Page 4 – Installation and Conclusion
The computer building process was extremely enjoyable with the SilverStone Redline RL07. It was really easy to work with, since everything was laid out in pretty standard manner. I first installed the power supply into the PSU chamber. The power supply used for this computer was the FSP Hydro PTM 750W, which has a 135 mm fan. Thanks to the grill, it is possible to have enough airflow for the PSU. A Scythe Mugen 5 cooler was mounted on my Gigabyte GA-H170-D3HP motherboard. The position of the motherboard tray opening of the RL07 matches perfectly for the CPU position, therefore the heatsink can be installed without any trouble. If you like water coolers such as the NZXT Kraken X52, the radiator can be mounted behind the front panel.
The installation of the solid state drive was fairly easy. First, I pushed one side of the SSD tray upward such that the SSD can be inserted in. Then, the OCZ Trion 150 480GB SSD was simply clipped into position. As the final step, a slight push was required to put the tray back to its original position. The whole procedure of installing the SSD did not require the use of screws. The rest of the installing process was really smooth. Since I did not have any 3.5" drives, the power supply chamber was very roomy. The big opening besides the motherboard tray was very handy. It was nice to see rubber grommets, since it can prevent the thick power cable from moving too much. As you can see from the above picture, the thick motherboard power cable can be fitted into the opening in my case. There is still plenty of room for other cables.
After everything has been installed properly, it is time to press the power switch. As you can see from the above photo, the only thing to light up on the entire case is the LED backlit front panel. Yes, my anti-RGB friends, the front panel is the only thing equipped with an LED light. As you can see in our photo above, after the power is on, the RL07 keeps the cool stealth look. I am the kind of person who really cares about the noise level of the computer. In this build, I had three fans running in the case. As it turned out, my computer was really quiet, thanks in part to only having a single case fan. On the scale of 0 to 10, where 0 is totally silent and 10 is a jet taking off, I would rate my system at 2.5/10 regarding noise emissions. Please note the fan speed control on the motherboard can further bring down the noise level by reducing the RPM of the fans when the computer is not under high load.
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Coming back to the question I proposed in the introduction of this review, can the SilverStone Redline RL07 be considered as the right gaming computer case for you? My short answer is yes, though there are some key features missing. The build process was very smooth. After a few days of using the computer I built out of the RL07, I found myself enjoying its simple and clean design. All in all, the SilverStone Redline RL07 is one decent computer chassis with a stylish front panel design and a tempered glass side panel. The interior design of this case is also very good. A lot of these design choices have been carried down from some of SilverStone's flagship line, which is great to see. All of the components you need for building a computer can be accommodated. More importantly, you do not need to be an expert to route your cables well, since the openings are well-designed. However, the RL07 still has room to improve. I would have liked to see a few cooling fans included behind the front panel. Lacking support for any sort of top mounted water or fan cooling is something you should take into account, especially top mounting support should be standard. Both of these features were also standard on the last Redline case, so it is curious to see this omission. Increasing the gap between the motherboard tray and right side panel will also make routing thick cables easier. In addition, the lack of including USB Type-C ports on a 2018 case is disappointing. To conclude this review, I can say the SilverStone Redline RL07 is worth considering for its design alone. However, its $110 USD price tag may throw some people off with respect to what you get. The tradeoffs and missing features are things you should consider in your purchasing decision of the RL07, after all, this is a good looking mid-tower.
SilverStone provided this product to APH Networks for the purpose of evaluation.
APH Review Focus Summary:
7/10 means Great product with many advantages and certain insignificant drawbacks; but should be considered before purchasing.
-- Final APH Numeric Rating is 7.0/10
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 Redline RL07 features a stylish design combined with an adequate feature set.
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Page Index
1. Introduction, Packaging, Specifications
2. Physical Look - Outside
3. Physical Look - Inside
4. Installation and Conclusion
