SilverStone Precision PS07 Review (Page 4 of 4)

Page 4 - Installation and Conclusion

Before you even start thinking about any hardware installation in this case, it would be a very good idea to route all your cables first, in accordance to the layout of your motherboard. Getting this done right from the start will save you the hassle of reinstalling certain hardware later on, which will save you much more time in the long run. However, if you really feel the urge of installing something beforehand, then the power supply is probably your best choice, so you would have a general idea of where all the power cables would go. I went on with 5.25" drives and its cables. Just one quick note here is the USB 3.0 ports are internally connected to the motherboard. If you don't have a motherboard that supports this, SilverStone kindly provides you with a USB 3.0 to USB 2.0 converter.

Once all the cables are properly routed and tucked out of the way, the motherboard is what that comes next. Once these three main components are installed, I personally like to connect all the cables before proceeding with anything else. Mounting the hard drive would come next, followed by any components that goes onto the motherboard directly, such as your video card and CPU cooler. From there, if you have any additional hardware, it should be installed last. Of course, don't forget to connect your cables.

If you need any reference as to how neat your cables should be, you can take a look at the photo above. However, this isn't the best cabling job I've done, as there are some minor tweaks that could have been done in various places. In addition, some of my cables were shorter than I had hoped, given the layout of the interior, which is why I have cables running through the middle of nowhere instead of behind the motherboard tray. Overall, the layout is quite unique; essentially you are just installing everything upside-down. Unfortunately, for users who have shorter cables, this would limit the neatness of the cabling job, since you might not be able to route them through the back. However, if you are more inclined to the typical plug-and-play method, the current design of the Precision PS07 would work just fine for any user with increased thermal efficiency. As you can see from the photo above, you can quickly rack up a decent enough cabling job, even without having the implementing the ideas I have just suggested.

With all the internals connected and the side panels back in place, firing your newly built PC up takes no more than connecting the power cable and all your necessary peripherals. Without further adieu, pressing the larger of the two buttons on left side brings your machine to life. The first thing that comes to mind when your computer is powered on is to see how loud the fans get, and that's exactly what I wanted to look for. Using the usual APH Networks noise scale of 0.0 to 10.0, where 0 is as silent as the USSOCOM on a tactical mission (Before shots are fired, anyway) and 10 is an atomic bomb blowing up, I would rate it at 2.0 on a personal scale. To be totally honest with you, I am very impressed by how quiet these fans are. To be able to hear the fans mean you must be sitting quite close to your computer, or have your ear right next to it -- something most people don't do on a daily basis.

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Retailing for approximately $80 at press time, the SilverStone Precision PS07 chassis features many notable features for such a small case -- all at an affordable price. First off, let's start with its exemplary clean looks in conjunction with a nice brushed aluminum-like front panel; all without looking like a mini refrigerator. Behind the front panel are two stealthy 120mm fans, complete with a removable dust filter to keep the nasty stuff out. At the top, we are treated with an additional dust filter, covering up the power supply area for some very well rounded protection. To add to the long list of goodness, the PS07 possesses what we consider a roomy interior for an mATX case, and a large opening for easy access to your aftermarket CPU cooler backplate. All these features in such a small tower make it pretty darn awesome, especially on a case where it is easy to take around to show off to your friends. However, it would have been a great addition if there were tool-free clips for the hard drives and optical drives. Same stuff for add-in cards won't hurt, either. Also, providing slightly more room behind the motherboard tray for routing cables would make the assembly process 100% painless. Other than these very minor details to improve on, there really isn't anything to complain about. At the end of the day, keep in mind good mATX cases do not roll around often, but the SilverStone Precision PS07 is definitely one of those that should go on your shopping list. Not because everyone else is terrible, but because it is really good.

SilverStone provided this product to APH Networks for the purpose of evaluation.

APH:Renewal Award | APH Review Focus Summary:
8/10 means Definitely a very good product with drawbacks that aren't 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.

If you are looking for a stylish yet clean mATX case, the SilverStone Precision PS07 offers everything you need with many great features to boot.

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Page Index
1. Introduction, Packaging, Specifications
2. Physical Look - Outside
3. Physical Look - Inside
4. Installation and Conclusion