Review: The Silencio S400 case keeps your PC quiet without overheating
Cooler Master has quite a roster of PC cases available, including the Silencio S400. It’s a case that justifies its name with sound-dampening panels on the top, sides, and front, giving you a bit of peace and quiet while the hardware inside powers on. It’s a fairly basic case when it comes to styling, with a black exterior and your choice of solid steel or tempered glass side panel. It’s also fairly affordable, generally hovering around the $100 mark. I built a PC inside the Silencio S400 to get an idea of its pros and cons, and ultimately to get an idea of whether or not it’s worth the price.
Cooler Master Silencio S400
Pros
- Easy to build with thanks to modular internals
- Will keep your hardware quiet
- Steel or tempered glass side panel available
- SD card reader is a nice addition
- Relatively affordable price
Cons
- Your hardware will likely run a bit hotter than usual
- Some parts feel a bit cheap
- Tempered glass version hard to find
Cooler Master Silencio S400: Price, availability, and specs
Source: Windows Central
The version with a tempered glass side panel (and less sound dampening) is much harder to find at a decent price. You won’t be able to show off your internal hardware without it, but your PC will run quieter.
Following is a look at the Silencio S400’s main specifications.
Category | Silencio S400 |
---|---|
Motherboard | Mini-ITX Micro-ATX |
I/O | Two USB-A 3.2 (Gen 1) 3.5mm headset jack SD card reader |
Expansion | Four |
Storage | Four 3.5-inch Four 2.5-inch |
Included fans | 120mm (front) 120mm (rear) |
Front fan support | Two 120mm Two 140mm |
Top fan support | 120mm, 140mm Two 120mm (no ODD cage) Two 140mm (no ODD cage) |
Rear fan support | 120mm |
Front rad support | 120mm, 140mm, 240mm 280mm (no ODD cage) |
Top rad support | 120mm 240mm (no ODD cage) |
Rear rad support | 120mm |
Filters | Top, front, bottom |
Clearance | CPU: 167mm (steel), 166mm (glass) GPU: 319mm PSU: 325mm (no HDD cage) |
Dimensions | 16.46 (L) x 8.27 (W) x 16.1 (H) inches (418mm x 210mm x 408mm) |
Color | Black |
Side panel | Tempered glass Steel |
Cooler Master Silencio S400: What I like
Source: Windows Central
You can add a second 120mm fan or swap out the stock fan for a couple of 140mm fans up front. It also supports 120mm, 140mm, or 240mm radiators with the optical drive cage installed. With the optical drive cage removed — I took it out with ease since it’s held in by only a couple of screws — you can fit a 280mm radiator.
Source: Windows Central
The case offers four PCI expansion slots — enough to handle the best graphics cards and their serious girth — as well as plenty of storage space. There’s an HDD cage next to the bottom PSU position with room for three 3.5-inch drives, plus you can mount an HDD on the bottom of the optical drive cage if you decide to not remove it. The PSU shroud has a couple of 2.5-inch SSD mounts on the top (which are right below the GPU), as well as two mounts on the back of the motherboard panel. The HDD cage can be secured in three different positions depending on how much space you need for the PSU, and it can be removed entirely with just one screw.
The Silencio S400 makes PC building about as painless as possible, even when going over recommended dimensions.
Taking Cooler Master’s “Make It Yours” slogan to heart, I removed the entire front section of the case, including the hinged sound-dampening door and dust filter. This plastic portion is held in by pressure clips so it was quite easy to get off. From there, I replaced the 120mm fan with the 140mm option (which could sit way higher in the case) and plugged it into the four-pin extender that can run up to three fans. This was also when I removed the optical drive cage. Those of you with oversized GPUs should also be able to get the case to work, but do note that going over the dimensions will remove the ability for a front radiator. You’re pretty much cemented into a single 140mm fan up front.
