By Meng Vang
Manufacturer: Cooler Master Ltd. Inc.
Product Name: Silencio 652S Mid-Tower
Model Number: SIL-652-KKN2
UPC: 884102026096
Price As Tested: $119.99 (Newegg | Amazon | B&H)
Full Disclosure: The product sample used in this article has been provided by Cooler Master.
The Silencio series cases from Cooler Master are built for silent operation with sound dampening materials to help eliminate noise while maintaining excellent cooling performance with quiet fans. These cases feature elegant looks along with minimalist aesthetics to complement the silent design. Since the release of the Silencio 652, users wanted something quieter while keeping the same body design. Now, Cooler Master has released the Silencio 652S. Instead of a single 180mm front intake fan, they replaced it with three of their new Silencio FP-120mm fans that run at 1200+200RPM at just 11db; two of which are at the front and one at the rear. Everything else stayed the same, such as the front and top I/O ports, the removable cover for the side vent, and the overall body itself. Let’s jump into the features and specifications of the Cooler Master Silencio 652S.
| Model Number | SIL-652-KKN2 |
| Available Color | Midnight Black |
| Materials | Polymer, Steel |
| Dimensions (W x H x D) | 220 x 507 x 508.6 mm / 8.7 x 20 x 20 inch |
| Net Weight | 10.4 kg / 22.9 lbs |
| M/B Type | microATX, ATX |
| 5.25″ Drive Bays | 3 (exposed) |
| 3.5″ Drive Bays | 9 (hidden; 7 in the HDD/SSD combo cage, 1 at the bottom, 1 in the ODD cage by adapter) |
| 2.5″ Drive Bays | 10 (hidden; 7 in the HDD/SSD combo cages, 1 under the ODD cage, 1 behind the M/B tray,1 at the bottom) |
| I/O Panel | USB 3.0 x 2, USB 2.0 x 2, Audio x 1 (supports AC97 / HD Audio), Mic x 1, SD card reader (Class 10) x 1 |
| Expansion Slots | 7+1 |
| Cooling System | Top: 180/200mm fan x 1, or 120/140mm fan x 2 (optional) Front: 120mm Silencio FP 120 fan x 2 (installed; 11±1 dBA, 1200±200 RPM) Rear: 120mm Silencio FP 120 fan x 1 (installed; 11±1 dBA, 1200±200 RPM) Side: 180/200mm fan x 1 (optional) Bottom: 120/180mm fan x 1 (optional) HDD cage: 120mm fan x 1 (optional) |
| Power Supply Type | Standard ATX PS2 |
| Maximum Compatibility | VGA card length: 423 mm / 16.6 inch CPU cooler height: 168mm / 6.6 inch |
At the front of the case, the Silencio 652S has a smooth black finish on the door panel giving it an elegant basic look. The Cooler Master branding logo is placed close to the bottom of the door panel. The door panel can be opened revealing the large dust filter that covers the two pre-installed Silencio FP-120mm fans.
On the back, there are three water cooling retention holes, a 120mm fan mount with one pre-installed Silencio FP-120mm fan , and eight expansion slots. One of the eight expansion slots are placed perpendicular to the rest, which works well with something like a fan controller. The power supply unit can then be mounted at the bottom.
On the main side panel, no side panel window is present. There is a cover that will reveal a large 180mm/200mm fan mount for an optional fan. This cover can be taken off for passive airflow into the case if you choose to not have a fan. Since this case is designed for silent operation, it makes sense for Cooler Master to provide this cover for users who are not going to use a side panel fan. Near the front of the case are small ventilation gaps for the two front fans.
On the opposite side panel, there is only a smooth black finish with the same ventilation gaps near the front of the case. These side panels are equipped with sound dampening materials to help eliminate vibration under silent operation.
The top of the case includes the front I/O ports as well as a cover that can be removed. Under this cover are a number of fan mounts for one 180mm fan, one 200mm fan, and two 120mm fans or two 140mm fans. Around the cover is a glossy finish with the Cooler Master branding above the front I/O ports.
On the bottom are two dust filters for the optional 120mm or 180mm fan and the power supply unit. These filters can be easily removed and cleaned to maintain good airflow.
