Page 4 - Installation and Conclusion
Rather than following my standard steps of installing the power supply first, I decided to place the motherboard in first. I screwed in the motherboard standoffs, and placed my ATX-sized Gigabyte Z87X-D3H on top with the I/O shield installed. I screwed it into the motherboard standoffs using the screws provided. I then routed the modular power cables on my Cooler Master V1000 power supply. Next, I mounted my Noctua NH-C14S with an additional Fractal Design Venturi HP-14 PWM fan attached to the heatsink. While I had been using the CRYORIG A80, there were several issues with moving it to the Primera PM01-RGB, with clearance issues being the primary one. I could have mounted it at the front, but I wanted to keep those fans and the lighting alone. Unfortunately, placing the radiator and fan combination at the top interfered with my memory, despite the Kingston HyperX Fury DDR3 2x8GB kit being pretty low profile in nature already. If you do want to mount your AIO cooler at the top, I would recommend a 240mm radiator instead, as it is offset away from the motherboard. Otherwise for CPU coolers, SilverStone recommends nothing taller than 180mm, which should be wide enough for most large heatsinks.
The next steps included installing and plugging in the rest of the power supply and cables in addition to the chassis connectors. Next, I installed the storage drives, which included my Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB and OCZ ARC 100 240GB, into the drive sleds and connected the necessary cables for power and data transfer. The drive cage made installing the larger hard drive easy, but I would have wished for a tool-free installation, even if just for the larger 3.5" drive. Finally, the last part to install was the graphics card. Using the screws and a screwdriver, I removed the two respective back plates, and slid my EVGA GeForce GTX 760 into place. Just for reference, the maximum graphics card length the SilverStone Primera PM01-RGB can handle is up to 419mm, with a width restriction of 174mm.
Routing all the cables through the Primera PM01-RGB was quite easy. While there still is a bit of a nest near the power supply. I can say this is one of my better routing jobs. The included Velcro straps were quintessential in cleaning up the wires, and I think with the slits near the front, I had enough cable tie points. One thing I should note is that I ended up removing the PWM fan hub, as it did not work properly with my motherboard. As I have mentioned in the inspection, there was not a whole lot of room to work with, and it was definitely not the easiest side panel to slide back on. In fact, it was also quite difficult to slide off. Overall, installation went pretty smoothly, though this is not too surprising for such an open case. I did still find myself missing the Phanteks experience with things like an included parts tray for all the various screws, but this is one area where everyone other than Phanteks falls short. Otherwise, with all of the wires plugged in place, I slid the two side panels back onto the SilverStone Primera PM01-RGB and closed them.
Plugging all my monitors and peripherals into the back ports, I clicked the power button, and the system whirred to life. As you can see, the system glows brightly with the RGB fan trims, internal lighting, and side burns at the top panel. As it has been a while since I had tempered glass, I stared at this one in awe. While some may see the glass craze as a bit overboard, I think it looks amazing. The front lighting also shines nicely through the mesh grille at the front, making for a pretty neat effect. As I have noted previously, these lights can be controlled via the motherboard if the sufficient headers are available or can be controlled with the switch. Using the switch, you can cycle between seven different colors and different lighting modes including static, breathing, and a gradient through all the colors. While these modes are pretty standard, the variety of colors available on the case alone is great. You can also turn off the lights by holding down the LED switch for a few seconds. If there is one thing I wish SilverStone did change, it would be the light of the power indicator, as it is always red. It would have been nice to see the color match with the rest of the case.
According to the standard APH Networks sound scale, where 0 is silence and 10 is loud, the SilverStone Primera PM01-RGB is a 3.5/10 on everyday usage. However at full blast, the fans rage up to a lot more noticeable 6.0/10. Of course, it does move a whole lot of air through the case, and it does have four fans working overtime in this situation. Overall, I am still impressed at its sound performance. The unrestricted airflow from the front panel fans is definitely good to see, and the three intake fans do well to cool not only the motherboard components, but also the drives in the cage underneath.
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When SilverStone sent us a revised version of their original Primera PM01-RGB, I really wanted it for its looks. However, after working in it and seeing the new features it has to offer, I am quite satisfied with my upgrade decision. Build quality is great here and everything feels sturdy. The tempered glass looks intriguing, and the bottom black bar hides handling marks well. The internal layout is excellent for an open-air design, with room for extra cooling or larger components. The small improvements over the original Primera PM01, such as the routing hole for the top panel, is also a big plus for SilverStone. When it comes to the installation process, I think for the most part the Primera PM01-RGB is easy to build in. Finally, I think SilverStone really nailed their RGB implementation, making for a classy amount of rainbow lighting, while supporting the major brands of motherboards for their RGB implementation. Even with all these praises, I think there are still things that can be improved upon. Small detail things like including more tool-free screws or providing more rubber grommets on holes would be much appreciated. In addition, adding more space at the back for cabling and easy panel removal would have been nice. Finally, I would like to see some polish on things like including a parts tray for all their screws, or matching the power indicator with the rest of the lighting. When it comes to pricing, the SilverStone Primera PM01-RGB is available for around $160 at press time, which is a $50 price premium over the original PM01 to get RGB lighting and a glass side panel. With all this in mind, I am quite pleased with the way SilverStone implemented these two new features into an already great case, and the Primera PM01-RGB is an excellent choice for an open-design, mid-tower chassis.
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 7.7/10
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.
SilverStone adds RGB goodness and tempered glass to an already favorable design, resulting in the Primera PM01-RGB.
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Page Index
1. Introduction, Packaging, Specifications
2. Physical Look - Outside
3. Physical Look - Inside
4. Installation and Conclusion
