Page 2 – Physical Look – Outside
Like other gaming cases on the market, the particular version of Precision PS14-E I am reviewing today has a tempered glass side panel. The use of tempered glass allows you to show all your RGB goodies in the case, but it can also be messy if you leave fingerprints on it. The other side panel is made out of steel with a matte black finish. It is less likely to show any fingerprints on the steel side panel, but you probably will not see this side as often. To keep the tempered side glass clean, it is a good idea to have some cloth around, so you can confidently show off your computer to your friends. Moving to the front of the case, the front panel has two finishes. On the left side, the panel features a brushed aluminum finish, while on the right side, it has glossy finish. The two finishes are divided by three vertical lines, and the left brushed aluminum finish is slightly wider than the right glossy finish. I believe this design is inherited from the PS14. The difference is, for the PS14, the front panel features a inward bend, while the PS14-E has a flat front panel. I would say the PS14-E has a more mature design than the PS14, since it looks more compact and clean. Surprisingly, there is one opening on the front panel for an internal 5.25" drive, which means internal CD/DVD drives can be installed. On the top, PS14-E features an opening for top-mount fans and radiator. To prevent the dust from getting in, a removable dust filter is provided on top of the PS14-E. This is a nice improvement over the PS14, since the top panel of PS14 is just a solid piece of steel. The dimensions of the PS14-E are 210 mm in width, 469 mm in height, and 438 mm in depth. The PS14-E is slightly taller but considerably shallower than the PS14. The difference in depth shows PS14-E is a redesigned chassis compared with original PS14, which is good since it is not just a facelift version of the older product.
A power switch, restart switch, two USB 3.1 ports, and the audio/microphone jacks are located on the edges of the front panel. I personally really like this particular layout, since I prefer to put my computer on the table by my right hand side. The front I/O ports are just conveniently located to the left edge of the front panel, such that I can reach to those ports easily. It would have been nice to see the newer USB Type-C port, especially since it is 2020. In the above picture, you can clearly see the asymmetrical finishes on the front panel. There are ventilation holes at both sides of the front panel. In terms of air intake from the front, PS14-E definitely outperforms PS14, since the PS14-E has more ventilation sections than PS14. Another thing worth mentioning is the connection between the tempered glass side panel and the front panel. As you can see from the photo above, the connection is pretty smooth. The gap is really small and there are no sharp edges between the two panels.
The back of the SilverStone Precision PS14-E, like the rest of the case, is simple and clean. There are four major sections at the back; namely, the power supply mounting place, motherboard I/O backplate, rear exhaust, and expansion card slots. According to the shape of the power supply mounting hole, the power supply is horizontally mounted at the bottom section of the chassis. Since the power supply has already taken this bottom position, the motherboard can only be located above it, meaning the I/O backplate opening is at the top. There are seven conventional expansion slots available on the SilverStone Precision PS14-E, which is standard for an ATX mid-tower. On the other hand, if you want to have a better view of your graphics card, it is also possible to vertically mount it using the provided supporter. Clearly, you can see two more vertical expansion slots by the right side of the back panel. As for the rear exhaust, as you can see from the photo above, there is a 120 mm fan included from the manufacturer.
There are four plastic stands on the bottom of the case to support the SilverStone Precision PS14-E, rising the case up about 1.5 cm on top of the resting surface for better ventilation. These stands are extremely strong. Meanwhile, there are four rubber bottoms provided to further enhance the grip of the stands. It is nice to have some rubber feet that can offer some kind of protection to your floor or table surface. You can also see from the above photo a washable filter is attached to the bottom grille of the chassis. The filter is nicely reinforced by a hard plastic frame, so they are removable for easy cleaning and installation. Note the power supply of this case is bottom mounted, therefore the ventilation area behind the filter is actually designed for the power supply.
Overall speaking, the SilverStone Precision PS14-E is a good looking computer case made out of sheet metal and tempered glass. The gaps between panels are small and even, which shows a high level of assembly quality. The tempered glass also exhibits quality attributes in terms of distortion, or lack thereof. The asymmetrical design of the front panel is a nice improvement over the original PS14 in my opinion.
Page Index
1. Introduction, Packaging, Specifications
2. Physical Look - Outside
3. Physical Look - Inside
4. Installation and Conclusion