Now that we have seen a quick look, let’s go ahead to show more about the features the Silencio 652S has to offer.
The front door panel comes with sound dampening padding to ensure the quietest performance by eliminating potential vibrations caused by the system components. Opening it reveals the three 5.25″ expansion drive bays and the large front intake filter. This filter sits in front of the two pre-installed Silencio FP-120mm fans. It can be easily taken off for maintenance by releasing a clip at the top and pulling out the filter.
Here we can see the two pre-installed Silencio FP-120mm fans. One of the advantages for having a case like the Silencio 652S is there is no need to remove the entire front bezel to install 120mm fans. I would have loved to see support for 140mm fans at the front.
The overall interior comes with a standard layout. Cable management cutout holes are installed with rubber grommets to prevent damage to cables. The seven hard drive bays can be configured to house four 2.5″ drives and three 3.5″ drives or just seven 3.5″ drives all together. On the motherboard tray next to the CPU cutout, there is a motherboard index which labels the appropriate holes for the motherboard standoff’s for Micro-ATX and ATX motherboards. ITX motherboards are also supported, but the labels are not mentioned in the index.
There is a lot of room for cable management along with multiple tie-down points. The motherboard tray sits about 15mm apart from the side panel. A large CPU cutout is essential especially when changing the CPU cooler. 2.5″ drive mounts are also available behind the motherboard tray, below the ODD cage, and at the bottom of the case. Mounting an SSD to the bottom 2.5″ mount will not allow you to install any fans on the bottom of the case.
Removing the top plastic cover can be done by pushing the cover towards the back of the case. This reveals the dust filter which can also be easily removed for maintenance. Removing the dust filter will allow installation to the top fans.
Once the dust filter has been removed, we can see the fan mounts for the top 120mm and 140mm fans. This is where a top 240mm water cooling radiator can be installed. A 180mm or 200mm fan can also be installed here.
Once the dust filters on the bottom are removed, we can clearly see the 120mm and 180mm fan mounts along with a 2.5″ drive mount for SDD’s and small hard drives. Even if a fan is not installed, the large fan cutouts will provide adequate passive airflow to the internal components.
There are too many details to discuss on this page, so let’s go over a few more details on the next page.
The front panel includes a large power button with a reset button. There is also an HDD activity light that flashes blue along with the blue LED from the power button.
The Silencio 652S comes with the same ports seen on the previous Silencio 652 case. Two USB 3.0 ports, two USB 2.0 ports, standard 3.5mm headphone and microphone jacks, and even an SD card reader slot is included.
The cover for the side vent can be taken off. Here we can see the large ventilation cutout that can also accompany an optional 180mm/200mm fan. No dust filter is present with this ventilation, however.
The Cooler Master Silencio 652S case is a very robust case all around. Let’s go ahead and build a system with this case and see the results.
For this system, I will be using the Silencio FP-120mm fans included with the case along with two large Rosewill 140mm fans at the top. Because this case is built for silent operation, I will see how the Silencio 652S manages thermal performance while at the same time keeping noise at a complete minimal during normal operation. The fans are controlled through the system BIOS to increase speed during heavy load. My FX-8350 will be running at 4.4GHz with 1.375v, while my R9-270X will be running at its stock settings (1100MHz core, 1400MHz memory) with room temperatures of 20C.
-
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-970A-UD3
-
System Memory: 4x4GB 1600MHz DDR3
-
Processor: AMD FX-8350 @ 4.4GHz
-
Audio: Creative Labs SB X-Fi
-
Video: Gigabyte R9 270X 2GB GDDR5 Windforce Edition
-
Disk Drive 1: Crucial MX100 256GB SSD
-
Disk Drive 2: Seagate Barracuda 500GB HDD
-
Enclosure: Cooler Master Silencio 652S
-
PSU: Corsair CX750M 750W Modular
-
Monitor: HP 23bw 23″ IPS display
-
Operating System: Windows 8.1 Professional 64-Bit
Installation was simple as there was a lot of room to work with. Because I did not have any use for the 3.5″ hard drive bays, I removed them to decrease the overall weight of the system as well as improve airflow from the front fans onto the internal components. I installed the SSD and 2.5″ hard drive with an adapter in one of the ODD expansion bays just for a cleaner internal look.
