a laptop hard drive and optical drive in a single 5.25” bay.

Small computer cases that have only one internal hard drive bay and one external 5.25” bay welcome this solution, because it offers extra removable storage and a more quiet optical drive that consume far less power than one single 5.25” or 3.5” device.