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Cooling And Dust Protection

Aerocool DS (Dead Silence) Case Review
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The Dead Silence's basic design centers on a two-chamber approach. The top level houses the motherboard, with all of its heat-generating components plugged into it, while the bottom is reserved for the power supply and storage.

Armed with a 200 mm intake fan and 120 mm exhaust, the Dead Silence includes the accessories needed to keep enthusiast-class hardware cool in a purposely cramped space. The larger front fan promises a nice, wide airflow that should push air across most of the installed components. As mentioned, both fans spin slowly, and the benchmarks will show if they're powerful enough to keep up with a high-end gaming system. Both fans are compatible with three- and four-pin power connectors.

Since the case features smooth, unbroken surfaces, air enters via slits cut into the front cover's sides. You can see them in the shot below. These go almost all the way around the front, from one side of the top cover all the way to the bottom, over to the other side, and all the way up again to the top.

Unfortunately, the case doesn’t have a dust filter covering the front fan, even though there would have been enough space for it. We can only hope that fewer dust particles will enter, compared to cases with lots of mesh up front, due to the placement of those small slits.

The power supply's air intake does feature a dust filter, which can easily be accessed by pulling it out of the back of the case.

The Dead Silence can be optionally equipped for airflow through the case's top panel. Removing that cover reveals space to install two 120 or 140 mm fans.

In order for the optional fans to do their work, the Dead Silence's top cover is replaced with one that features openings and a dust filter. This option comes in handy as you start stepping up to hotter hardware that dissipates power inelegantly (AMD's Radeon HD 7990 and Nvidia's GeForce GTX 690 are good examples).

Water Cooling

You can also use the space below that optional mesh top to house a 240 mm radiator for water cooling. First, the 5.25” and 3.5” external drive cages, which are held in place by screws, need to be taken out. From there, you even have enough space for a radiator sandwiched by fans. And the motherboard is installed horizontally, not vertically, so you won't have to worry about potential clearance issues.

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  • 0 Hide
    Protino , October 17, 2013 10:16 PM
    So organized and neat..!
  • 2 Hide
    DarkSable , October 17, 2013 10:30 PM
    Well damn. I really like this thing, but it's just too big for a mini-ITX rig, and there are a lot better options out there for micro-ATX.
  • 0 Hide
    slyu9213 , October 17, 2013 10:35 PM
    I agree kind of big and not sure how silent it is. But when I think of gaming I don't think of silent. Especially with some of the fans on the video cards.
  • 0 Hide
    DarkSable , October 17, 2013 10:36 PM
    But that's why you watercool. ;) 
    (Which this case doesn't have amazing support for. There aren't any good 200mm radiators to put in the front.)
  • 0 Hide
    chumly , October 17, 2013 11:58 PM
    Can you guys take a thermal reading at the point between the motherboard and PSU when the system is at load please?
  • 0 Hide
    Crashman , October 18, 2013 12:22 AM
    Quote:
    Well damn. I really like this thing, but it's just too big for a mini-ITX rig, and there are a lot better options out there for micro-ATX.

    Did anyone see any mention of the Bitfenix Prodigy? I used the Mini ITX version of this case in the June System Builder Marathon.
  • 0 Hide
    DarkSable , October 18, 2013 1:00 AM
    Quote:
    Did anyone see any mention of the Bitfenix Prodigy? I used the Mini ITX version of this case in the June System Builder Marathon.


    Hang on, I'm confused. Two points.

    1) I've used a prodigy before, and consider it huge for mini-ITX. It has its uses, but it's specialized... but no, I didn't see it mentioned in the article. What does that have to do with it?

    2) Wait, I'm confused. Is "this case" referring to the prodigy or to this dead silence case. Does the case reviewed in the article actually have two versions, a mini-itx and a matx? If so (and the matx isn't done as poorly as the matx prodiy), that would be awesome.

  • 0 Hide
    Crashman , October 18, 2013 1:36 AM
    Quote:
    Quote:
    Did anyone see any mention of the Bitfenix Prodigy? I used the Mini ITX version of this case in the June System Builder Marathon.


    Hang on, I'm confused. Two points.

    1) I've used a prodigy before, and consider it huge for mini-ITX. It has its uses, but it's specialized... but no, I didn't see it mentioned in the article. What does that have to do with it?

    2) Wait, I'm confused. Is "this case" referring to the prodigy or to this dead silence case. Does the case reviewed in the article actually have two versions, a mini-itx and a matx? If so (and the matx isn't done as poorly as the matx prodiy), that would be awesome.

    Now I'm confused? I just looked at the pictures and spotted a case structurally identical to my Mini ITX Prodigy, except for the added width. Does the different plastic really disguise it that well?

    Or are you thinking of the completely-revised Prodigy M, rather than the original Prodigy? Please take another look at the original Prodigy. If this case is better than the Prodigy M and I'd tested both, I'd have probably called the DS "What the Prodigy M should have been"

  • 0 Hide
    Myrkvidr , October 18, 2013 5:53 AM
    I would have compared the DS to the Prodigy, but unfortunately I never received one of the Bitfenix ITS-Cases for testing...
  • 0 Hide
    DarkSable , October 18, 2013 6:17 AM
    Quote:
    Now I'm confused? I just looked at the pictures and spotted a case structurally identical to my Mini ITX Prodigy, except for the added width. Does the different plastic really disguise it that well?

