Page 2 - Physical Look - Outside
Measuring 47.4cm deep, 43.6cm tall, and 20.3cm wide, the SilverStone KL-02 can really be classified as a 'small' midtower case by today's standards. Of course, that's only because computer cases are getting bigger and bigger as time progresses. I mean, these are the days where the Honda Civic is larger than Accords a few generation back, and the current Accord is, well, big.
That aside, our SilverStone KL-02 is the windowed version that we specifically requested. The transparent side panel's clean rectangular shape is free of fancy curves and engravements on top -- just a good old window, in which I really appreciate. Eight rivets attach the window to the SECC panel from the outside, giving it a unique style in build. Peeling off the adhesive protection film reveals an unbelievably clear acrylic piece. My complaint is that this unbelievable clarity won't stay for long, as the acrylic material also scratches unbelievably fast and easily.
Rotating the SilverStone KL-02 show properties of the other side of the case. SilverStone has taken a more traditional approach when designing this case, where the power supply bay is located at the top; with a standard rear exhaust fan placement next to the motherboard I/O connectors. That said, little things reveal the high end quality approach made by SilverStone such as the independent, low air resistance, removable eight-ring fan grille. Each expansion slot covers are vented metal pieces to maximize ventilation in that area. On the other hand, if you've been paying much attention, none of the side panels uses tool-less clips or even thumbscrews, which may be very inconvenient to the user -- after all, thumb screws aren't expensive and I ended up attaching my own to the windowed side panel. Not to mention that the metal edges adjacent to the power supply bay is a little too sharp for our likings. Don't get me wrong, it's not bad, but we cannot say it's excellent either.
While most of the panels of the SilverStone KL-02 are made of steel, the front begs to differ. Surrounding the uniquely placed power button at the top is a 0.5cm thick piece of black brushed aluminum to add to the style of the chassis. The top-placed power button really added to the sense of uniqueness of the case; almost resembling the "Start Engine" buttons of a sports car. Running down from the top to the bottom on both sides of the front are long pieces of brushed aluminum constructed pieces; they double as large clips that can be rotated out in order to allow the user to gain access to the drive bays and the intake fan. Majority of the SilverStone KL-02's front -- including the drive bay area (Meaning, the bay covers) -- is an airflow-friendly mesh implementation. Unfortunately, while they look undeniably great on the SilverStone KL-02, it attracts a lot of dust and I find myself cleaning the mesh with electrostatic dust wipes at least once a day. It's especially evident in the intake fan area.
Residing at the bottom of the SilverStone KL-02 are four vibration dampening standoffs. These relatively soft, rubber padded feet will reduce noise due to case vibrations on the surface it sits on, along with the secondary purpose of preventing slips. The bottom and back of the chassis are not painted, while the top and side SECC panels are all painted black to match the color scheme of the case.
Again, at the back is a low air resistance, removable eight-ring fan grille, and each expansion slot covers are vented metal pieces to maximize ventilation in that area. The area directly next to the expansion slots are also cut with an array of small circular openings to further maximize airflow in the SilverStone KL-02.
Moving back to the front of the case, under the 3.5" drive bay (It's actually a 5.25" bay converter, and can be easily relocated to any 5.25" drive bay, but we'll just refer to its location by default) is an array of front panel case connectors behind a push open/push close cover. I was actually quite pleasantly surprised that the SilverStone KL-02 still incorporates such a front-accessible drive bay in front -- while floppy drives are a rarity nowadays, I still have a 3.5" flash/floppy combo drive that I'd love to use. The KL-02 did not send me looking for aftermarket solutions as it's available right out of the box.
Between the drive bay converter and the front panel connector cover is a thin strip that hides two blue LEDs -- one on the very left, and one on the very right -- for power and HDD activity, respectively. Behind the cover right below it are two USB connectors, one Firewire, one 3.5mm audio out, as well as one 3.5mm microphone input jack. A reset button is conveniently placed on the far right, and because it's behind a cover, it's nearly impossible to be pressed accidentally.
The front intake 120mm fan is physically attached to the mesh. As it sits over three 5.25" drive bays, it can actually be relocated virtually anywhere in the front of the case. By default, behind it is a drive cage that can accommodate up to four hard drives. A contact board is placed on the hard drive cage and the other on the mesh to allow the fan to be disconnected without wires holding it back -- otherwise, convenient hot swapping to compliment the hot-swappable hard drives. While I found it extremely innovative, it didn't work out too well for me. I ended up pulling the fan cable directly to my motherboard.
One SilverStone CP05 SATA data/power connector adapter is included to allow physical hot swap capability. The adapter can be placed behind any of the four hard drive bays. Each hard drive is installed with a removable rack; similar to what we've seen with the Thermaltake Muse NAS RAID. We'll show you more later.
Both included fans on the KL-02 are SilverStone Everflow fans; with the rear one featuring both 3-pin and 4-pin Molex connectors, and the front intake fan with a short 3-pin cable tailored for the hot swap fan application.
Page Index
1. Introduction, Packaging
2. Physical Look - Outside
3. Physical Look - Inside
4. Installation and Conclusion
