Aerocool DS (Dead Silence) Case Review

Features
By Kai Tubbesing
published

Aerocool, a company best known for its flashy tower-style gaming cases, surprised us with a small and well-thought-out cube-shaped chassis with space for tall CPU coolers and long graphics cards, in spite of its size. It comes in six color combinations.

Benchmark Setup And Conditions

Aerocool's Dead Silence is designed to offer ample cooling performance in its small package, so we chose the components to test its mettle accordingly. Given a handful of fairly modern parts, this setup should tell us whether the chassis with two slow-spinning fans works, or if it needs some supplementary help.

We're generating a couple of measurements: first with the closed top cover and then with the open mesh panel. Installing two optional fans would facilitate even better cooling performance, but we were more curious about what the case can do stock. Consequently, we stuck with the two stock fans.

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Gaming System
ProcessorIntel Core i5-2500K (Sandy Bridge)
CPU CoolerThermalright Macho HR-02 SE at Maximum RPM
MotherboardAsus P8H61-M Pro
Memory1 x 4 GB G.Skill DDR3-1333 F3-1333C9S-4GNS
Graphics CardHIS Radeon HD 7950 IceQ
Hard DrivesIntel SSD 330 180 GB (System Drive)
Samsung HD322GJ (Data Drive)
Power SupplyCooler Master V700, 700 W
Operating SystemWindows 7 Home Premium, 64 Bit

The HIS graphics card we're using is actually a best-case for Aerocool, since it exhausts waste heat out of its rear slot instead of circulating it through the case like so many other boards. Intel's SSD doesn't have a temperature sensor, leaving us with just the disk drive's sensor.

We load the system using a combination of Prime95 (Small FTTs) and MSI Kombustor (Fractal Flame), recording temperatures after 60 minutes.

Kai Tubbesing
36 Comments Comment from the forums
  • Protino
    So organized and neat..!
    Reply
  • DarkSable
    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.
    Reply
  • slyu9213
    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.
    Reply
  • DarkSable
    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.)
    Reply
  • chumly
    Can you guys take a thermal reading at the point between the motherboard and PSU when the system is at load please?
    Reply
  • Crashman
    11743015 said:
    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.
    Reply
  • DarkSable
    11743356 said:
    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.

    Reply
  • Crashman
    11743462 said:
    11743356 said:
    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"

    Reply
  • Myrkvidr
    I would have compared the DS to the Prodigy, but unfortunately I never received one of the Bitfenix ITS-Cases for testing...
    Reply
  • DarkSable
    11743552 said:
    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
    Reply