    Or are you thinking of the completely-revised Prodigy M, rather than the original Prodigy? Please take another look at the original Prodigy. If this case is better than the Prodigy M and I'd tested both, I'd have probably called the DS "What the Prodigy M should have been"


    Okay, gotcha, yes. It's another Prodigy spinoff, I agree. I still consider it large, though. :p 
  • 0 Hide
    OcelotRex , October 18, 2013 8:02 AM
    Quote:
    Quote:
    Now I'm confused? I just looked at the pictures and spotted a case structurally identical to my Mini ITX Prodigy, except for the added width. Does the different plastic really disguise it that well?

    Or are you thinking of the completely-revised Prodigy M, rather than the original Prodigy? Please take another look at the original Prodigy. If this case is better than the Prodigy M and I'd tested both, I'd have probably called the DS "What the Prodigy M should have been"


    Okay, gotcha, yes. It's another Prodigy spinoff, I agree. I still consider it large, though. :p 


    I am glad to see others in agreement with me about the Prodigy. When I was shopping for a HTPC/Gaming build I found the Prodigy (and the reviewed case) to be as large as good Micro-ATX cases like the Silverstone Temjin. I ended up with the PS07W instead; in purchasing the case I calculated the footprint and internal volume of the cases and found the Micro-ATX to have much more volume (to move air and cool) with the same footprint of the Prodigy. This case and the Prodigy are great cases but not SFF by any means.
  • 0 Hide
    Crashman , October 18, 2013 9:07 AM
    Quote:
    I am glad to see others in agreement with me about the Prodigy...This case and the Prodigy are great cases but not SFF by any means.
    That's true! Since SFF is supposed to mean Shuttle Form Factor (SMALL is NOT a Form Factor, since the term "form factor" means "standardized"). The closest thing open-architecture builders have to SSF is AMD's DTX Form Factor, so none of the available cases are SFF.

  • 0 Hide
    fozzie76 , October 18, 2013 9:32 AM
    Need a mini-itx version of this case. Go small or go home!
  • 0 Hide
    g-unit1111 , October 18, 2013 9:45 AM
    This is a very nice looking mATX case, but the color is a bit off-putting. Maybe if they could produce black, white, and gunmetal gray versions then I would be recommending this thing left and right. It's very clean looking, reminiscent of a mini Silverstone FT-02B.
  • 0 Hide
    jtd871 , October 18, 2013 9:51 AM
    Ya, I thought Prodigy clone, too, on first sight. I understand that the design puts the mobo flat (which has advantages), but this seems to create wasted space under the mobo tray. The design could possibly find better ways to utilize this space while lowering the overall height of the case.

    Also, in light of the skull-sweat and effort Steiger Dynamics demoed with their jam-packed mATX LEET watercooled beast featured in the recent Z87 article on the US site, this case looks a bit underwhelming, whether deserved or not.
  • 0 Hide
    gadgety , October 18, 2013 11:24 AM
    Quote:
    But that's why you watercool. ;) 
    (Which this case doesn't have amazing support for. There aren't any good 200mm radiators to put in the front.)


    What about the Phobya Extreme 200 mm? I have not checked the interior dimensions of this case to see if it fits. It's 240x200 mm.

  • 0 Hide
    Crashman , October 18, 2013 11:43 AM
    Quote:
    Need a mini-itx version of this case. Go small or go home!
    So you didn't read the June System Builder Marathon, and you didn't see the comment above about the Bitfenix Prodigy, and you haven't...OK, glad to see your internet is back up, hope you had a great summer!

  • 0 Hide
    Myrkvidr , October 18, 2013 12:45 PM
    @g-unit1111: Actually there ARE 6 different color combinations including a black AND a white version.
  • 0 Hide
    Onus , October 18, 2013 12:52 PM
    This case looks well-made, and I like the top port selection. The price looks reasonable too. The rear-fan noise could probably be addressed by replacing the fan screws with those silicone "nails" to isolate it from the case. If the width isn't a problem, I'll have to consider this one for future builds for people. I'd like to see a narrower mini-ITX version too. In the non-windowed version, I wonder if gluing a carpet-square on the inside of each side panel would make it even quieter.
  • 0 Hide
    OcelotRex , October 18, 2013 1:04 PM
    Quote:
    Quote:
    I am glad to see others in agreement with me about the Prodigy...This case and the Prodigy are great cases but not SFF by any means.
    That's true! Since SFF is supposed to mean Shuttle Form Factor (SMALL is NOT a Form Factor, since the term "form factor" means "standardized"). The closest thing open-architecture builders have to SSF is AMD's DTX Form Factor, so none of the available cases are SFF.



    Got me there! I would argue however that even though the term "small form factor" is not technically correct it has been adopted in the colloquial vernacular [threw in big words to look more smarter] of open tech message boards like Tom's as it is easily more easily understood than a more technically correct answer.

    What I should have said is that the Bit Fenix Prodigy takes up the same footprint (on the floor or on the desk) as certain Micro-ATX Mid Towers like the Silverstone Temjin with less internal volume for airflow and cable management. There's also the (more than likely) added cost of the Mini-ITX board over a MIcro-ATX board and the lack of AM3+ Mini-ITX boards out there.

    The new Aerocool solves the issue with the Prodigy by widening the whole chassis by only 5 more CM than the cases I pointed out in the above post. That shouldn't be too much wider than most Micro-ATX Mid Towers. It's an interesting product and the review was done well. I should have read it more thoroughly. ;) 
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