Page 2 - Physical Look - Outside
With performance and silence being the focus, the SilverStone SETA Q1 is designed to provide smooth airflow throughout the case at a very low noise level. The outer design has no curves, being very straight-edged and box-like. The color black is consistent throughout the entire outside of the case aside from the bottom left side of the front panel, which contains the SilverStone logo in white. This case contains no tempered glass on the left side, employing a black opaque side panel instead. The SETA Q1 is larger than your average PC case with measurements coming in at 490.7mm depth, 232mm width, and 493.5mm height. While this is not crazy big, it is comparable in size to the Antec P120 Crystal, which is already larger than many cases. The SETA Q1 weighs in at 11.64kg, which is about the average weight of a mid-tower chassis.
Ventilation holes can be seen on the sides of the front panel to allow the intake fans to draw in air to cool the system. The front panel is held on by plastic clips, which can be removed by squeezing the clips on both sides and pulling off the front. Two 140mm intake fans are already mounted on the front side. These SilverStone fans are voltage-controlled with a 3-pin header that connects to the fan headers on your motherboard. 4-pin PWM fans would have been better for more precise speed control. The front can also support up to three 120mm or three 140mm fans if desired by the user. I like how the fan mounting design is flexible to fit an equal number of both 120mm and 140mm fans, giving users even more potential for strong airflow if they decide to use 140mm fans.
At the top of the case, we can see the I/O panel, which is located on the eastern edge. Going from left to right, we have a circular power button, reset button, two USB 3.2 Type-A ports, one USB Type-C port, a combined 3.5mm audio jack, and an HDD activity light. Both the power button and HDD activity indicator emits a white light when active. The inclusion of a USB Type-C port is nice here and fits the current technology trend. I also really like that the design employs two USB 3.2 Type-A ports. It is always nice to have fast transfer speeds for all USB slots. The single combined audio jack is another nice feature of this product. For most of us, we have both laptops and desktops, and laptops are commonly equipped with a single 3.5mm jack only. When purchasing a headset, we definitely want something compatible with both laptops and desktops, so it will be inconvenient if we have to deal with the situation where the laptop has a single jack while the desktop has a dual jack. It is only fair to acknowledge many gaming headsets come with separate headphones and microphone plugs though, leading to inconvenience to some. An included Y-split cable would rectify this situation, which the SilverStone SETA Q1 unfortunately did not come with.
The SilverStone SETA Q1 features an opening for fans or a liquid cooling radiator on top when you install the dust filter top cover. It has accommodation for up to three 120mm fans, three 140mm fans, or a radiator of equivalent size. Traditionally, case designers install top-mounted fans to efficiently draw heat away from the processor and other heat-generating internal components. This makes sense as heat rises, but also comes with the drawback of dust accumulating in the system when the PC is turned off. By default, the top panel is acoustically treated instead to keep the noise level to a minimum, but can be replaced by an included dust filter top cover for airflow at the expense of less sound dampening. Another thing worth mentioning about the gap between panels is the connection between the side panels and the front panel. The connection is smooth, small, and has no sharp edges between the two panels.
The back of the case is exactly what you would expect from a mid-tower ATX case. A pre-installed 140mm fan is mounted at the top right beside the cutout for the motherboard I/O shield. Seven horizontal expansion slots can be seen directly below the fan and the motherboard opening. All seven expansion slots can be taken off to make room for GPUs or any expansion cards that may take up an expansion slot on your motherboard. Two vertical GPU mounting expansion slots can be found on the SilverStone SETA Q1, which is a nice option for users with larger and heavier cards or for those who would simply prefer to see more of their GPU through vertical mounting. An opening for the power supply can be seen below the horizontal expansion slots held on by regular screws.
Two sets of large feet can be seen at the bottom of the case. These feet raise the SilverStone SETA Q1 about 1.0cm above the resting surface. Raising a case above its resting surface serves the purpose of providing better ventilation for the case. The feet are circular in design, which is a neat choice. There are also small circular pads on each foot designed to reduce vibration. I feel they are a good size to reduce vibration at a reasonable level, measuring approximately 35mm in diameter. The feet are removable by unscrewing the screw in the center with a Phillips-head screwdriver.
A removable dust filter can be seen near the back. This dust filter will help maintain clean air intake for your power supply. I am also happy to see the slits are not terribly thick, meaning they will not block a lot of the airflow. The filter uses a simple plastic frame, and thus, feels less solid. Note the power supply of this case is bottom-mounted, therefore the ventilation area behind the filter is designed for the power supply.
I find the SilverStone SETA Q1 has good build quality. The steel and plastic material making up the case is very solid and does not feel cheap in any way. The surface and edges feel smooth on the fingers. The side panels fit very well and are tightly held in position by the thumbscrews. The power and reset switches also have a crisp click when pressed. I think SilverStone did a great job with the outside build, putting a lot of care into many aspects that make for good construction.
Page Index
1. Introduction, Packaging, Specifications
2. Physical Look - Outside
3. Physical Look - Inside
4. Installation and Conclusion
