By Julian Duque
Manufacturer: SilverStone Co. LTD.
Product Name: Kublai KL05 Quiet Edition Mid Tower
Model Number: SST-KL05B-Q
UPC: 844761011857
Price As Tested: $69.99 (Newegg l Amazon)
Full Disclosure: The product sample used in this article has been provided by SilverStone.
SilverStone is at it again, but this time they are looking to mix things up by venturing into unprecedented areas. Lately, it seems that the competition has shaken the sub-$100 case market, and SilverStone is not willing to stand down. Mostly known for their premium cases and their innovative ideas, SilverStone has taken a different approach this time from their top notch designs and instead released the SilverStone Kublai KL05B-Q Mid-Tower case, which Benchmark Reviews will be taking a look at today.
If you haven’t heard from SilverStone’s Kublai series, I don’t blame you, The first time Benchmark Reviews took a look at a Kublai case was in 2013, when Tom Jaskulka reviewed the KL04 Mid-Tower, which until now, remained the last case of this series. According to SilverStone, Kublai takes some of the characteristics of the Temjin series of cases and strips down some of the features to allow for a more affordable end product. It is a smart decision from SilverStone to update this line-up as each year, we see more affordable and feature-full cases appear.
Courtesy of SilverStonetek.com
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Material
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Plastic front panel, steel body (SST-KL05B-Q) | |
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Motherboard
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ATX , Micro-ATX | |
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Drive Bay
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External | 5.25” x 2 |
| Internal | 3.5″ x 6 or 2.5” x 6 , 2.5” x 2 | |
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Cooling System
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Front | 2 x 120mm/140mm fan slot (1 x 120mm intake fan included) |
| Rear | 120mm fan slot x 1 | |
| Side | — | |
| Top | 120mm / 140mm fan slot x 2 | |
| Bottom | 120mm fan slot x 2 | |
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Expansion Slots
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8 | |
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Front I/O Port
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USB 3.0 x 2 Audio x 1 MIC x 1 |
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Power Supply
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Optional Standard PS2(ATX) | |
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Expansion Card
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Compatible up to 16”, 11” with optional drive cage (sold separately) installed | |
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Limitation of CPU cooler
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165mm | |
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Limitation of PSU
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225mm | |
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Net Weight
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6.8Kg | |
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Dimension
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200mm (W) x 525mm (H) x 494mm (D), 52 liters | |
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Extra
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Support Kensington locks | |
The Q in the KL05B-Q model stands for Quiet edition, the model that will be reviewed in this article. If you are looking for the review about the performance version of this case, I have reviewed it here: SilverStone Kublai KL05B Review. For this article, let’s start exploring the exterior of this case.
Although the SilverStone KL05’s body is made of steel, the front cover is made entirely of plastic, a very common thing with SilverStone cases. Luckily, the cover has a brushed aluminum finish, which makes it very pleasant to look at, while not being a fingerprint magnet. The front also holds the front I/O bay, which is made up of two USB 3.0 ports, one power and one reset button, and 3.5 mm headphone and microphone jacks.
The top cover, which can be removed by two screws from the back, has a dust filter attached to it that can not be separated from the cover itself. I would not consider this “bad”, as there is nothing else attached to the top cover that could prevent it from being cleaned with water. This cover also gives the SilverStone KL05B-Q a taller stand, and adds a bit of attitude to the case.
Given that the SilverStone KL05B-Q has 8 expansion slots, it is interesting that it is being categorized as a mid-tower. Other than that anomaly, the back has a a fairly standard layout, with a bottom mounted power supply, and a 120 mm fan mount. There is also two rubber grommets on top of the expansion slots, which is also weird considering that the top cover has no holes to allow tubing to come through.
Each side panel is covered by a noise dampening material, which really sets this case apart as it is a direct competitor to other silent cases like the NZXT H220 and the Be Quiet Silent Base 800, while maintaining a really competitive. There is also noise dampening material at the front, and unfortunately not at the top.
Given that the SilverStone KL05B-Q has no side panel window, I do not expect it’s interior to be as aesthetically pleasing as it’s exterior. In this section we will take a look at the guts of the SilverStone KL05B, which is the same in both the KL05B-Q and the KL05B-W.
Going inside the case there are some small things that I feel SilverStone ignored in order to keep the price of the KL05B-Q down. Starting with the front I/O cables, aside than their rainbow nature, they are not flat, but rather twisted and messy, making them hard to cable manage. There is also a lack of rubber grommets which makes this issue even worse, however since there is no side panel window, internal aesthetics should not be an issue. On a more positive note, both of the 3.5″ drive cages can be removed for better radiator compatibility, and a separate drive cage can be purchased in order to have compatibility for up to 9 3.5″ drives. Unfortunately, the 5.25″ drive cage can not be removed, but it does feature a tool-less mechanism.
