Here's the spec:
| Material: Dimensions: Volume: Weight: M/B Type: 5.25" Drive Bay: 3.5" Drive Bay: 2.5" Drive Bay: I/O Panel: Expansion Slots: Cooling System: Power Supply: Maximum Compatibility: | Steel, Reinforced Plastic 382(W) x 105(H) x 350(D)mm 14 liters 3.71KG DTX, Mini-ITX 1x Slim Optical 1 3 2x USB 3.0, 1x Mic, 1x Audio 2 3x 120mm Intake slots (no fans) SFX, SFX-L (future form factor) 330mm(L) x 149mm(H) Graphics cards, 83mm CPU Coolers |
Exterior:
| SilverStone are one of many companies know for investing money into designing revolutionary case interiors and then using them and adapting them in multiple case designs. This ML07 case has an interior taken from their RVZ01 Raven series gaming case, yes a gaming case. Why am I mentioning this when I should be covering the exterior? Well you need to keep in mind that the Exterior is going to be the main defining feature of this product, so if you don't like the exterior design but like the interior, SilverStone will probably have plenty more options for you to choose from if not now, in the future. See the gallery to the right for the main exterior photos. | |
The exterior of the ML07 shows a simple layered blocky design, with a thick protruding band extending round the 3 sides of the case. Textures differ between the band portion and the rest with the band showing a brushed aluminium styling and the rest a more of a matte steel sort of look to it that I have to say actually reflects/disperses light perfectly. I may have preferred to see this over all of the plastic as the brushed aluminium look gets really cheap really fast the closer you are to it.
As you can see from the specification and the gallery photos, the ML07 comes with a slot loading optical drive bay, two USB 3.0 ports and your standard microphone and headphone jacks. As a case orientated more towards the HTPC market, using a slot loading drive bay is potentially risky as quite a few slot loading optical drives are exceptionally loud, the last thing you want for this purpose. Having never reviewed SilverStone's own SL optical drives I can't comment on theirs but they seem confident enough about using slot loading drive bays in their cases so who knows. I do know though that SL drive bays are on another level when it comes to how they look compared to your standard 5.25".
As you can see from the specification and the gallery photos, the ML07 comes with a slot loading optical drive bay, two USB 3.0 ports and your standard microphone and headphone jacks. As a case orientated more towards the HTPC market, using a slot loading drive bay is potentially risky as quite a few slot loading optical drives are exceptionally loud, the last thing you want for this purpose. Having never reviewed SilverStone's own SL optical drives I can't comment on theirs but they seem confident enough about using slot loading drive bays in their cases so who knows. I do know though that SL drive bays are on another level when it comes to how they look compared to your standard 5.25".
As far as the rest of the front I/O is concerned it's pretty standard, the usb 3.0 ports are far enough apart to be able to use both of them with large usb devices and the clicky style power and reset button camouflage very well which is nice. In a comment related to every case on the market, why are usb connectors so well built but the ports made of shoddy thin metal? this is a question I need answers too as in almost every case I have ever reviewed including this one, the ports are not identical and at least one is always slightly warped. Thankfully with the ML07 these photo's actually exaggerate what they really look like.
The bands that have extended round the sides act as large vents to both sides which on the internal chassis is grilled from head to toe though no fan mounts are present. With such an interior that this case has the case will need as much ventilation as it can get but we all know that it's the ventilation that doesn't have fans on where the most dust seems to seep in and as these aren't dust filtered that may present a problem. What I find promising is that the entire sides of the chassis itself is vented leaving SilverStone with a case interior that has massive potential, the ML07 may have some amazing brothers and sisters coming to market soon, who knows but I look forward to finding out.
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As far as the Back I/O portion of the case goes, I'm not going to say much here because it will ruin the interior portion of the review. What we do have though besides the cool stuff is lots more hexagonal ventilation, remember this was taken from a performance case.
| A new design I haven't seen before, comes on the fan grills. They have quite an edgy and cool design that isn't uniform at all. Maybe this is better for airflow? maybe it's just awesome and helps detract from the fact the case is just that, a case. It reminds me more of those 'super cool' case designs you see on those overpriced branded 'gaming pc's than what you would find on a case this price, I like that its different. They've been extremely well placed as well, one 120mm fan slot above the motherboard tray for a choice of fan cooler optional combo's and then two more on the underside of the case below where the graphics card will be. Is this the best design possible for maximising cooling potential and also minimising dust? well maybe if they had remembered dust filters on the top slot. |   |
 | We also find a small 80mm sized fan grill with no mounting holes, just below where the power supply will be on the underside of the case. This is reminiscent of Silverstones SFX power supplies and that is because that is exactly what they expect you to be putting in this case. You'll find this lines up better with their ST45SF-G than their ST45SF and ST30SF power supplies. |
Interior:
Mini-ITX cases are known for being compact and through that pretty hard to work in, the ML07 is the opposite of that. Yes it is still compact but somehow roomy at the same time and I believe this is because they have compartmentalised the entire case so each component has its own personal space and this allows you to focus on that area without having other products pushing their way into where your working as is commonly the problem. Not only that but literally everything inside the case can be removed and with surprisingly not very many screws, this I absolutely love.
