Silverstone ML04B build

I was on the hunt for a slim type HTPC case for an mATX motherboard that could also offer an optical drive, and space to add a 3.5 HDD or two (no more). I will say the choices are few and far between; it was slim pickings out there.

So I ended up ordering the Silverstone ML04B which is a new offering from Silverstone. I currently have a Silverstone LC10 which was fine when I had a full ATX board. I upgraded to a mATX setup, and I only keep a 60GB SSD in there. I keep my media on a NAS away from the HTPC. In the future I want to add another drive for live tv/PVR recordings, but that's another thread. But I feel like the LC10 is too big for what's inside. It's perfect for someone who wants a full ATX motherboard and multiple hard drives, but my minimalist setup doesn't require it.

Notable contenders were:

Lian-Li PC-C37 - I liked the looks, but it is hard to find a retailer. In fact I couldn't find a single one that sold the newer revision that has USB 3.0 slots (judging by the model pics). I probably would have ordered this if I could have found it. It's a little bit more expensive than the ML04B, almost twice the price, but it's still under $150.

OrigenAE S10 series - Absolutely beautiful. Unfortunately Perfect Home Theater is the only USA distributor, and they cost a pretty penny for a poor working man.

Moncaso 320 - Another premium design that would fit in any home theater. Like the S10 above, the price is a premium as well, it hasn't been updated with USB 3.0, and it's also hard to find.

I should have the case by the end of next week, and I'll post some pictures of how everything fits in there. The ML04B retails for the same cost as taking a girl out that you aren't too sure about; you don't want to go to Ruth's Chris Steak House because it may be a waste, but you still want to impress her in case something is there, and Olive Garden doesn't really cut it. I'm interested in seeing how this "entry level" case fits and functions.

Good choice! Fine looking case!

I have the Lian-Li PC-C35 which is pretty much the same as the C37 except it doesn't take a full ATX PSU and doesn't have the ugly drive cover the C37 uses. I had it for over 5 years now and there's just no way I'm replacing it anytime soon. But yeah, they are pretty hard to find them in retail and when you do find them, they still are quite expensive.

That looks like it'll be a nice case!

Side note: You have a taste for expensive girls... Mine's happy with Applebee's

Got my case in today thanks to the warehouse being so close. Pictures coming tomorrow

Looking forward to seeing some pictures, I've considered that case, very clean looking.

Here we go!

This case is very light. It's steel with a brushed aluminum fascia. The steel is relatively thin on this, and it can flex easily while you are handling it during a build with the support rod not attached. Fitting in the PSU took a few seconds longer than usual since the metal was so thin it would flex and dis-align the screw holes.



Adequate ventilation on the right side. If you choose you can add up to 4 80mm fans here.


The backside. Half height only You can see the bottom ventilation for PSUs.


Some passive ventilation on the left side.


So I know at this price corners were cut, and I was ok with the steel being thin, but a plastic key to me is unacceptable especially since they only provided one. I would have been ok with the standard lock and key. This is just begging to be lost or thrown away or broken.


Opening her up, you got your 5.25 bay, 2 USB3 ports, audio ports, and the power and reset button. The door uses a magnet to keep it closed when it's not locked. It's a fairly weak one but it does the job.


So you see here the two LEDs for HDD and power. They are merged into one with the cover on. I'm not sure if the HDD is a different color or not; after assembly my HDD light didn't come on so I'm sure I got the polarity wrong on it and I haven't gone back and fixed it yet. Also note that you can push that tab down, and that prevents you from pushing the power button with the cover up. Smart feature! This can prevent rugrats from pushing buttons by mistake.


I just wanted to point this out; the top cover is pretty awkward. It's difficult to get a good grasp on it to remove and restore it on the case correctly.


Silverstone includes a fan filter that is magnetized. You can use it for the top ventilation, which lines up good with my motherboard and CPU.


Alternatively if you never want to open the case again, you could stick it on the outside.


So here is the inside. The black plastic piece is your hard drive adapter for 2.5 or 3.5 hard drives. You can also put another hard drive 3.5in hard drive underneath the 5.25 bay. If you forego a DVD drive, you can mount another 3.5in or 2.5in drive there as well. Included are rubber grommets to dampen the hard drive vibration if you decide to put one there. So theoretically you have a max of three 3.5in drives. The cable length for the front headers are generous. I would say almost too generous, but they are manageable. You can also see raised portions of the bottom, which allow you to use zip or cable ties for wire management.


The bottom. Filter for the PSU is screwed in here. You can see Silverstone included the "hi-fi" style legs in the front, and raised rubber feet in the rear.


Fortunately this came in today for eBay for my GT 520.


Here is a comparison next to the Silverstone LC10. The LC10 is supports ATX motherboards, full height cards, and twice the hard drives.


Getting started with the installation

System:
Intel DH77EB
Pentium G630
2x2GB DDR3 1333 (g.skill)
nVidia GT 520 w/ low profile bracket installed
Silverstone ST50F-P 500w PSU with optional short PP05 sleeved cables
OCZ Agility 3 60GB
LG BD/DVD rewriter



Things are going to be tight. Silverstone recommends 140mm PSUs or shorter. You can see why.


Another cost cutting feature. The provided screws to use to install an SSD to the bracket just barely protrude from the bracket. I was only able to get 3 out of 4 screws in. An extra mm wouldn't hurt here.


On my setup here, the USB 3.0 connector is right next to the HDD bracket. Some finagling is required here with that cable as well as the ATX cable. YMMV depending on your set up.



These cables here are getting very comfortable. Right angle SATA cables and short power connectors are a must.




