We're really rolling on the case reviews right now! There is a wildly interesting case coming out in a few weeks that we're working on today, though can't talk about it yet. That one is pretty unique. The Lancool 207 goes up tomorrow. The King 65 is also in for review! Any other requests on new cases from this year you'd like to see tested? In the meantime, watch our review of the Tryx Luca L70: ua-cam.com/video/TMvg1GYRKN4/v-deo.html And our CPU fab tour documentary! ua-cam.com/video/IUIh0fOUcrQ/v-deo.html
Every time I see a 20+ minute video about cases, I assume Gamer's Nexus is on an extended coffee break. I mean, who else can stretch that content like it’s an art form?
Counterpoint, the best feature is that the product manager literally told them "here's what we *have* compromised on this case so we could make it affordable." That shows a lot more respect for the intelligence of GN and of consumers.
Cool to see a SilverStone review after all this time. The cases seem fine but they’ve entered a bloodbath of a competition with this price point with Phanteks, Montech, Antec, Lian Li and even Fractal. Some are cheaper than these and you could buy a 3-5 pack of RGB fans from TRight or something. But for people that want a smaller but sturdy ATX case and perhaps don’t mind static lights like the NX200 or just want fans without needing to deal with installation, these aren’t too bad an option I suppose?
You're absolutely spot-on with your list of competitors. The market is crazy right now with good options in the mid-range especially. Great for consumers, at least!
@@GamersNexus absolutely! I still fondly remember purchasing a P300A on you guys’ recommendation back when you first reviewed it. There’ll always be a market for cheap but reliable cases!
As someone who hasn't heard their names often due to being newer to PC gaming, Silverstone and Antec returning feels like I'm a ten year old seeing some village hero returning at the end of the Hero's Journey... twelve years after he began.
Steve truly has 3 superpowers: bullshit-proof hair-cape, cause C-suite earthquakes on demand, and the ability to use the words "number" and "amount" correctly. Truly the man of tomorrow. I'm not currently in the market for a new case (rocking a Dark Base Pro 900, rev2) but GN makes it so easy to keep my ear to the ground to see what's up and coming and what's good and what's not. Always appreciate the hard work.
I dont need a new case since I got the Fractal North just last year, but I still like seeing your case reviews. Its what brought me to this channel many years ago in the first place!
I did opt for the Fractal Pop Air. The price was right and for some reason the option to still mount a 5.25" drive up front seemed nice. I never ended up transferring the DVD-Drive from the previous PC, but it was a huge step up from my old Bitfenix Shinobi in basically every way.
The chart at 18:25 indicates 31 decibels at full fan speed, that's very quiet. How do you rate the Fractal Pop Air noise level? It's one of the few budget ones avaliable where I live and I am lost in a sea of options with no proper noise test.
Even if I have no intention of buying something (I just finished my build not too long ago, certainly don't need replacement parts yet) watching the reviews is still fun and informative. Especially with cases because honestly wrapping my head around everything that affects thermals is... a lot even after watching "explainers," and seeing how it works out on a (sorry about the pun) case-by-case basis makes it easier.
I'm actually currently rocking a Silverstone Fara H1M and I've been using it for almost two years now. Bought it back then for 40 dollars. I just needed to add two Arctic P14 fans on it (+20 dollars) since it only came with a rear exhaust, but you can also buy it with three RGB fans pre-installed (I didn't because RGB and I also wanted 140mm fans). For 60 dollars overall, it's been such a solid MATX case with not even much compromise on build quality which surprised me. It has done a great job keeping my components cool despite living in the tropics. I'm glad Silverstone is back again competing on the budget market and I hope to see more of their budget cases in the future!
@@camplethargic8 didn't say there weren't other good cases, just said I'd be happy with this one. It looks nice, it does its job, and it's affordable. I had an old steel Lian Li years ago and it was beastly. I hated it, it was massive, heavy, sharp edges everywhere, poor access. Sometimes simple is just better.
@shadowDrakken Absolutely! I ***can*** be persnickety sometimes as in a living room build that the significant other has to give final approval on. But if I just want a "house" for a new rig and I just need the rig to run I am A-OKAY with just a box that is "good enough". Threw a "retro-gaming" Win 7 box together a month ago. As you noted in your other comment a lack of razor sharp edges (and flash or slag) in modern cases is very, very welcome! Hard to get a real stinker these days in that sense it seems and I do not mind that a bit.