| So we've covered the fact this case has very well designed cooling but what makes it a proper gaming case? what makes it as easy to use as I've been saying? The answer is this, a single combo cage that houses your optical drive, two 2.5" hard drive/SSD's and on top of all that, a graphics card of up thirteen inches!!! Not only that but because the graphics card is housed with in it using a riser card, the entire |  |
cage plugs in just like the graphics card would just on its own. Cabling isn't that hard even considering how many cables there is when the entire cage is in use, though powering the optical drive is a little complicated as the cables have to pass between the back of the graphics card and up through a hole. I would recommend if at all possible depending on third party manufacturers, getting a graphics card with its power connections on the end as it will just make it all that much easier with airflow and cooling.
SilverStone could have left it there but they haven't. When you consider that the graphics card is in exactly the same orientation as it would in a 'normal' desktop pc, it shouldn't be under any stress it can't handle. Silverstone have gone a step further and added a bracket that goes around the graphics card, holding it from the bottom and securing it meaning your card won't experience any bending from its own weight. This comes with rubber pads and can be moved around so it will be compatible with most cards, even taller and thicker than normal cards. All these unorthodox features can be confusing to start with but the ML07 comes with a simple enough manual and after a while working with the case becomes as second nature as any other case is, it is definitely a pleasure to build in. On a final note, if you aren't using the expansion slot but still want to use the cage, the riser portion can be removed.
Moving on from the cage, we have the SFX power supply cage in its own compartment, separate from the graphics card area by a structural divider that is also host to a 2.5" mount. Now I'm all for the 'if you can offer it, offer it' kind of thinking and I usually call manufacturers out for not putting 2.5" mounts everywhere they can as a few screw holes costs nothing from a material standpoint. But in this case I wouldn't recommend using this 2.5" mount, it's just way to close to the power supply cables and sitting directly in between those cables and everywhere they need to be. There will be somebody that uses this at some point though so I can't be too harsh about it as at the end of the day its not hurting anyone.
On to the power supply cage, it removes via four screws and is designed to take SilverStones upcoming SFX-L form factor power supplies which are 30mm longer than standard SFX. What does this mean for users now? well with 180mm of power supply clearance for todays 100mm power supplies, you get a massive 80mm of space to work with for tying up unused PSU cables, tying back too long cables and in general, have a place to store the clutter. In such a small case this is a godsend and with SilverStone planning for the future it means that you have to worry a little less when building your system because you can sit comfortably knowing that your in good hands.
On top of the power supply cage is your only 3.5" hard drive mount, another confusing place to put the hard drive but in such a compact system it seems the only possible place. I feel like it just looks wrong though and that it would be better being orientated towards the motherboard tray where its cables actually need to go, seems like common sense to me.
On to the power supply cage, it removes via four screws and is designed to take SilverStones upcoming SFX-L form factor power supplies which are 30mm longer than standard SFX. What does this mean for users now? well with 180mm of power supply clearance for todays 100mm power supplies, you get a massive 80mm of space to work with for tying up unused PSU cables, tying back too long cables and in general, have a place to store the clutter. In such a small case this is a godsend and with SilverStone planning for the future it means that you have to worry a little less when building your system because you can sit comfortably knowing that your in good hands.
On top of the power supply cage is your only 3.5" hard drive mount, another confusing place to put the hard drive but in such a compact system it seems the only possible place. I feel like it just looks wrong though and that it would be better being orientated towards the motherboard tray where its cables actually need to go, seems like common sense to me.
Finally before we move onto to doing a recap of the cooling potential of the case, here is the motherboard tray area. There really isn't much to see but that's a good point in my books. The case is so compartmentalised that when it comes to the motherboard tray there is nothing getting in the way or overhanging at all, even the PCI express riser card provides a wall between the motherboard and that entire half of the case, well done SilverStone.
Finally before I conclude here is the full summary of the ML07's cooling potential. with three 120mm fan mounts, the ML07 has absolutely no time for loud and whiney small fans. Two of these fan mounts are located directly below the expansion card slots meaning if you are going to be using a powerful air cooled graphics card you may not get a better cooling set up than this. If you aren't going to be using an expansion card, these two fan mounts make for a nice place to fit a water cooling radiator and some fans which is impressive for a case in this form factor. Whether you plan to go with water cooling or not, you get 83mm of clearance above your motherboard, perfect to fit a larger low-profile air cooler or a water block/small air cooler along with a 120mm fan in the mount directly above the board. This case is amazing for both CPU and GPU cooling, a big achievement for a 14 litre case.