Overall installation was very straight forward. I would recommend getting everything in play first before you try to manage the optical drive in there. With the short cable set I didn't have much wire to hide. The intel stock cooler fits perfect. The recommended height of the cooler is 70mm so you are limited in the aftermarket cooling options. My CPU runs at 1.6ghz most of the time anyway and stays pretty cool so I didn't put any 80mm fans along side. Time will tell if I need them or not.



Buttoned up and ready to go. If you think that side is uneven it is. I forgot to reseat before I took the picture; it sits flush like it is supposed to.


In action. Looking good there guy Also with the cover on the blue LED is not bright at all. Much much better than the LC10, where it's really bright.


My feelings on the case:

At the price point I think it'a solid choice. I think the plastic key was a let down. The build quality was ok; like I mentioned before the steel is relatively thin so flex can be an issue while installing things like the PSU. Tolerances and QA seemed to be a little low; all of my standoffs came pre installed except one, and the one they provided in the screw bag needed a different size screw. The screw bag also came with just 1 thumbscrew which I'm not sure what it's for. The HDD bracket and screws was a let down.

That said, with all the components it still doesn't weigh that much, and it will look good in any entertainment center or A/V tower. Overall I'm happy with it; I was looking for a slim case that could hold a full size optical drive and minimal drives, and that's what this case delivered.

Nice detailed pictures and review
End product looks good on the stand with your other components
There are areas that are a bit weak with the case, gives me something to think about...Thanks!

No problem m715. I really do like the fact of how compact it is, yet you can fit so much inside. I can add a PCIE-x1 cable card like the InfiniTV 4 with the low-profile bracket and a 2TB hard drive for recording if I wanted to.

Nice case! I like the size of it and the fact it has expansion slots on the back.

The size is nice. The depth is also shorter than the LC10, which I forgot to mention.

I fixed the HDD LED, it shines red. Without the cover on those lights are bright as all hell. Fortunately with the cover up it's a nice cool dim that is easy on the eyes at night. I saw a video review where the guy said there is an adjustable dimmer on them. I don't remember seeing it but I didn't go out of my way to look.

The CPU stays around 36C and the video card gets up to around 54C. I'm happy with that

Nice HTPC , at some point down the road I plan on building one . For now the is third on the list of upgrades ( want new gfx card then new nas server) I have been using a old laptop as mine .

It looks like if you take a knife to the bracket for the hdd that your usb3 plug would fit better .

If it was me, I would just remove the whole bracket and stick the SSD under the ODD. It would make for a less cluttered inside. That bracket is ugly as hell and it seems it is more a problem than anything else.

dostov said:

If it was me, I would just remove the whole bracket and stick the SSD under the ODD. It would make for a less cluttered inside. That bracket is ugly as hell and it seems it is more a problem than anything else.

Click to expand...

If I have to re-open it again I'll think about it. I have a spare 3.5-->2.5 adapter or two around.

I've got the ML03, and didn't use that crappy plastic HDD holder, I found a cheap slot load BD drive and used this
http://www.silverstonetek.com/product.php?pid=326&area=en

Mounted my SSD and BD drive on that, even with the adapter for the BD drive the PSU didnt really get in the way too bad for cabling.

They are great cases, but I hate having to open it up, feels like the more you do, the worse the case will get with that terrible design of the panel.

cullam3n said:

I saw a video review where the guy said there is an adjustable dimmer on them. I don't remember seeing it but I didn't go out of my way to look.

Click to expand...

Forgot about this, if you look here



That little square piece under the LEDs actually moves, so you can have it block off some of the light. Definitely a for that, it makes night viewing so much easier on the eyes. In contrast the LC10 LEDs are bright as the sun at night time if you are directly looking at it.

Hmmm. I have used a number of the ML03B cases, never realized they had one with a front cover. Otherwise they look identical.

Power supply choice is critical as you probably noticed. I have one stuffed w/ an i5-760, 2x4TB 7,200 rpm 'recorded TV' drives an SSD boot drive and an ATI HD6670. With 3x80mm fans running at about 700rpm everything stays cool. It is not pretty inside, but it all fits.

In many of my builds with that case, I leave out the black plastic drive mount. With the Asus Grypon board in particular, the USB3 header is under that plastic piece and the 2 foot USB3 cable to the front of the case will not clear it.

Great thread, great build cullam3n!

Love the superclean look of that case! Also like the pc-c37 a lot. It reminds me of the antec fusion remote but without the display. Still not sure why an improved fusion remote-like box isn't out there, I'll be hanging on to my pair for a while. I figured compact, cheap, color screen ones with usb3 would be widely available by now. Too niche a market I guess

The Origen is pretty sweet but like you said...pricey.

Thanks for the nice update on some of the current htpc cases!

Congrats on the new build!

Thanks! It's been about 2 months and I'm pretty happy about the case. I particularly like the LED dimming feature - makes night viewing pleasant on the eyes.

I haven't opened it up since I built it, but I might try taking the black mount out next time I do. I can use an adapter and mount it underneath the optical drive.

Here's another review of the ML04 - http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=article&item=silverstone_milo_ml04&num=1

And a bad cellphone pic of my current setup

Had a few 80mm quiet fans around so I stuck one in. Still not very audible on the couch from the tv stand.



Also got a Noctua heatsink for my other HTPC (the LC10 a previous picture here), and put two more quiet 80mm fans in the intake bays. This runs pretty quiet too, even while under load during gaming. I think my PS3 with a disc in playing a game is louder from where I'm sitting.

That's a sexy little case, I'd take it to Ruth's steak house!