Silence on a budget? or just a standard budget case for a budget user?
Here's the spec:
| Material: Dimensions: 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: | Plastic Bezel , Steel Body 170(W) x 359.8(H) x 406.6(D)mm, 24.87 liters 3.34KG Micro-ATX 2 4 1 1x Power, 1x Reset, 2x USB 3.0, 1x Mic, 1x Audio 4 1x 120mm Intake fan Standard ATX 358mm Long graphics cards, 140mm CPU coolers |
Exterior:
Starting with the front of the case we have a brushed metal style plastic. This is definitely not something I am a fan of normally and on the PS07 while it looks legitimate, touching the panel will reveal its cheaper plastic origin and give the product an overall cheaper feel.
| With the front panel on the PS07 being slightly deeper than on a normal case, the 2 5.25 inch drive bays provided are slightly depressed into the panel, probably a very 'marmite' thing for aesthetics. Having the bays depressed does have some small upsides for example fan controllers won't be too invasive out the front and will get some small protection from bumps and knocks. | 
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|  The power and reset buttons are found on the sides of the cases, the power being on the left and the reset on the right. This does look really nice but will hinder where and how you choose to place your system if you plan on placing it against a wall. In saying this, having |
them on opposite sides means if you do wish to place it against a wall, you get the clean looking front and you can wire the power header according to which of the two power/reset switches is available to you!
Also found on the sides of the front bezel is the ventilation for the 120mm and 80mm front fan mounts. With the PS09 being designed for silence this is the most optimal location for the vents as it makes it harder for sound to escape from the case compared to a straight grill. Because of this the PS09 will be quieter but it does have downsides, the biggest being worse airflow and therefore higher temps. This is something you generally trade off anyway.
Also found on the sides of the front bezel is the ventilation for the 120mm and 80mm front fan mounts. With the PS09 being designed for silence this is the most optimal location for the vents as it makes it harder for sound to escape from the case compared to a straight grill. Because of this the PS09 will be quieter but it does have downsides, the biggest being worse airflow and therefore higher temps. This is something you generally trade off anyway.
| The vents are removable and interchangeable with small dust filters in each. These aren't anything special but will provide you with enough protection to stop dust building up adding to the already slightly hotter interior of the silence orientated system. I would have preferred they used a circular mesh over a hex mesh but that would have hindered the already reduced airflow | 
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The side panels on the PS09 aren't anything special and there really isn't anything to say about them. They fit securely and tightly with no gaps between it and the case.
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Moving on to the bottom of the case we find almost nothing, just some hard plastic feet and if you look closely, some mounting for a single 2.5" hard drive or SSD. The made in china stamp is somewhat interesting also. The top of the PS09 is even more uneventful with absolutely nothing but blank steel.
The back has a bit more going on with a top mounted power supply, four expansion slots for your Micro-ATX motherboard and an 80/92m fan mount. You also get a kensington lock but unfortunately this is about as exciting as it gets on the metal portion of the external chassis.
The back has a bit more going on with a top mounted power supply, four expansion slots for your Micro-ATX motherboard and an 80/92m fan mount. You also get a kensington lock but unfortunately this is about as exciting as it gets on the metal portion of the external chassis.
Interior:
Take the side panels off and we find a very simple and almost standard looking interior from this angle. For a case this price that would be expected but Silverstone have made a slight change to the structure that better prioritises its capabilities for it's size.
| Rather than having two sheets of metal that traverse the height of the case, they have opted for only one of them and a partial one to create a 3.5" drive cage over a larger column. This means you only get four 3.5" drive bays for storage, one having a pre-cut hole through the metal chassis. It also means that you can fit much longer graphics cards of up to nearly 36cm. With a top mounted | 
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power supply this allows the case to offer a lot more with a smaller overall volume and considering they have still used a full height panel on one side, the case is going to still be very sturdy and feels very solid, it just doesn't look very nice and hides part of the long graphics card you might install.
Sound deadening material has been stuck on the insides of both side panels on the PS09 and it is quite effective at making sure the case stays quiet but both side panels use the same pre-cut sheets which have two holes cut out where the motherboard tray interferes on the back panel. This leaves the side panels looking slightly cheap not to mention the shape of the panels leaves the material looking like it also might peel in the future. On a budget case in this price bracket however you are lucky to find features such as this, I just don't particularly agree with the wasted potential by not integrating this feature in the way it deserves.
