SilverStone PS07 mATX Case Review

SilverStone is considered by many PC enthusiasts to be in the top tier of case manufacturers from the quality and aesthetic appeal of their designs. Today, we’ll be having a look at a case from SilverStone’s Precision line of cases, which is described as high-value tower chassis. The PS07 is the first mATX case in the Precision line and is geared toward a balance between size and functionality.

Specifications & Features

(Courtesy of SilverStone)

*Power supply and optical drive’s combined allowable total length is 399 mm including connectors, which may take up additional 20 mm. So, we suggest a maximum length for PSU of 180 mm.

Features

• Dual 120 mm silent fan
• Removable motherboard tray and top panel
• Quick access filters to prevent dust buildup
• Convenient wire and cable routing pathways
• Adjustable holder for large CPU coolers and extra-long card support rack
• Motherboard back plate opening for quick CPU cooler assembly
• Independent airflow channel for power supply
• Accommodate up to six 3.5″ hard drives

Packaging & Accessories

The packaging was standard case packaging consisting of two molded Styrofoam caps covering the front and back ends of the PS07. The box isn’t flashy, it’s just printed cardboard showcasing the PS07 and its features. On the front of the box, we have the front view of the PS07 and the list of features from the previous section. On the back side, there’s a more detailed view of the case’s features along with a side view of the case with the side panel removed. Finally, on the side of the case, is a list of the PS07 specifications.

The accessories include a VERY detailed user manual, four zip ties, case badge, 5.25″ to 3.5″ face plate, 5.25″ to 3.5″ mount adapter, rubber pad for GPU support, USB3.0 to USB2.0 adapter, and all the needed screws for component installation. The USB3.0 to USB2.0 adapter is good to see so that the front USB ports can be used by those without an internal USB3.0 motherboard header. Including a case badge with a case is kind of odd to me since “SilverStone” is already written on the case.

Exterior

The exterior of the PS07 is sleek and streamlined. There aren’t a lot of angles and different surface depths, it’s a “box” with rather smooth and flat sides. The finish is matte black which helps hide fingerprints and dust.

On to the details of the front of the case. The front panel I/O and power/reset switches are on the left edge of the case. The layout makes it look like this case would be a good candidate to sit on it’s side on top of your desk rather than standing beside or under a desk if you prefer that setup. The 5.25″ bay covers are easily removed by pressing the button on the side of the case which releases one side of the cover for removal. You can also see the side vents that are roughly 140 x 15 mm to allow air to get to the filtered front intake fans that are hidden behind the front door.

The front filter is one larger filter that covers both 120 mm fans, and it’s easily removable. The filter opens just as the front door does and then the filter can be pulled out. One thing I noticed about the front filter is that it has a bowed design which gets the filter away from the fan while preventing dust from skipping the filter. The bow helps reduce noise that would be caused by resistance if the filter was right up against the fan.

Now on to the back of the case, and no, I don’t have the case upside down. The back looks exactly like it would if I took a typical case and turned it upside down. What this means is that the PSU is mounted up top and the motherboard is inverted, which means the right side panel needs to be removed to access your components. A couple things to notice is the interesting mounting spot for SilverStone’s Clear CMOS switch and the expansion slot mounts are outside of the case with a cover over them.

On the top of the case there is a fan filter for the PSU. The filter is held in place by a recessed fan grill and magnets on the corners of the filter. The filter is easily removable, and the only concern I have is if the filter will end up scratching the surface of the case after extended use.

On the bottom, we have four rubber feet and a couple previews of internal features.

Taking a closer look, we have the mounting and adjustment for the CPU cooler support system and mounting holes for a 2.5″ HDD/SSD. SilverStone made sure to make their CPU support system horizontally adjustable since the socket location on motherboards is not standard. The two screws used in the small holes are what’s holding the CPU cooler support system to the bottom of the case and the location can be adjusted in a range of 50 mm in five 10 mm increments.

Interior

First, a couple overall interior shots. From the right side  you can basically see all of the features, and it looks like the components will fit snugly into the PS07. From the left side you can see the cable management holes and the large tray cutout for allowing installation of CPU coolers without removing the motherboard. Looking at the second picture below, in the top left above the motherboard tray, there is an indention spot for any extra PSU wires for those of you with non-modular power supplies. I’d also like to point out that the thumbscrews that hold the side panels in place have rubber washers on them so that they don’t scratch the finish on the side panels.

Here’s a close up of the CPU cooler support. I’ve never had problems with any large tower heatsinks bending a motherboard, but I haven’t used heatsinks like the TRUE Cu or dual-tower style heatsinks like the NH-D14 or Silver Arrow. The support definitely has potential for those using the very large heatsinks.

The hard drives have two cages, one which holds up to four 3.5″ hard drives and one that holds one 3.5″ hard drive. If you take a closer look at the front fans in relation to the HDD cages, then you’ll notice that HDD cages are not in the center of the case. What this does is allow air to blow through the hard drives while also allowing air to bypass the HDDs and get to the motherboard, RAM, GPU, etc. The larger four-drive cage can be removed completely by unscrewing a couple screws that are attached to the lower one-drive cage.

A close up of the four-drive HDD cage shows a spot to loop a zip tie for wire management and the plastic GPU support for large GPUs. The GPU support takes up most of the top of the cage. The GPU support can be used as is with GPUs that have back plates, but if the GPU doesn’t have a back plate, then the included rubber pad may be needed to give the support some extra height.