I think rainbow fans are an amazing idea to save cost! If I were on a very tight budget I would absolutely buy this case. However it’s important not to hide it in the marketing slides. Let the user know that those colors are static
Watching this on my PC built in a Phanteks P400a that I bought on your recommendation. It's been a great case for close to 5 years now, especially with the addition of a Noctua exhaust fan. I'd love to see how my older case compares to the new ones. Great video.
a new case by Lancool, I have not heard that name in years. Bought it in 2003 or 2004 and used it until 2021, thought it didn't exist anymore. Very cool.
Silverstone is one of my favorite PC manufacturers to follow. They're refreshingly up front with the plans and intentions of their products, and that's very confidence-inspiring as a customer.
This is one of my favorite kind of case reviews that are far more budget cases. Its something I could actually potentially buy what with the prices of everything these days. I enjoy this very much.
I bought a Cooler Master case with a single black 120mm fan back in 2022, and it was not the cheapest. so I wouldn't mind a no-fan option of the smaller case for example if they are so worried about rainbow fans. cut the cost, ship it out fanless and overcome the worry of rainbow fans getting in the way of sales. also a nice touch of being precise about the weight of the case. SilverStone doing a very good job there. details matter, and they know it. kudos and thanks Steve!
I have to wonder if the inclusion of fans is less a cost to cut as it is a cost to justify: like maybe fans are light and compact enough that excluding them saves no money, and case makers would rather have a basic feature covered at no additional cost to the consumer.
This is just the content I needed. I tend to go very budget on my cases. And I ran into limitations with them for upgrades. Seeing that there are good options in that price range now is great. And saves me a lot of time on modding what I have.
I liked the new format style for what it is now, way more refreshing than here you go charts and numbers. Seeing it again brought back memories, was a case review that got me hooked to this channel a while back actually, be quiet 500 dx. I like both, but lean towards the new one a bit more. You walk the line perfectly between humor and solid reviews.
I've been running my Corsair vengeance c70 case since 2011/2012. It's had 5 builds in it. The power button died earlier this year, so I've used the reset button as the main power button. Still solid 👌
Very happy with my case CM H500, mora than 4 years, and a lot of gaming! Runs perfect from day one! Honestly, i bought this case based on Steve's review as a very good case!
Love the cheap case reviews! Last time I bought an uber-cheap case (40 CAD) without looking at GN reviews first I ended up using a Dremel on the solid front panel to make holes for fans and filters because it was cooking my old FX-8350 system that I shoved in it.
A side note for case testing, something I encountered myself, 3.5-inch drive cages or more likely mounting points can be a trap sometimes. As they may forget to account for the screw hole placement of newer / larger 6tb or larger HDD's. Encountered this on the cooler master flatpak case. May be worth a quick check when looking at drive cages.
I've got one of their horizontal* 'entertainment center' cases and it was pretty simple and sturdy. I don't do anything high end so no idea how the airflow is, but their build quality has seemed decent. *I wanted a retro 'on the desk with a monitor on top' flair to my set up lol. Certainly makes cleaning easier: move monitor over, open top, hose out with air, reverse steps.
Thanks Steve! It's a fine day when you're around. I like the "old style".... then again I like most everything I have seen. Either you are just that good or I am not picky. :) Peaceful Skies
The cool thing about the P400A was that if you had bought a regular P400 before they made the mesh front you were able to purchase the Mesh front by itself. I was really impressed phanteks did that. Made my P400 last a really really long time and then i even gifted it to a young gamer building his first PC. That thing will probably be in use for well over a decade when its all said and done.
i bought a case for 70 bucks, no fans included but room for 12 fans or two 360mm radiators and 6 fans and plenty of room for a hefty graphic cards. The quality is cheap and its bare bones in features but still sturdy. its my favorite case ever! that i might keep for multiple builds. Its called the darkFlash DK431 (ATX tower)
@@RM1969RM This is where different region's prices come into play so it's not that easy to recommend someone a "better deal". The darkflash case he said is 72$ here and the Corsair you said starts from 115$, almost double the price. It was around 75$ for a month or two back in 2021, since then it went up a lot.
