Page 4 - Installation and Conclusion
As expected by now, you should know my first step is to install the power supply at the bottom of the SilverStone Lucid LD03. The unit in question is the recently reviewed FSP Dagger Pro 650W. Removing the metal bracket with a screwdriver, I mounted this SFX power supply and put the bracket back into the case. As you can see, even with the necessary installed cables, it does not take up too much room. SilverStone does again mention we can use the longer SFX-L size, though they do not recommend any unit longer than 130cm. After plugging in the modular cables, I routed them to the necessary areas and continued with my installation process.
Next, I mounted the Gigabyte GA-Z170N-Gaming 5 motherboard in, which is holding an Intel Core i5-6600K under a CRYORIG C7. The RAM on the motherboard is the Patriot Viper Elite PC4-24000 2x8GB. As we can see, the CRYORIG C7 is a very short processor cooler at 47mm, but SilverStone this case can handle a cooler up to 190mm tall, which is a pretty big difference. For your reference, coolers like the Noctua NH-U12A should easily fit in this case, as it sits with a height of 158mm. If this is not your thing, you can also install an all-in-one cooler and mount it to the bottom, though this is limited to 120mm radiators. At this point, I also mounted the EVGA GeForce GTX 760 in this case, which is quite a short card compared to this case. SilverStone mentions dual-slot video cards up to 309mm can fit here, as long as they are not wider than 167mm.
On the Lucid LD03 horizontal drive bracket, I installed a Gigabyte UD PRO 256GB SSD and finished up my cabling. Overall, installation was pretty straightforward. Much like last week's mITX case, the Lucid LD03 does not have too much of a routing space for excess cables, but this side area does provide an area to keep the cables out of the way. I ended up using an included cable tie to wrap all the excess cables together too, which was helpful. SilverStone also provided a fan header splitter for the two included fans, which was helpful. I would have liked to still see some tie points to anchor this excess. Otherwise, I enjoyed building in the Lucid LD03, even if it meant working in smaller spaces.
With everything installed in place, I hit the square power button on the SilverStone Lucid LD03 and the blue ring LED illuminated to life. Once again, you can see how dark the tint on the case is, making it near impossible to see inside unless there are LEDs within the enclosure. According to the standard APH Networks sound scale, where 0 is silence and 10 is loud, the SilverStone Lucid LD03 is a 3.5/10 under full load. The two 120mm fans included in the Lucid LD03 are average, as you can slightly hear them spinning about, but they keep relatively quiet in normal operation. I would have liked to see some SilverStone PWM fans included here instead of these OEM ones, but I guess these will have to do.
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I would be lying if I said the SilverStone Lucid LD03 was typical from the start, but it also shares in many elements that are akin to great cases. Its design itself is not what we would call conventional, but it still keeps the premium build quality we have come to enjoy from SilverStone cases. The materials used on the Lucid LD03 are quite good, making for a very solid construction. The glass panels are also held on ingeniously and does not require any tools to get inside. Internally, we have support for larger components like graphics cards, CPU heatsinks, and even room for AIO coolers. Drive storage implementation is acceptable with the case being able to hold two drives. Finally, installation was pretty smooth with all of these clearances and more than sufficient spacing for cabling. If there were some areas I would look at for improvements, it would be to increase the compatibility of power supplies to the standard ATX size and to add some cable management solution, even if it just means some cable tie points. I also would have liked to see some better quality, SilverStone fans and a USB Type-C header at the top. Overall, the SilverStone Lucid LD03 still successfully delivers on holding a mini ITX build in style. At press time, the SilverStone Lucid LD03 will force you to shell out $160 USD. It is true there are more cost-effective cases out there, but users that are willing to pay this premium for the Lucid LD03 will be more than happy with its excellent build, quality materials, and sensible layout.
SilverStone provided this product to APH Networks for the purpose of evaluation.
APH Review Focus Summary:
8/10 means Definitely a very good product with drawbacks that are not likely going to matter to the end user.
7/10 means Great product with many advantages and certain insignificant drawbacks; but should be considered before purchasing.
-- Final APH Numeric Rating is 7.6/10
Please note that the APH Numeric Rating system is based off our proprietary guidelines in the Review Focus, and should not be compared to other sites.
The SilverStone Lucid LD03 is an atypical mini ITX case that fully delivers on the image of build quality and premium design.
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Page Index
1. Introduction, Packaging, Specifications
2. Physical Look - Outside
3. Physical Look - Inside
4. Installation and Conclusion