Next we have a single 3.5″ drive cage that can also be removed by four screws on the underside of the case. There is “FDD” printed on the cage showing the floppy drive mounting holes, which means if you mounted a FDD in this cage it wouldn’t be accessible unless to side panel is removed…This seems rather pointless to me. The TJ08-E, actually has access to its drive cage like this from the front, based on pics from the TJ08-E product page. However, the PS07 doesn’t have access like the TJ08-E.

The motherboard tray is removable, which should make installing a motherboard in such a tight space much less of a hassle. The tray is held in place by three screws, one on the back of the case and two inside the case that accessed from the back side of the tray. Once those screws are removed, the tray slides toward the front of the case and can be lifted out.

Here we have the PSU mounting location up top and the cable management hole to route cables behind the motherboard tray. Speaking of cable routing behind the motherboard, there’s ~25 mm worth of space behind the motherboard tray for all the cables.

Component Installation

Motherboard installation was VERY simple thanks to the removable tray. The back plate cutout in the tray is plenty big, allowing easy access to CPU cooler back plates. You’ll notice that there aren’t any grommets on the cable management hole, but the cutouts in the tray are not sharp, the metal is folded over to give the holes smooth edges.

The 5.25″ optical disk drive and PSU were easy to install as well. The 5.25″ ODD uses the standard installation by going in from the front and then being mounted with screws on both sides. The PSU slides into the top and sits on lips on the side of the case and screws into the back of the case. The cable management hole is located perfectly, just in front of the PSU.

Installing my 3.5″ HDD and 2.5″ SSD went smoothly, and didn’t take up much space at all. The 2.5″ drive mounted directly to the bottom of the case, and the 3.5″ drive went into the single-drive cage. The hard drive cage was then installed into the case, over the top of the 2.5″ drive. The hard drive cage has a perfectly placed cutout for the SATA power and data connector of the 2.5″ drive.

To install the GPU, I just had to remove the expansion slot mount cover on the back of the case. The GPU I used is only 8.5″ long, but much larger GPUs up to 13.5″ can be used. Also, when a larger GPU is installed, the HDD cage acts as a support to keep the end from slumping downward. If the large GPU has a backplate which covers the whole PCB, then all you have to do is install the card and it will rest on the plastic rectangle on top of the HDD cage. If the card doesn’t have a full PCB backplate, then the rubber rectangle included in the accessories can be placed on top of the plastic rectangle to give it a little more height to support the GPU.

The CPU cooler support can be adjusted from underneath the case, so all I had to do was lay it on its side, adjust the support, and tighten it in place. I highly doubt it’s needed for the Venomous X, but a cooler like the TRUE Cu, which weighs in at 4 lbs (1900 g), could make use of this support.

Modding in Mind

With there being two 120 mm intake fans in the front of the PS07, it made me think about a possible front 2×120 radiator fitting in the front. So, I used my Swiftech MCR220 to see if it could be mounted. The mounting holes seem to line up well, but the radiator can’t sit flush with the front without drilling. With a radiator installed, it frees up space at the bottom of the case for the pump or pump/res combo. A fill line and could be routed straight up between the PSU and ODD for access by a fill port by drilling a hole in the top panel of the case.

The radiator doesn’t quite sit flush with the front of the case because of a rivet in the bottom. The middle rivet could probably be drilled out since there are two other rivets holding the same pieces together. Another option without drilling would be to use some sort of spacers/washers between the radiator and the front mounting holes.

With the 2×120 radiator installed, the 2.5″ SSD can still be installed in the bottom of the case with JUST enough room. The HDD cages cannot be installed when the radiator is present, so if you need another HDD/SSD installed, then you’ll have to be creative. I’m thinking the CPU cooler support could be removed and a drive could be mounted to some of the adjustment holes in the bottom of the case. Access to the bottom 5.25″ drive bay will be limited with a 2×120 mm rad installed, but it could be possible to use it for something without much depth such as a fan controller. The radiator could always be mounted further away from the front of the case as well, depending on the length of screws used. For example, I could pull the radiator towards the inside of the case using the currently installed screws, put a nut between the radiator and the screw head, then tighten the nut down towards the front of the case to hold the rad in place.

Conclusion

The SilverStone PS07 was a breeze to work with, even though there weren’t any “tool-less” features. All the of the components installed seamlessly without any issues. The clearance for large GPUs and the support on the HDD cage to keep them from sagging is great to see in such a small case. The PS07 looks to be designed for fitting all your components in as small of a space as possible, while maintaining good airflow and cable management. The PS07 can support a 2×120 mm radiator in the front with some ingenuity, and a 1×120 would probably fit on the exhaust vent as well. So, this case could be an option for those that like small systems and the benefit of a custom water loop. Personally, I think the PS07 could house a really nice mATX water cooled system with some elbow grease, which could result in some small yet very powerful systems.

There’s only one thing I noticed that could be a possible issue with the PS07:  If the four-drive HDD cage is used, then it may prevent a fan from being installed on the left side of a tower heatsink since the HDDs would stick out pretty far. However, when using a mATX this small, one should expect the components to fit snugly into the case. So, sometimes sacrifices have to be made, and using a pull only fan on the heatsink isn’t a deal breaker, in my opinion.

At $78.99, I believe the PS07 is a great case for the money if one is looking for a very compact case with many useful features without compromising airflow and cable management. I would definitely recommend this case for mATX users.

– Matt T. Green (MattNo5ss)