Using the 3.5″ to 5.25″ adapter provided in the case accessories box, I was able to use it with my 2.5″ to 3.5″ adapter to fit both of my storage devices into one 5.25″ expansion drive bay. I purposely routed the SATA and power cables to both drives towards the front of the case so the wires would not pop out through the other side. These wires were able to run right around the two front fans without compromising thermal performance due to cable clutter.
Installing my two 140mm fans at the top was simple. For this system, I configured these two fans to run at just a little over 1000RPM to meet the thermal and audio noise criteria I wanted to achieve.
This system ran at a complete silent operation during light tasks. In a room at a quiet 45db, running at full throttle with Prime95 and Furmark increased the decibel meter to around 50db. After an hour of stress testing, the FX-8350 topped out at 54C with Prime95 alone and 58C with Prime95 and Furmark. The CPU ran warmer while running Furmark because the heat from the graphics card must escape through the top of the case. The R9-270X topped out at 64C which is very impressive considering the low noise level. Opening the front door panel increased the noise just a tiny bit, but it was able to drop CPU and GPU temperatures by up to 5C.
I was very satisfied with the overall results with the Cooler Master Silencio 652S. Running at just 50db in a 45db room during full load was very impressive especially for a gaming PC, which was the goal of this test. There is no reason for a gaming PC to be loud especially with a case designed for silent operation. The only exception when a gaming PC can be loud is if it is running with a stock CPU cooler.
Cooler Master did a good job with the release of the Silencio 652S. The only difference is the three pre-installed Silencio FP-120mm fans which replaces the old 180mm front intake fan in the Silencio 652. The fans run quieter, use less power, and push a good amount of air compared to standard conventional fans. This computer case will satisfy those who are looking for a quiet case with a professional and elegant design.
The Silencio 652S does well in terms of thermal performance. Having the right equipment and fan settings would improve the noise level. The case operated at a near silent operation once I was able to get everything working. The Silencio FP-120 fans are quieter than Cooler Master’s earlier fans. But as a silent PC user, I was expecting more. I also noticed once I opened the front door panel, the temperature decreased by up to 5C. It could be that the fans are only drawing fresh air through the ventilation gaps at the side of the case as the door remains closed.
The case looks absolutely gorgeous with its simple and elegant design. Because of the midnight black finish, the Silencio 652S will match almost any type of setup and will look aesthetically appealing in a small office. Adding the fan covers will give the case a more simple and primitive look. This simple design may not appeal to some first-time system builders or the younger generation, but the Slencio series cases are not built to satisfy that target audience.
The build quality and construction is top notch. The side panels should not cause any vibration; even if they do, the sound dampening pads on both side panels would help prevent them from doing so.
There were no problems during the build with the Silencio 652S. This computer case does everything a standard case should. There is 15mm of space behind the motherboard tray for cable management. This should be sufficient enough for most normal system builds. The case does support water cooling. A standard 240mm radiator will not fit at the front even with the HDD cages removed. There is room at the top to mount a 280mm radiator.
As of December 2014, the Cooler Master Silencio 652S sells online for $119.99 (Newegg | Amazon | B&H). For some system builders, this price may be a little over the budget. But considering the build quality and quietness, this makes it stand apart from other competing cases. I do not see this case as an upgrade or successor to the Silencio 652 as the only difference is having new fans. If you are coming from a low-end or OEM case or you just have to have the quietest PC case, the Silencio 652S is a great case to consider.
+ Professional and simple design
+ Paddings on side panels and door panel
+ Lots of interior room
+ Integrated SD card reader
+ Excellent build quality
+ Pre-installed with three (3) Silencio FP-120mm fans
+ Removable dust filters for easy cleaning
+ Easy to build for beginners and experience system builders
– Fans are quieter than standard, but could be improved
– Temperatures are warmer if optimized for silent with high-end components
-
Performance: 8.75
-
Appearance: 9.00
-
Construction: 9.50
-
Functionality: 9.25
-
Value: 9.00
