Component Installation
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.