There is also ventilation all the way along both the left and right sides as well as the back of the case, because of this I recommend using all the three 120mm fan mounts as intakes with dust filters to keep dust out. Now onto my conclusion!
There is also ventilation all the way along both the left and right sides as well as the back of the case, because of this I recommend using all the three 120mm fan mounts as intakes with dust filters to keep dust out. Now onto my conclusion!
Conclusion:
Being born from a purebred gaming case the ML07 is an extreme performance case hidden within a sleek professional design. You could easily fill this case with the highest end components and hide it in an office or in the middle of a HiFi style set up under a TV and you would never suspect the ML07 of being anything more than a standard desktop.
I am a massive fan of the interior design the ML07 brings to the table, offering all of the features needed for this generations high end gaming system. It allows for up to 13" graphics cards and along with SilverStones advancements in SFX power supplies and motherboard advancements in onboard network and audio chips all you need is the single expansion slot capable of a dual GPU card. We even have the extensive cooling options capable of handling such a system too making the ML07 a great choice for people with limited available space who want a powerful PC.
Unfortunately in my opinion the exterior design is where we have to leave the positive thoughts behind and really discuss the negatives. The brushed aluminium looking plastic isn't something I ever feel is going to be popular, at least not with case fronts that require a lot of it, it is something that should be left for the little touches and accents. Maybe the case would have actually looked better with the brushed aluminium look and the matte look being reversed on the case. Not only am I not a huge fan of the look but SilverStone are practically known as the king of proper Aluminium designs and a case with an interior of this standard deserves a proper exterior design similar to the quality of the SG08-Lite, Even Cooler Masters cheaper Elite 120 had a partly metal front.
I'm not one to have unrealistic expectations though, the ML07 and its brother the RVZ01 have clearly had serious time and therefore money spent on them designing this interior and that shouldn't go unnoticed. As practically all the negatives I have on the ML07 have spawned from my own subjective views, the ML07 poses a serious threat to other cases in it's market and if you fancy the design of the ML07 then maybe this is the case for you. I won't be giving this case an Editors choice award on this one as it's not the case for me but knowing SilverStone's tactic of re-using good interiors and offering multiple exterior designs (which is exactly what the ML07 is), if they came back to me with a version that has a front panel comparable to their older Grandia series cases, I think I would be in love and we would see a Silver Award case easily, the ML07 sadly missed out on this award by only one point but still solidly receiving our Bronze Award.
I am a massive fan of the interior design the ML07 brings to the table, offering all of the features needed for this generations high end gaming system. It allows for up to 13" graphics cards and along with SilverStones advancements in SFX power supplies and motherboard advancements in onboard network and audio chips all you need is the single expansion slot capable of a dual GPU card. We even have the extensive cooling options capable of handling such a system too making the ML07 a great choice for people with limited available space who want a powerful PC.
Unfortunately in my opinion the exterior design is where we have to leave the positive thoughts behind and really discuss the negatives. The brushed aluminium looking plastic isn't something I ever feel is going to be popular, at least not with case fronts that require a lot of it, it is something that should be left for the little touches and accents. Maybe the case would have actually looked better with the brushed aluminium look and the matte look being reversed on the case. Not only am I not a huge fan of the look but SilverStone are practically known as the king of proper Aluminium designs and a case with an interior of this standard deserves a proper exterior design similar to the quality of the SG08-Lite, Even Cooler Masters cheaper Elite 120 had a partly metal front.
I'm not one to have unrealistic expectations though, the ML07 and its brother the RVZ01 have clearly had serious time and therefore money spent on them designing this interior and that shouldn't go unnoticed. As practically all the negatives I have on the ML07 have spawned from my own subjective views, the ML07 poses a serious threat to other cases in it's market and if you fancy the design of the ML07 then maybe this is the case for you. I won't be giving this case an Editors choice award on this one as it's not the case for me but knowing SilverStone's tactic of re-using good interiors and offering multiple exterior designs (which is exactly what the ML07 is), if they came back to me with a version that has a front panel comparable to their older Grandia series cases, I think I would be in love and we would see a Silver Award case easily, the ML07 sadly missed out on this award by only one point but still solidly receiving our Bronze Award.
Verdict:
| Performance: Build Quality: Features & Compatibility: Aesthetics & Packaging: Value For Money: | 22/30 13/15 25/30 11/15 7/10 | Total: 79/100 |
Awards:
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