PSU Installation and Cable Routing
Four tall rubber feet decouple the PSU from the bottom of the case. There’s no such protection between the power supply and back of the case, but this really shouldn't be an issue.
There are 19 cm of space available for the PSU and its cables. The Cooler Master V700 we used is 17 cm-long. Factor in its modular cables, and we were looking at a tight fit. Removing the 3.5” drive cage wasn't an option, since the side closest to the power supply doubles as part of the motherboard tray.
Even in a small case like Aerocool's Dead Silence, cable management is possible. There are openings cut into the motherboard tray, as well as spaces between the edges of the tray and the side panels. You can use those cut-outs to route leads from the bottom level to the top.
Optical Drives and Hard Drives
There’s one bay each for externally-facing 5.25” and 3.5” drives. Remove the covers by pushing them out the front and secure your drives with screws.
The 3.5” drive cage has a nice touch in that the sledge slightly decouples storage devices from the sides. To install a hard drive, remove the sledge, push its sides apart, place your disk onto it, and push the sides back together. Smaller 2.5” drives work too; screw them onto the sledge from the bottom. They won't enjoy the same decoupling, but if they're SSDs, they don't need that anyway.
It’s worth noting that the hard drive sledges sit very tightly in place once you slide them back into the case with a drive installed.
There's another cage specifically for 2.5" drives next to the PSU. Installation requires four screws that are attached with decoupling rubber rings and slid into the cage. It's not as secure as the 3.5" drive cage, but still plenty sufficient for SSDs.
Motherboard, Graphics Card, and CPU Cooler
As with any other case, you need to screw some spacers into the tray before installing a motherboard. Aerocool gives you a small tool for this (though you might not need it, thanks to the Dead Silence's clean threads). Since the case's top cover is removable, all of the motherboard screws are easily accessible with a long screwdriver.
Aerocool's Dead Silence is compatible with CPU heat sinks up to 19 cm-tall thanks to the motherboard's horizontal position. In other words, we'd expect any modern cooler to fit in the small cube-shaped case.
Expansion card installation is tool-less. On the back of the case, a rail holds the four mesh slot covers in place. The rail, in turn, is held secured by a thumb screw.
Graphics cards up to 25 cm-long fit without any modifications. Wider cards might necessitate removing the 3.5” external drive cage, though.














(Which this case doesn't have amazing support for. There aren't any good 200mm radiators to put in the front.)
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.
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.
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"
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.
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.
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.
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.
(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.
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.