Cooler Master Silencio 352 Review
Category : Cases
Published by Luca Rocchi on 21.01.14
With Silencio 352, Cooler Master has a new interesting silent case with small dimensions in its portfolio. This model is only compatibel to mATX or mini-ITX motherboards and Cooler Master decided to equip it with three sound absorbing panels. Other than that this case also features an extremely competitive price tag. Overall this sounds like an interesting combination, which is making us curious.
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On the following pages we will show you the strengths and weaknesses of the Cooler Master Silencio 352.
| Page 1 - Introduction | Page 5 - Left side |
| Page 2 - Preview | Page 6 - Top / Bottom |
| Page 3 - Front / Back | Page 7 - Conclusion |
| Page 4 - Right side |
Discuss this article in the forums [pagebreak]
Preview
Specifications
| Model | Cooler Master Silencio 352 |
| Case Type | Mini tower |
| Dimensions | 200 x 378 x 453 mm |
| Material | Steel, Polymer |
| Color | Black |
| 5.25'' drive bay | 1 x external |
| 3.5'' drive bay | 3 x 3.5'' |
| 2.5'' drive bay | 4 x 2.5'' |
| Expansion slots | 4 |
| Form factors | mATX, mini-ITX |
| Weight | 4.7 kg |
| Cooling | Top: 120x15mm fan x 1 (optional) Front:120mm fan x 2 (one XtraFlo fan (no LED) installed, one optional) Rear: 120mm XtraFlo fan (no LED) x 1 (installed) |
| I/O ports | USB 3.0 x 2, USB 2.0 x 1, Audio In & Out, SD card reader x 1 |
| Page 1 - Introduction | Page 5 - Left side |
| Page 2 - Preview | Page 6 - Top / Bottom |
| Page 3 - Front / Back | Page 7 - Conclusion |
| Page 4 - Right side |
Discuss this article in the forums [pagebreak]
Front
Overview |
 |
| The front of the Cooler Master Silencio 352 is simple and elegant, the door is covered with an acoustic insulation mat and contributes to the reduction of unwanted noise. Cooler Master has put a lot of effort to make the case as silent as possible, in fact, the manufacturer also includes sound-absorbing material on both side panels. The front grill is also equipped with a dust filter and behind we find two 120mm fans for the HDD and the interior of the case. Last but not least there are many I/O connections, two USB 2.0, two USB 3.0, classic audio jacks and an SD card reader. |
Back
Overview |
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| Next to the usual slot bezels, four in this case of Cooler Master Silencio 352, there is also space for the pre-installed 120 millimeter fan, which has been placed right behind the CPU cooler. The manufacturer decided to place the PSU in the bottom area of the case. Other than that there are two circular bezels, which can be removed to either route tubes from a watercooling loop through or basically any other cables. |
| Page 1 - Introduction | Page 5 - Left side |
| Page 2 - Preview | Page 6 - Top / Bottom |
| Page 3 - Front / Back | Page 7 - Conclusion |
| Page 4 - Right side |
Discuss this article in the forums [pagebreak]
Right side
Overview |
|
| As soon as you take the side panel off, which is slightly curved, you will see that there is a plenty space inside. It's therefore easier to put all the cables on the backside of the motherboard. The space behind the motherboard tray is sufficient to obtain a pretty good cable management. Another point that you will notice is the cut-out behind the CPU socket area, so installation of the large backplate for top performing air coolers will definitely not be a problem. The motherboard tray also includes a numerous cutouts and grommets that will help you maintain a clean and orderly configuration. |
| Page 1 - Introduction | Page 5 - Left side |
| Page 2 - Preview | Page 6 - Top / Bottom |
| Page 3 - Front / Back | Page 7 - Conclusion |
| Page 4 - Right side |
Discuss this article in the forums [pagebreak]
Left side
Overview |
 |
| As with the right side of the
case, the left side of the case is pretty the same, or precisely at a very good level. The only elements
which left us a bit confused are the HDD and peripherals cage which does
not use tool-less system. On the top right corner there are two 5.25" slot paired
with a single 3.5" one.
The top of the case also features a room for a 120mm fan or an option to cover the mesh with the bulkhead provided. As you can see from the pictures, this small bulkhead has no screws but uses a retention system consisting of small magnets,
which is definitely a great idea! In total, it is possible to install two 120mm fans on the front (or even a 240mm radiator), a 120mm fan in the rear and another 120mm fan on the top. Despite the rather small size of the Silencio 352, we were able to mount a single tower heatsink without running into any compatibility issues. |
| Page 1 - Introduction | Page 5 - Left side |
| Page 2 - Preview | Page 6 - Top / Bottom |
| Page 3 - Front / Back | Page 7 - Conclusion |
| Page 4 - Right side |
Discuss this article in the forums [pagebreak]
Top
Overview |
 |
| The upper part is pretty clean and simple, we only find the slot for the installation of the 120mm fan. At the front there is a small band lucid in stark contrast with the lines of the case including the brand name of the case. |
Bottom
Overview |
 |
| Cooler Master Silencio 352 rests on four solid rubber feet, which are so stable that you actually have to lift the case in order to move it. Under the area dedicated to the power supply, we find the removable and washable dust filter. |
| Page 1 - Introduction | Page 5 - Left side |
| Page 2 - Preview | Page 6 - Top / Bottom |
| Page 3 - Front / Back | Page 7 - Conclusion |
| Page 4 - Right side |
Discuss this article in the forums [pagebreak]
Conclusion
| General | + | - | |
| The Cooler Master Silencio 352 is a mini-tower case which is very well done and definitely convincing regarding the soundproofing. The quality of materials is on very good level, including the plastic parts. Despite its small size, you can install large heatsinks or high-end liquid cooling systems. The design is very elegant, the number of I/O connections are easily accessible on the front of the case and the magnetic cover the top is a cool idea. | -
Design -Sound absorbing |
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| Manufacturing quality / Ergonomics | + | - | |
| The overall quality is on a good level. Cooler Master did not use cheaper thin panels and instead opted for steel ones, which are, same as on the CM 690 III case, slightly curved. The number of grommets for cable management is very impressive given the size of the case. The internal and external painting is well done. As for the cable management, things get a bit confusing. There are several grommets and cable tie places but without the rubber grommets for any of them. The case seems well-designed and definitely aimed to have optimum cable management, however, the available space behind the motherboard tray is a bit lacking but still very good considering that this is a mini-tower case. | - Build quality - Interior Space | ||
| Design | + | - | |
| Cooler Master created a very decent and good looking design for the Silencio 352. The design is simple and perfectly reflects the old style of the previous line. The case is very clean and elegant. The front door helps to maintain a good style and hide the fan mesh. The cooling performance is very good since there are ventilation slots on the left and the right side of the front panel. | - Cooling | - Not tool-less | |
| Recommendation | + | - | |
| We can recommend the Silencio 352 to anyone who is looking for a mini-tower case which features pre-installed acoustic insulation material. With this case it is really easy to build a silent gaming rig, even if you are looking for a watercooled system. At the moment, on Geizhals, the price of Silencio 352 is about 50 Euro without shipping costs. | - Gaming-PC - Silent-PC - Deskop-PC |
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| Rating | |||
| The Cooler Master Silencio 352 gets good four out of five stars. | |||
| Page 1 - Introduction | Page 5 - Left side |
| Page 2 - Preview | Page 6 - Top / Bottom |
| Page 3 - Front / Back | Page 7 - Conclusion |
| Page 4 - Right side |
Discuss this article in the forums