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SilverStone Kublai KL05B Mid-Tower Case Review

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Mid-Tower Final Thoughts

Does the SilverStone KL05-W 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, and this is a major issue when you have a side panel window as you will notice it due to the lack of rubber grommets and black cables.

Silverstone-KL05B-W-Finished-View

SilverStone KL05B-W Conclusion

If this is the first time you are building a gaming system, there is no reason why you should spend a lot of money since the KL05B-W makes performance affordable. The SilverStone KL05-W offers plenty of support for water-cooling, drive configurations, and plenty of clearance for both power supplies and graphics adapters. In size, the KL05B-W should be considered a full tower, as it has eight expansion slots, and plenty of space for even first time builders to have a pleasant time building.

Given an all black design, there is nothing peculiar about the SilverStone KL05-W other than the side panel window which allows you to see your finished system. Unfortunately that also means that you will be able to see the colorful cables that unfortunately SilverStone included. There is of course ways of fixing this issue, but as it is, these small issues set apart the great cases from the best.

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 case, with the exception of the window on the side panel which was easily scratched. The entirety of the chassis didn’t have any noticeable flex and the exterior finish is not easily scratched making it an overall very well constructed case.

Aside from being enthusiast friendly, the KL05-W 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 performance mid-towers in the market, while also bringing many of the premium 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 full towers in the market, with plenty of compatibility for enthusiast hardware.

Pros:

Benchmark Reviews Silver Tachometer Award Logo (Small)

+ 8 expansion slots.
+ Fully dust proof.
+ Ample storage configurations.
+ Great water-cooling support.

Cons:

– Poor cable management options.
– Only one fan included.
– No rubber grommets.
– Plexi window easily scratches.

Ratings:

  • Performance: 9.0
  • Appearance: 8.5
  • Construction: 9.5
  • Functionality: 8.5
  • Value: 8.75

Final Score: 8.85 out of 10.

Quality Recognition: Benchmark Reviews Silver Tachometer Award.

NewEgg.com

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