I got a white mesh paneled Fractal North XL for 130 last week and it's basically only got a couple of things I'd change. I love it overall. Such a nice-looking case and it actually performs well. Just from a pure aesthetics standpoint, I don't know how silverstone hopes to compete with fractal.
I still have my RL06 in pretty good condition. I'd like to see how the RLO6 would perform nowadays, especially since the 514X looks almost the same as the RL06
In a rare circumstance, pricing here in Australia is much more palatable; we picked up a 514x recently for ~$58USD delivered. At that price point it is much easier to overlook the cost cutting measures. I think the snap out expansion slots were the most overt sign of the cost cutting when building in it, with the lack of captive screws in second place.
I would definitely consider the 515XR for a budget build. Good price & build quality, included fans and decent layout check basically all the boxes. Only thing I'd change is to offer a version with non-LED fans and maybe a fanless option. Also a version with no tempered glass side panel would be very nice to have.
When I saw the 515XR, the size and specs immediately reminded me of the VALOR AIR case from XPG. That case comes with 4 fans and at a very low price. I really like XPG cases. Good job Steve!
I've been rocking a Silverstone RL08 micro ATX case for 4 years. Built during the era of human malware, cooling/airflow is great, build quality excellent and the whole thing (a Ryzen 3700x with a 3070) has been absolutely solid. I say bring more smaller options to the market. Not everyone wants a behemoth box.
I got a Thermaltake V250 TG ARGB Air for $70 few years ago. I think they are $80 now. Comes with 4 120mm fans like those ones. Can fit 140mm. I used the 6 Antec 120mm RGB fans I already had from my previous case. It has been fine so far. I'm not too picky though. As long as the case gets the heat out.
I was rocking an FT02 for over 10 years. I recently switched over to a Fractal North (mostly because I needed the desk space). Looking forward to seeing more cases from SilverStone.
Thank god! I've been looking for a case for a new pc for my daughter who has an old pc of mine which fits precisely into her desk and I can't find anything besides small form factor and some other odd cases that fit that space! The 515XR looks like it will fit nicely due to its short depth for a normal price using normal parts!
Or they could have just put on Arctic P120s and save everyone a headache. These fans on cheap cases are so awful. Inefficient, loud and hideously ugly. I bet they could make a deal with Arctic and get them for dirt cheap. They are about $5 a piece to us and that's already a large markup over the wholesale price.
Nice to see the Pop Air staying competitive and affordable. I love mine. Remember y'all, if you like the idea of the 515XR but want space for an optical drive and an ashtray, Fractal has you covered.
I own a Silverstone PC case. My conclusion is that their affordable PC case may not be perfect, but they are budget-oriented and doable PC case, unlike those expensive PC case that may not always be on par with expectation
The 514X looks really nice with that even symmetrical wrap around front mesh. Silverstone does make some unique stuff. My PC current resides in a RM-52 for instance. I think they largely cater to niche companies where they charge a lot for niche cases.
The shorter cases are great for saving a bit of space on desk. Using a middle performance video card and an air cooler for cpu, it works well for a normal multi use computer.
Really looking forward to your review of the Montech Sky 2. I've had mine for about 6 months and I'm really impressed by it's look and overall build quality for a case that can had for $100. Especially considering the 4 included 4Pin RGB fans, two of which are reverse blade design.
I own a similar case from a local company in Poland, unless you're making a huge-ass build with a custom loop, there's hardly any reason to pay more. As long as a good CPU tower and an 80-series GPU fits in, and the fans are not making strange noises, it's pretty much all you need at a decent price.
For $68 the fans can't be good quality, in my experience, all the cheap fans I've had either started making weird noises or just died after a year or two at most. It might be worth spending a bit more to get something better. It will also be cool if they sell the case without fans, the case looks good
I love silverstone! Although not well represented in NA, they make such good products, and have a huge selection of super niche accessories for any build. Love my FARA H1M for its clean aesthetics, good airflow and decently small size.
The 515XR reminds me of the various MSI and Antec short ATX and mATX cases that in recent years have engulfed the low cost case market. They're very popular with the bargain basement SIs in Australia: shove a base model 4080 and a 7800x3D into one of these cases with a barebones motherboard that can barely support the CPU, with a DRAM-less NVME SSD, then make a profit by overcharging on RAM upgrades.