Water cooling compatibility is a very important feature for this case. As it is, you can install a 240 mm or a 280 mm radiator on the top, with plenty of space for a push/pull configuration, however, there is no space to run tubing from the motherboard to the top if you decide to use a 280mm radiator mounted between the chassis and the top panel. At the front there is space for two 120 mm / 140 mm fans and at the bottom there is space for two 120 mm fans given that you mount the cages to the bottom of the 5.25″ drive bay.
Cable management seems to be the biggest issue with this case. The back has less than one inch of space for cable management, so a 24-pin cable extension is a no in this case. The 2.5″ bays that can be mounted to the back are an excellent addition, and might be very valuable if you decide to build a custom loop inside the KL05 and remove both the drive cages.
The motherboard tray, although lacking rubber grommets, has the appropriate size and location of cable management holes. Adding to that the incredibly large CPU cutout hole which I have gotten to value a lot while replacing CPU coolers. You might have also noticed that there is not that many cable tie down points, which could have made handling the rainbow cables a lot more easier.
Being such a large case and with a fairly standard design, building inside the SilverStone KL05 should not pose great trouble. After looking at the interior fthe case my only worry remains being the cable management limitations this case has.
The first surprise was that although our power supply was 160 mm long, there was still plenty of space for two 120 mm fans at the bottom, or one 120 mm fan and the two drive cages. It should be noted that if you decide to mount a radiator at the bottom, you will have to move the drive cages to the top, and maybe have to drill some holes due to the spacing between both fans depending on your radiator.
Looking at the drive trays, 3.5″ drives can be mounted easily with the tool-less mechanism, which does require that you bend the tray in order to accommodate it appropriately. There is also rubber washers to prevent rattling. If you decide to install 2.5″ drives instead, they can be mounted on the center, or offset to the left for better cable management.
Our finished build looks pleasing, and took less than 20 minutes to build. The Hyper 212 Evo was a very tight fit, but other than that compatibility is a strong point for this case. Since the motherboard I had in hand did not have a USB 3.0 header I decided to hide in the 5.25″ drive cage. I also made the front I/O rainbow cables less noticeable by routing them behind the 24 pin cable, which turned out to be a perfect plan.
If you decide to buy this case, I would highly suggest buying a modular power supply, as the cables I did not use were hidden in a very unfashionable way. This in turn made closing the side panel a lot harder than it had to be and added to the almost impossible task of cable managing inside the SilverStone KL05.
Does the SilverStone KL05-Q live up to SilverStone standards? After spending some time with it, I do think it does. First impressions were great, with ample support for large graphics cards, water cooling, and drives. There is also that renowned SilverStone build quality which at this price point is surprising. It should be mentioned that there were some clear sacrifices being made, such as a plastic front cover which is smartly hidden by a brushed aluminum finish. The manual is not what I expected from SilverStone, but it gets the job done. Cable management also seemed poor, but considering that you will probably not have your side panels open the whole time, you will probably never notice this and therefore does not affect my overall impression of this case.
If you are trying to build a silent case, there is no reason why you should spend a lot of money since the KL05B-Q makes quiet affordable. Being quiet does not mean that your system doesn’t perform well, that is if you decide choose the right parts. The SilverStone KL05-Q offers plenty of support for water-cooling, many drive configurations, and a lot of clearance for both PSU and GPU. In size, the KL05-Q should be considered a full tower, as it has eight expansion slots.
Given an all black design, there is nothing peculiar about the SilverStone KL05-Q other than the SilverStone logo located at the front. Given a plastic brushed aluminum finish at the front, makes it not stand out, but rather simple which is common for most SilverStone cases. If you are looking for something a bit more “aggressive” I will be reviewing the KL05B-W which is the sports model of this case.
An all steel construction is pretty common nowadays. This comes as no surprise as steel has gone down in price and it is really sturdy. There were also no small mistakes as we expect from any SilverStone, with the exception of the cable for the front I/O and the fan, which only you will notice since there is no side panel window. The entirety of the chassis didn’t have any noticeable flex, as did the side panels and the motherboard tray. The exterior finish is not easily scratched and overall it seems like a quality case.
Aside from being quiet, the KL05-Q offers a great amount of value by bringing a very spacious case with plenty of strong points. Most importantly it is SilverStone’s response to the other quiet mid-towers in the market, while also bringing many of the enthusiast features that the more expensive cases have at a very low price point. For $69.99 (Newegg l Amazon) you can get one of the most inexpensive silent towers in the market, with plenty of compatibility for enthusiast hardware.
+ 8 expansion slots.
+ Priced appropriately for a quiet mid tower.
+ Fully dust proof.
+ Ample storage configurations.
+ Great water-cooling support.
– Poor cable management.
– Only one fan included.
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Performance: 9.0
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Appearance: 9.0
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Construction: 9.75
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Functionality: 8.5
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Value: 8.75
