Cooler Master Silencio S600
Silence falls once again as Cooler Master returns
YOU MAY BE FAMILIAR with Cooler Master’s Silencio series. As the name suggests, this is the Taiwanese manufacturer’s noise-damping line of cases, and the S600 is the latest and (perhaps) greatest iteration. Not everyone needs such a case, but if you’re rocking a noisy, powerful system—particularly an aircooled overclocked build—you might want a case that stops it sounding like a force-10 gale with a throat infection.
The S600 arrives alongside the smaller S400 (for Mini-ITX fiends), offering a refinement to the original Silencio design, with an overall improvement of the quality and available features. It’s a pretty straightforward upgrade; if you own an older Silencio, such as the 650 or 452, you probably don’t need this.
If you don’t already have a sounddamping case for your PC, though, the Silencio S600 could be for you. It’s a seriously robust case; the outer frame is solid metal, with both side plates fitted with mass-loaded vinyl padding to mute any internal noise. However, that means it’s heavy. It’s not a particularly large case, but it weighs over 18lb without any additional hardware inside it, so you need to be wary of that.
All that weight does serve its purpose well, though; the S600 is very sturdy and has plenty of internal space. There’s a full PSU shroud, under which also lurks a bay with space for up to three HDDs or SSDs. The case comes with some nifty clips for mounting drives in the bay slots, there’s also mounting positions for additional drives, and even a slot for a 5.25-inch optical drive at the front of the case, behind a hinged steel panel.
The S600 is positively brimming with features. The front I/O includes an SD card reader, internal rubber seals for neatly routing cables, and there’s a top air vent that can be swapped out to another sound-damping panel if you value quietness over airflow. There are also two case fans, both Cooler Master’s own Silencio FP 120mm models. Much like the case itself, these are designed with silence in mind, with RPM control and rubber antivibration pads. There’s room for extra fans, too.
Remember that door panel we mentioned? It has a thick, spongy layer of noise-canceling foam on the inside, and snaps shut with a hidden magnet. The hinge can be unscrewed, and the door has a reversible mount that allows it to be opened from either the left or the right. It’s easy to make the switch, and could be beneficial if you want to position your system against a wall. The hinge is inexplicably made of plastic, though, unlike its steel surroundings, and we fear it could snap off after extended use.
In terms of aesthetics, the S600 is a brutalist monolith of matt black metal. That’s about it; there’s very little going on in terms of appearance here, but that’s only a deal-breaker if you happen to like your systems decked out with all the subtlety of a Deadmau5 concert. A windowed version is also available at a marginally higher price, in case you want to show off your expert cablemanagement skills. However, this does presumably come with a decrease in the sound-damping capabilities of the case.
We’re genuinely racking our brains to find some negative points for this review. The lack of USB-C support on the front I/O is a missed opportunity, and the expansion slots at the rear have a bulky, annoying exterior cover. It’s good value, too, at only 100 bucks. You really do get a lot for your money with this case.
As a final point, we should briefly compare it to some other noisecanceling cases available on the market right now. Corsair’s Carbide series comes in at around the same price as the new Silencio, while others, such as Be Quiet!’s Silent Base 601, are touch more pricey. Most of these don’t offer support for an optical drive, though. The S600 is an awesome choice of case if you need a quiet but flexible system, with a modest exterior appearance.