The 515XR reminds me of the Corsair 220T airflow. Part of the reason I chose the 220t was because of its size. The Corsair seems to be out of stock everywhere though. I still squeezed an EVGA 3080ftw card into back in 2021 with over an inch to spare between the end of the GPU and the middle front case fan.
Glad to see these reviewed! Was waiting for this since your Computex coverage video. I was interested in the 515XR because it was so short and would be nice to stuff a retro setup in where you don't need the extra lenght because otherwise the front 30-40% of the case is just an emty void that looks out of place. However the review has changed my mind and it doesn"t seem to as interesting as hoped it would be. I did in the meanwhile get a Fractal pop air RGB and overall i'm pleased with it. Looking forward to that Lian-LI review you got coming up!
I would use the smaller black one for a kids PC build, or something where you just need a cheap basic case that just has the basics. I think if they just added a bright "Fans are NOT adressable rgb" in the beauty shots so its clear to people before they buy, I think it would be fine. I would use it, and it beats the snot out of ones I've had to build in at this pricepoint in the past that's for sure.
I bought a Silverstone case once and I inspected it when I received it and didn't notice any issues. Later when I actually started to put it together, I noticed there was rust inside the case, mostly under the paint. It was too late to return to Amazon and shipping PC cases for warranty sounds too expensive anyway so that just kinda sucked. The box it shipped in seemed fine - there was no apparent water damage, so maybe that was like that from the factory.
This one is a huge stretch, knowing the region and viewerbase has almost 0 overlap with the product, but could you consider reviewing the MONSTER Intel ARC 770 GPU? It'll be the first time a GPU's R&D and release is entirely local to the Turkish market (apparently in collaboration with ASRock). Happy to provide a sample if that's the main issue, since I plan to buy one anyway ^^
Nothing about that custom design is particularly interesting. It's just a rebranded ASRock A770 Phantom Gaming. Business as usual for Tulpar/Monster Notebook by the way, most of their gaming laptops are just rebranded Clevo machines.
@@-eMpTy- I'm fully aware. But the point would be mostly to show that these "lazy rebadges" still have a market. Different and especially less technologically educated countries have these kind of schemes which wouldn't succeed anywhere else. I've collaborated with Monster for 5+ years in the past and they're a good bunch of people with some questionable businesses decisions. Not to mention that monster have their own (and pretty solid) customer support and warranty polices which could be pointed out as a "do better" all across the globe ngl :kekw:
@@bluein_ We all know that rebranded products have a market, otherwise they wouldn't exist. Seriously, I don't know who would have any interest in a review like this. I could just check a review for that ASRock card that released what, a year ago? and call it a day if I would consider buying one. It's not a new product, even the original ASRock design isn't interesting, it's not available outside of Turkey. There are tons of Asia exclusive cards which are actually original designs, often interesting designs at that, technically and visually, sometimes with unique features as well, that I'd prefer GN to review - but even that would be an ask, as a review of a product that isn't available to 95% of your audience barely serves a purpose past entertainment - which is cool and fun every once in a while, but clearly not the primary focus of this channel.
Love the cheaper case reviews, please keep them coming! I also had a question maybe someone in the community can help me with; A few months ago Steve made note of a cheaper case that was slated to launch in September/October, I'm having a hard time finding the exact video but I was curious to know if these are those cases or if those are still going to be reviewed later (or the special 3rd option, they've already been reviewed and I missed them!) thank you in advance for any help and thank you GN for all the work you do!
I have had a couple of SilverStone cases over the years. Build quality is solid, and they do love to experiment with their cases. However, it can be a hassle to install new components sometimes with their cases, given how tight fit they designed them to be.
While I do appreciate the practicality of reviewing ~$100 cases since realistically that's what most users will likely end up buying, I do love seeing truly high-end cases with crazy features that the average consumer will never buy, I just think they're neat!
In Asia, there are several vendors who sell a case for 2.5" drives that converts it to 3.5" . They're very cheap but compared to what's cheaper and commonly sold, the move to make the drive bay exclusive to 3.5" drives is very common. You would be surprised at how many systems here still operate with a 256g gen4 nvme and play games on a 1TB 3.5" . Many of these drives are refurbished or used so the market has more 3.5" than 2.5" .
