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 air-
cooled 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 sound-
damping 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 hardw are 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 controlSilence falls once again
as Cooler Master returns
Cooler Master
Silencio S600
9
VERDICT Cooler Master Silencio S600SILENCE Excellent noise-
canceling; powerful case fans;
great drive support.
CACOPHONY No USB-C support; slightly
flimsy front door hinge.
$100, http://coolermaster.comSPECIFICATIONSForm Factor Mid-tower
Motherboard Support ATX, mATX, ITX
Colors Available Black
Window Available Ye s
3.5-Inch Support 4
2.5-Inch Support^5
Radiator Support 280mm front, 240mm
roof, 120mm rear
Fan Support 2x 140mm front,
2x 140mm roof,
1x 120mm rear
Dimensions 8.3 x 18.1 x 16.9
inches
Graphics Card
Clearance
15.7 inchesand 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 cable-
management 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 noise-
canceling cases available on the marketright 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. –CHRISTIAN GUYTONmaximumpc.com JAN 2020 MAXIMUMPC 89