Sound deadening material has been stuck on the insides of both side panels on the PS09 and it is quite effective at making sure the case stays quiet but both side panels use the same pre-cut sheets which have two holes cut out where the motherboard tray interferes on the back panel. This leaves the side panels looking slightly cheap not to mention the shape of the panels leaves the material looking like it also might peel in the future. On a budget case in this price bracket however you are lucky to find features such as this, I just don't particularly agree with the wasted potential by not integrating this feature in the way it deserves.
| Although I have covered several parts of the interior already in the review I want to roll it back a bit and look at the interior as a whole. This is the most basic looking interior you might think of but what I want to bring attention to it the difference between this and the 'preferred' layout. The PS09 has a top mounted power supply which coupled with the two 5.25" drive bays along with the four expansion slots coupled with the exclusion of storage bays in front of it make the PS09 extremely compact at less than 25 liters. Because of this the PS09 has a kind of weird fan layout with an 80mm and a 120mm fan mount in the front for intake and a 92/80mm mounting option in the rear for exhaust. This is as we've already kind of covered, not adequate enough for such a closed off case. | 
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|  Some final things to make notes on before we move on to the conclusion are that you do get a 2.5" drive mount in the bottom of the case but it is in a very awkward position. You also get literally no room behind the motherboard tray for cable management. |
Conclusion:
The Silverstone PS09 is a very 'marmite' case in the sense that you will either love it or hate it simply down to its feature list. To get the PS09 to fit in its price bracket, Silverstone have essentially had to recycle an already used and very basic design that they had back in 2012 on the PS08 and while this alone is not an issue and is something every manufacturer does, the main features on the PS09 haven't turned out as as well as they could have because of this.
For a sub £40 case to come with sound dampening material pre-installed it is very impressive and there isn't much competition amongst other cases for this in the given price range but I really do feel you actually pay for this on the same level that you would buying the proofing aftermarket. This isn't helped by the PS09 only coming with a single fan and none for exhaust.
I like the design of the front panel with the included dust filters and airflow route to reduce noise which is an added bonus. On top of this the PS09 will accommodate almost any graphics card you throw at it.
If I am honest it is hard to really conclude on this case. It's kind of it's own case route in a sense that you aren't going to buy it for general use but more for a very specific silent budget system, as other than this very niche market, the PS09 can't really stand up to its competition. it doesn't feature any cable management routing tools, water cooling capabilities, many fan mounts, tool less drive bays or anything for that matter a general user may want. Every manufacturer has an area of the market in which they are known for excelling in, budget cases is not Silverstone's as they are one of the 'kings' of high end cases on the 'other side of town'.
Unless you are looking for a very basic silent orientated 'work' case, this isn't for you but if you are, you probably won't find anything as good and as cheap. Unfortunately we have to rate the case based on the entire market and so it's almost irrelevant if you are in the market for this specific need. We have give the PS09 a rating of 5/10 for its rating disregarding price which it achieved mainly because of it's build quality and the fact part of the rating is based on its intended main feature. For its value rating we gave it another 5/10 giving it an even 10/20 overall.
Being rated across the entire market, Silverstone have actually pulled out quite a feat with the PS09 not falling into our sub 10/20 category with a very specific case. I do feel they could have done a little more though and it's the little features you find on cases that really make the difference even going as far as just drilling another 4 holes in the case to add an extra 2.5" drive bay.
For a sub £40 case to come with sound dampening material pre-installed it is very impressive and there isn't much competition amongst other cases for this in the given price range but I really do feel you actually pay for this on the same level that you would buying the proofing aftermarket. This isn't helped by the PS09 only coming with a single fan and none for exhaust.
I like the design of the front panel with the included dust filters and airflow route to reduce noise which is an added bonus. On top of this the PS09 will accommodate almost any graphics card you throw at it.
If I am honest it is hard to really conclude on this case. It's kind of it's own case route in a sense that you aren't going to buy it for general use but more for a very specific silent budget system, as other than this very niche market, the PS09 can't really stand up to its competition. it doesn't feature any cable management routing tools, water cooling capabilities, many fan mounts, tool less drive bays or anything for that matter a general user may want. Every manufacturer has an area of the market in which they are known for excelling in, budget cases is not Silverstone's as they are one of the 'kings' of high end cases on the 'other side of town'.
Unless you are looking for a very basic silent orientated 'work' case, this isn't for you but if you are, you probably won't find anything as good and as cheap. Unfortunately we have to rate the case based on the entire market and so it's almost irrelevant if you are in the market for this specific need. We have give the PS09 a rating of 5/10 for its rating disregarding price which it achieved mainly because of it's build quality and the fact part of the rating is based on its intended main feature. For its value rating we gave it another 5/10 giving it an even 10/20 overall.
Being rated across the entire market, Silverstone have actually pulled out quite a feat with the PS09 not falling into our sub 10/20 category with a very specific case. I do feel they could have done a little more though and it's the little features you find on cases that really make the difference even going as far as just drilling another 4 holes in the case to add an extra 2.5" drive bay.
Verdict:
Rating: 5/10
Value: 5/10
Value: 5/10