I have a RL06 because of its chart topping status in your case reviews that I started watching your channel with! It's been a great case for the last four to five years. Luckily I'm in a better position to get a nicer case this time 😅
I never plan on having the top tier GPU card, so the "short" case would actually work great for me. It would still easily hold a 4070 for example and actually get the fans closer to it.
I had a Corsair Carbide case with a simple controller switch with 3 fan speeds. I put a 140 mm Corsair white LED fan in the front and when I turned down the speed, the brightness of the fan LED dimmed. So dimming lights on fans is still a thing that can happen.
Seems legit cases, we also use Silverstone for server bounded systems. With water cooling with chillers for industrial use. Btw thanks for the T-shirt from GN Store, I reveived it yesterday, on this side it went less smooth, customs etc. What a shame for EU administrations. Thanks again.
Four good/decent fans are going to run you 20 bucks. So with that in mind, this case is is basically $50. Even they RGB lite, that's still okay as they're from a known brand like Silverstone. (Not sure who makes them for them but there's enough trust there) A good enough case that's not terrible close to the $50-60 range is something we do need a bit more of.
I really love the short nose case design, I mean seriously its been my biggest complaint with ATX. That part of the case is ALWAYS empty for me, and any PC I help build. Its like a barren void which looks like something should be there but isn't. This design is very much welcomed.
Since we don't use the front part of the case for huge 5 1/4 drives anymore what good does it even do? Not many will put in a custom loop in that case, and 20 HDDs stacked on top of each other also seem a bit weird for that case. I think as long as an AOI still fits, this is fine, saves desk space!
0:03 Reminds me of the design of my old Antec 900 case I'm still using. Got it for $99 back in 2009. Same fan setup. But it also has a big fan on top of the case. Think it's like 6 inch fan. Still going strong too. Didn't have filters but I did my own custom filter attachments. I've been thinking about getting a more modern case wish that one you are reviewing able to choose the colors. I like blue like the Antec has.
I’m kind of into this style. It flows nicely and doesn’t feel like information overload Silverstone I usually associate with relatively boutique stuff (HTPC, NAS, and ITX cases) so it’s interesting to see their take on a mid-range, unassuming ATX case. Seems like if they make some minor changes here, they’ll be able to be competitive, but it’s also not really the company’s focus.
I wish more cases had handles on them. I'm sure I'm in the minority but I like the idea of having a big meaty handle to move my case, instead of grabbing at the corners and struggling.
In brazil and i believe most 3rd world countries the most popular cases cost like u$40-60 (40 with no fans, 50 with 3-4 fans, 60 have top mount wather cooler) and they usually have low quality (thin metal frame and usually bent somewhere). They look like very much to these silverstone cases, so hopefully silverstone have some improved quality to make it worth the price. U$ 100 semms a very high price for a simple case with rainbow rgb fans. My friend bought a darkflash case with 3 argb fans for U$70 and it was very good quality overall.
Make the fans PWM, and drop the lighting. Also avoids the marketing confusion. Or if you really must, put a potentiometer on the controller to offer speed control for non-PWM fans, stick a label on the inside of the rear panel as a reminder and for any future owner of the case who doesn't know why their fans are running slow or fast.
I can't believe how much more expensive cases are now. I built my computer in 2017 and at that time even with a pretty decent mid-range $1200 build, I would not have considered $100 a budget case at all. I paid like $80 and felt like I had splurged.
The Fractal Pop Air sales have been good. I got the case without fans because it was so cheap and I already had fans I wanted to use anyway. I do like the case although I seriously underestimated how annoying it would be to have a reflective glass panel near a monitor.
We're really rolling on the case reviews right now! There is a wildly interesting case coming out in a few weeks that we're working on today, though can't talk about it yet. That one is pretty unique. The Lancool 207 goes up tomorrow. The King 65 is also in for review! Any other requests on new cases from this year you'd like to see tested?
