Page 4 - Installation and Conclusion
Installation was a success in general. There is ample room for many different components, and my fairly simple build was a quick transplant from my previous case. Even with a RTX 3070 taking up much of the space inside, it easily fit.
Unfortunately, there are a couple of annoying parts to this build. First of all, the rubber grommets easily fall out. Simply trying to push my 24-pin connector through them proved to be a challenge, since the size of the connector would force the grommets out, unless I held them in place. Secondly, the front I/O connectors were too short to be routed through the basement cover hole. To ensure they reach the opposite side of the motherboard, they have to fit through the lowest rubber grommet instead. Another cable management headache was the cutout for the CPU power cable. This cutout is simply too small to easily move the cable through. The connector piece has to be precisely finessed to get the cable through, which is annoying. Finally, the expansion slot covers are challenging. To remove two, you have to remove what holds them all in place. A small bump brings them all crashing down. There should have been individual screws for each slot instead. Unfortunately, these were the same issues I had previously, and should have been improved with this version's refresh.
The back of the case has 25mm room of space for cables. Most of the cable management capabilities is present to ensure all the cables get tied down well. There are plenty of loops to tie each cable down. With the drive cages down below, it does limit how much room is present to keep cables tucked away. Particularly, if you have a longer PSU, it will be more of a challenge to keep the cables tucked away properly. As mentioned previously, the rubber grommets, unfortunately, can be easily pushed out, and the front I/O cables are not long enough to be properly routed through the basement cover. Overall, the cable management capabilities are adequate, but there is room for improvement.
Overall, the final look of the SilverStone KL07E is clean. There are no fancy RGB LED lights shining through. Rather, the final look is discreet, which is part of the aim for the KL07E. The case also aims for silence in its performance. The sound dampening material is meant to absorb the usual fan noise from the computer, which the KL07E excels at. Where 10 is loud and 0 is silent, the SilverStone KL07E came in at a subjective 2.0/10. Even under higher loads with faster spinning fans, the case kept its quiet operation, reaching around a 3.0/10 sound level. One drawback of the case is its weight, which is a result of the heavier sound deadening material. The case is significantly heavier than the Kublai KL07, which measured in at 7.7kg, while the KL07E comes in at 9.23kg. I have to move my computer around frequently, so the increase is very noticeable. If your case is fairly static, this is likely a non-issue.
-----------------------------------------
As much as there are many similarities to the SilverStone Kublai KL07, the KL07E provides a few key changes. The updated asphalt sound dampening material provides improved quiet operation. The build quality in general is good with steel construction and featuring a sleek and subdued design. The KL07E provides a wide range of cooling options for whichever option best suits you. Its wide-open interior further allows for large graphics cards or other big components. There is ample room for different storage options, including 3.5'' and 2.5'' drives. Building in the KL07E is a smooth process in general. There is enough room for cable management, measuring in at 25mm, but note the sound dampening material, although thin, does impinge on the space in the back. I have a few recommendations for improvement as well. First of all, the expansion slot design is cumbersome and can easily fall out if you are not careful. Instead, you will require a careful dance of fitting them all in and locking them together. Cutouts along the top of the motherboard tray are barely large enough for the CPU power cable to fit through. As well, the rubber grommets can easily fall out if you are not careful with how cables are routed through them. The drive cages also reduce space for cables in the power supply area, which can become a bit of an issue. I would have expected that the newer version would have some quality-of-life improvements over the previous one, not simply in the sound dampening material. At the time of the review, the SilverStone KL07E has a price of $130. While it is still a decent case in accomplishing noise suppression, I feel like the company could have fixed a few more issues from the KL07 to make the KL07E a more considerable improvement over the original.
SilverStone provided this product to APH Networks for the purpose of evaluation.
APH Networks Review Focus Summary:
7/10 means Great product with many advantages and certain insignificant drawbacks, but should be considered before purchasing.
6/10 means A product with its advantages, but drawbacks should not be ignored before purchasing.
-- Final APH Networks Numeric Rating is 6.7/10
Please note that the APH Networks Numeric Rating system is based off our proprietary guidelines in the Review Focus, and should not be compared to other publications.
The SilverStone KL07E ATX computer case provides excellent sound dampening, but missed out on an opportunity to improve on in some quality-of-life areas compared to the original KL07.
Page Index
1. Introduction, Packaging, Specifications
2. Physical Look - Outside
3. Physical Look - Inside
4. Installation and Conclusion