From there the case was accommodating, and the full fresh build took no more than about 45 minutes without rushing anything. The motherboard mounts are clearly marked for Mini-ITX and Micro-ATX, there are plenty of cutouts for smooth cable management — including a couple of openings with rubber gaskets to better hide cabling — and the PSU fits in snugly and rests on rubber feet. This is a fairly simple build, but I still felt like I had a ton of room to work with, especially after removing the HDD cage. And since the PC is sort of like a vault for your hardware, I felt less pressure to spend a ton of time on making the cabling look perfect.
The top venting can either be covered with a magnetic dust filter for better airflow, or with a steel panel with sound dampening for less noise. Since I didn’t mount any top fans, I primarily used the steel panel since it gives the case just a bit more of a complete look. And, as we will see, it didn’t cause too much of a rise in temperatures. The back of the case is essentially left open as most cases are, but with it pointed away from you there isn’t a whole lot of racket to be heard.
Source: Windows Central
Testing first at an idle, I measured 51.2 decibels directly above the PC with the mesh top installed. With the solid top, I measured 40.9 decibels, a significant drop. At this level it’s safe to think of a quiet library, and that’s if you have your ear basically pressed up to the PC. Testing noise at the front from about 2 feet away, sound actually went up by a couple of decibels when I replaced the solid top with mesh, from 36.1 to 38.2. This could have to do with the PC hauling more air through the front when the top grate is closed. Still, it’s not a ton of noise.
Under load, I measured 54.5 decibels directly above the PC with the mesh top installed. With the solid top, I measured 43.1 decibels. From about 2 feet away it’s significantly quieter even when the system is being stress tested. You can still definitely hear the system running, especially with the oversized GPU I installed, but this is still one of the quietest PCs I’ve built.
Source: Windows Central
Hardware | Idle, mesh (°C) | Idle, steel (°C) | Load, mesh (°C) | Load, steel (°C) |
---|---|---|---|---|
CPU | 37.2 | 38.5 | 82.8 | 83.9 |
GPU | 33.1 | 33.5 | 65.7 | 66.7 |
MoBo | 43 | 43 | 49.7 | 49 |
Cooler Master Silencio S400: What I don’t like
Source: Windows Central
The case’s foam feet (to cut down on vibrations) don’t seem like they’ll last long, especially if you’re often moving the case around. And the top dust filter’s magnets don’t line up in the corner. It’s all small, ultimately inconsequential stuff that I’m nitpicking here, and it’s nothing out of the ordinary for a case this price. As for the front I/O, I appreciate the SD card reader but wish there was a USB-C port for better future-proofing.
Source: Windows Central
Cooler Master Silencio S400: Competition
Source: Rich Edmonds / Windows Central
If you have a bit more money to spend on a case, the be quiet! Silent Base 802 is another excellent option. It has a bit more style compared to the Silencio S400, and it’s much larger with space inside for up to an E-ATX build. There’s tons of radiator support, I/O is modern, and you get decent airflow along with quiet performance.
Be sure to check out our collection of the best PC cases for more general options, as well as our picks for best Cooler Master cases if you’d like to stick with the brand.
Cooler Master Silencio S400: Should you buy it?
Source: Windows Central
You should buy this if …
- You like a clean look without RGB
- You want your PC to run at a whisper
- You want a more compact build with Mini-ITX or Micro-ATX board
You shouldn’t buy this if …
- You want lots of RGB styling
- You have a bunch of oversized hardware
- You like to see the inside of your PC
The Silencio S400 posed no problems while building a new PC, and even having to go over the suggested dimensions with my oversized GPU really didn’t cause any issues beyond not being able to fit a radiator up front. Despite its compact size, the case has plenty of room for storage and cabling, and there’s even an optional optical drive bay.
With an average price of about $100, there are some corners cut here and there when it comes to quality. However, all the points that really matter are covered. The case is able to keep performance hardware relatively cool despite its sound dampening capabilities, and the system is whisper quiet even under load. If you’re looking to go with a Mini-ITX or Micro-ATX size for your next build and don’t want to hear your system, this case should definitely be on your shortlist.
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