In the meantime, watch our review of the Tryx Luca L70: ua-cam.com/video/TMvg1GYRKN4/v-deo.html
And our CPU fab tour documentary! ua-cam.com/video/IUIh0fOUcrQ/v-deo.html
Every time I see a 20+ minute video about cases, I assume Gamer's Nexus is on an extended coffee break. I mean, who else can stretch that content like it’s an art form?
Any news on the Lancool 217?
@@EA... Lian Li said that it should be available "before the end of the year"
Review the Lian Li SUP-01! At least it is a new case layout! I've seen good things but I always trust y'all's opinion!
hype for the 207 review.
The best feature of this is that they didn't call it uncompromising 6 times!
Counterpoint, the best feature is that the product manager literally told them "here's what we *have* compromised on this case so we could make it affordable." That shows a lot more respect for the intelligence of GN and of consumers.
More sub-$100 case reviews please!
Happy to! Any specific requests?
@@GamersNexusMontech Air 903 Max, Sama ARGB-Q5
Agreed!
Would've loved the cooler master haf xb evo box case but it's not available anymore 😔
@@GamersNexusDid you review the Montech XR already?
Cool to see a SilverStone review after all this time. The cases seem fine but they’ve entered a bloodbath of a competition with this price point with Phanteks, Montech, Antec, Lian Li and even Fractal. Some are cheaper than these and you could buy a 3-5 pack of RGB fans from TRight or something. But for people that want a smaller but sturdy ATX case and perhaps don’t mind static lights like the NX200 or just want fans without needing to deal with installation, these aren’t too bad an option I suppose?
You're absolutely spot-on with your list of competitors. The market is crazy right now with good options in the mid-range especially. Great for consumers, at least!
@@GamersNexus absolutely! I still fondly remember purchasing a P300A on you guys’ recommendation back when you first reviewed it. There’ll always be a market for cheap but reliable cases!
@@toufusoup I'm still using a p300A. Great case.
@@GamersNexus at least we get some love from case manufacturers.
they certainly never left for the more enterprise area
No way silverstone is back
Good to have them back on the channel. Looking forward to working on some of their more refined stuff!
As someone who hasn't heard their names often due to being newer to PC gaming, Silverstone and Antec returning feels like I'm a ten year old seeing some village hero returning at the end of the Hero's Journey... twelve years after he began.
Silverstonebros, we're SO FUCKING BACK!
@@GamersNexus I wish there were more old-school desktop cases like their GD11 ... Maybe I'll actually get one :-)
Give me a HTPC Silverstone case that can fit a NH-D15 in it. REEEE!
Hell, i'll take a server rack case that can fit one if it's under $200.
I love the low-cost high price quality reviews. You guys give us, the plebs, the poor people hope!
Steve truly has 3 superpowers: bullshit-proof hair-cape, cause C-suite earthquakes on demand, and the ability to use the words "number" and "amount" correctly. Truly the man of tomorrow.
I'm not currently in the market for a new case (rocking a Dark Base Pro 900, rev2) but GN makes it so easy to keep my ear to the ground to see what's up and coming and what's good and what's not. Always appreciate the hard work.
I dont need a new case since I got the Fractal North just last year, but I still like seeing your case reviews. Its what brought me to this channel many years ago in the first place!
I did opt for the Fractal Pop Air. The price was right and for some reason the option to still mount a 5.25" drive up front seemed nice. I never ended up transferring the DVD-Drive from the previous PC, but it was a huge step up from my old Bitfenix Shinobi in basically every way.
Absolutely vintage that
The chart at 18:25 indicates 31 decibels at full fan speed, that's very quiet. How do you rate the Fractal Pop Air noise level?
It's one of the few budget ones avaliable where I live and I am lost in a sea of options with no proper noise test.
the ODD slots are very nice for archiving blurays and dvd's and the Fractal Pop silent is very quiet
@@familhagaudir8561 Almost absolutely silent, with my RX6600... tho I play games not very demanding, like BG3
Even if I have no intention of buying something (I just finished my build not too long ago, certainly don't need replacement parts yet) watching the reviews is still fun and informative. Especially with cases because honestly wrapping my head around everything that affects thermals is... a lot even after watching "explainers," and seeing how it works out on a (sorry about the pun) case-by-case basis makes it easier.
