Page 2 - Physical Look - Outside
Much like the original SilverStone Primera PM01 we looked at, today's RGB version has a lot of familiar visual cues. In fact, structurally it looks the exact same. However, it does have several blessings of more recent features. To me, the Primera PM01-RGB reminds me of a racing car. The front panel bulges out uniquely, as the frame around it does not protrude out as much near the bottom, and increases in protrusion all the way up the side. My words really do not describe this different way of styling the front. At the top, we have a sloping up design, as it peaks in the middle and towards the back. All of these design points also remind me of previous SilverStone Raven chassis, with the entire thing being like a pointed beak. The top panel has two indents, one on each side, where lighting can shine through, but I will pass over this for later. Overall, I quite liked the original Primera PM01, and I am quite glad SilverStone did not change much with this new Primera.
As we have already mentioned, the front panel features a metal mesh at the front with a plastic frame on the side. The side panels are made out of tempered glass on the left and steel on the right. The left side glass is held with four thumbscrews with one in each corner. The tempered glass is also tinted with a solid black bar near the bottom. From a handling perspective, it is nice to have this black bar as a place to hold the panel without leaving noticeable fingerprints. While tempered glass is a really nice feature many cases have nowadays, it always is a fingerprint magnet. I would have liked to see the same black bar at the top for the same reason. Of course, with this window, this means you should be more careful in your cable management, but we will look more into this during our installation.
Even though the SilverStone Primera PM01-RGB is classified as a mid-tower ATX case, it is a sizable beast compared to the other towers we see here at APH Networks. At a height of 571mm, width of 220mm, and depth of 560mm, this case is taller and deeper than my previous Phanteks Enthoo EVOLV ATX, while being slightly slimmer. The internal space should be adequate for larger components, but we will see later on. At a weight of 10.1kg, this is about a kilogram heavier than the original PM01, but this makes sense considering the sheer mass of the tempered glass panel compared to a standard steel panel or a acrylic window panel.
Once again, we have the exact same layout as the original SilverStone Primera PM01, but I will still cover it. On the left side, which is not shown in the photo above, we have a power button shaped the same way and in the same relative location as the side button above. The power button has a thin slit revealing a red LED underneath. It would have been nice to see an RGB light here to match with the other lighting included, but this is not the case. Right above it is a small LED for the hard drive activity indicator. On the right side of the top panel is where majority of the input and output ports exist. Starting from the top, we have two USB 3.0 ports, two USB 2.0 ports, and two 3.5mm audio jacks. As indicated by the engraving, the more upper jack is for microphone input, while the bottom is for headphone output. Considering the movement towards the next generation of USB ports, it is surprising to not see any USB-C or USB 3.1 Gen 2 ports here. Interestingly enough, we also have no reset button here. Finally, we have an LED button, which allows you to cycle through the various colors and effects for the case lighting, but I will explain this later on.
Removing the front panel from the SilverStone Primera PM01-RGB is pretty straightforward. The plastic front has a small hole at the bottom where you can yank on and pull off the front. Behind it is a plastic frame with a mesh weaved into it. This acts as the front panel filter, as three included 140mm fans exist here. It is quite generous to see the amount of fans, but we will look into this later. What is even more interesting are the three set of clear plastic frames between the filter and the fans. Rather than making the fans RGB, SilverStone has used their FG141, which are RGB fan grilles that light up. This product is also sold separately in both 120mm and 140mm sizes. To me, this is an excellent way of implementing RGB for the front, as it means you can actually use any fan you want and make it lit with these frames.
Moving to the back of the SilverStone Primera PM01-RGB shows off a similar state of things. To be fair, there has not been much innovation at the back from any case manufacturer, but one could only hope. From here, you can also see the exhaust vent at the back of the top panel. This once again enforces the car-like image I have with the Primera PM01-RGB. Anyway, at the back, we have the motherboard I/O shield cutout near the top with the rear exhaust 140mm grille. Another 140mm fan exists here, but again we will look at this later. The holes in the grilles are the standard honeycomb pattern, which is not too surprising. Underneath, we have seven expansion card slots, which again is as expected for this size of a case. At the bottom, we have a cutout for a standard size ATX power supply.
At the bottom of the case, SilverStone has done something interesting with the bottom feet. All four feet are really just rubber rectangles around the corner of the case. The front part is actually quite close to the ground, with the rubber pads only barely raising the case above the floor. At the back, the two feet are separated with a valley in between. In the valley is a removable fan filter, which allows the power supply to intake air that is not dusty. The whole structure and separation of the back from the front ensures the air flowing in does not interfere with the air flowing into the front. Otherwise, there is not a whole lot more to talk about, so let us crack open this beast to see what is inside the Primera PM01-RGB.
Page Index
1. Introduction, Packaging, Specifications
2. Physical Look - Outside
3. Physical Look - Inside
4. Installation and Conclusion
