Page 3 - Physical Look - Inside
After removing the side panel of the SilverStone Primera PM01, you are greeted with a large and open interior. The side panel was actually really stuck on, and even after removing the screws, I had some trouble removing it. That aside, I really like large and open interior case designs, since they are very clean in the final appearance. They also allow for unobstructed airflow from the front to the back. A popular feature on cases today is to separate the PSU area from the rest of the case to create two distinct temperature zones. The SilverStone Primera PM01 is no different, and even has the SilverStone logo printed on the side of the divider. There are also a lot of cable management holes with rubber grommets. One hole I have not seen often in cases is the one directly leading into the power supply chamber. This hole allows for a cleaner appearance if you choose to route your GPU cables through it. There are three more holes running up the side of the motherboard area, and two above and below the motherboard. Looking to the right of the motherboard area are some mounting holes for a water reservoir for custom water cooling builds.
This view further shows how big the Primera PM01 really is, as it can house up to an ATX motherboard. The rear exhaust can hold a 140mm fan, while the top can have either three 120mm fans or two 140mm fans. One thing to note about the top is that if you mount it on the inside of the case, it is a very tight fit, and both the radiator and fans will not fit. However, if you unscrew the top panel, you can fit two 120mm fans up there. Unfortunately, the top I/O gets in the way of adding in any more than two. The tricky part is cable management at the top, since you have to route the cables through the same hole as the top I/O cables. From this point of view, you can also see the two cut outs along the top of the case for any of the top connectors on your motherboard.
Here is a better picture of the chamber cover for the power supply. There is no mesh covering or grill to allow for any air to pass through. However, there is a small cable management hole for any cables to route to the graphics card. Also, seen from this view are the red LEDs that are placed at the bottom of the SilverStone Primera PM01, right next to where the side panel hooks on. As aforementioned, these LEDs are controlled by a button at the top of the chassis. I always appreciate a separate chamber for the power supply, because it ultimately produces a cleaner final appearance, as all the cables are nicely tucked away and out of sight. The power supply can be up to 240mm long, and if you have one smaller than that, which is pretty much everything on the market today, there will be plenty of room for all the cables.
The front is where most of the air intake happens to create positive air pressure inside the case. Positive air pressure means air is pulled in faster than it is pushed out. This ensures for less dust to enter the computer, since air is being pushed out through all the gaps of the case. Negative air pressure is when there are more fans exhausting air than intakes. Negative air pressure means air will be pulled in through all the tiny gaps in the case, even where there is no dust filter, which ultimately means there will be more dust inside the case. The front houses three 140mm fans, and can also house up to a 360mm radiator for either custom or all-in-one water cooling. There is a small piece of the chamber cover, which slides on rails so that a larger radiator can be fit. The included front fans are SilverStone fans with red LEDs on them.
The back of the case has a large motherboard cutout for easy CPU cooler mounting. For your reference, the CPU cooler can be 180mm high. Below the motherboard cutout, there are two 2.5'' drive mounts. The rest of the drive bay mounts are found to the right of the power supply area, where three 3.5'' or 2.5'' drives can be mounted. To the left of the 2.5'' mounts is a fan hub, which you can connect up to ten fans. Another feature I really appreciate for cable management are the Velcro straps. It makes the entire process a lot easier and helps to produce a cleaner final appearance. There are also cable management hooks around the rest of the motherboard tray to ensure for cables to be tied down, and for the side panel to easily close. As always, there is sufficient room for all the cables on the back, but more would be nice.
Page Index
1. Introduction, Packaging, Specifications
2. Physical Look - Outside
3. Physical Look - Inside
4. Installation and Conclusion