I'm actually currently rocking a Silverstone Fara H1M and I've been using it for almost two years now. Bought it back then for 40 dollars. I just needed to add two Arctic P14 fans on it (+20 dollars) since it only came with a rear exhaust, but you can also buy it with three RGB fans pre-installed (I didn't because RGB and I also wanted 140mm fans). For 60 dollars overall, it's been such a solid MATX case with not even much compromise on build quality which surprised me. It has done a great job keeping my components cool despite living in the tropics. I'm glad Silverstone is back again competing on the budget market and I hope to see more of their budget cases in the future!
I own the RGB variant of the same case, and my experience has been similar to yours. Solid case, with very little to complain about.
Just love these case reviews. Linus said the are boring, but no, they are not! Keep it up Steve & Team!
Linus' company is too busy sexually harassing their employees
@@thegreatkwyjibo5529 …and auctioning prototypes not belonging to them
@@D4ll4s69And running shitty Benchmarks with their "labs" lol
@@thegreatkwyjibo5529god that shit isnt even true, I dont really even like LTT but that shit was made up
"He can only make them boring." FTFH
I have an ~$2500 gaming PC and I would still be perfectly happy with the 514X
A Lian Li LANCOOL 216 (2 x 140mm fans, 1 x 120mm fan included) for as little as $89 puts this 514X to shame.
Same here, got 3k euro components, including a 65 euro Coolermaster NR600 case
@@camplethargic8 didn't say there weren't other good cases, just said I'd be happy with this one. It looks nice, it does its job, and it's affordable. I had an old steel Lian Li years ago and it was beastly. I hated it, it was massive, heavy, sharp edges everywhere, poor access. Sometimes simple is just better.
@shadowDrakken Absolutely!
I ***can*** be persnickety sometimes as in a living room build that the significant other has to give final approval on. But if I just want a "house" for a new rig and I just need the rig to run I am A-OKAY with just a box that is "good enough". Threw a "retro-gaming" Win 7 box together a month ago. As you noted in your other comment a lack of razor sharp edges (and flash or slag) in modern cases is very, very welcome! Hard to get a real stinker these days in that sense it seems and I do not mind that a bit.
@@ShadowDrakken yea my server is 4k total and sits on a piece of glass from a desk on a bookshelf lmao. running 24/7 for several years now :^)
I think rainbow fans are an amazing idea to save cost! If I were on a very tight budget I would absolutely buy this case. However it’s important not to hide it in the marketing slides. Let the user know that those colors are static
I would like a demonstration on how to excise rgb rainbowvomit without replacing the entire fan
@@tmzilla Just cut the wires to the LEDs. These dirt cheap fans are (surprisingly) very cheaply made which means you can modify them with ease.
Watching this on my PC built in a Phanteks P400a that I bought on your recommendation. It's been a great case for close to 5 years now, especially with the addition of a Noctua exhaust fan. I'd love to see how my older case compares to the new ones. Great video.
Yeah, I built my sisters pc in a Fractal case that I saw recommended here. Very very nice case for $110
a new case by Lancool, I have not heard that name in years. Bought it in 2003 or 2004 and used it until 2021, thought it didn't exist anymore. Very cool.
Silverstone is one of my favorite PC manufacturers to follow. They're refreshingly up front with the plans and intentions of their products, and that's very confidence-inspiring as a customer.
This is one of my favorite kind of case reviews that are far more budget cases. Its something I could actually potentially buy what with the prices of everything these days. I enjoy this very much.
Thank you! I really appreciate having reviews of more affordable parts!
I bought a Cooler Master case with a single black 120mm fan back in 2022, and it was not the cheapest. so I wouldn't mind a no-fan option of the smaller case for example if they are so worried about rainbow fans. cut the cost, ship it out fanless and overcome the worry of rainbow fans getting in the way of sales.
also a nice touch of being precise about the weight of the case. SilverStone doing a very good job there. details matter, and they know it. kudos and thanks Steve!
I have to wonder if the inclusion of fans is less a cost to cut as it is a cost to justify: like maybe fans are light and compact enough that excluding them saves no money, and case makers would rather have a basic feature covered at no additional cost to the consumer.
This is just the content I needed.
I tend to go very budget on my cases.
And I ran into limitations with them for upgrades.
Seeing that there are good options in that price range now is great.
And saves me a lot of time on modding what I have.
I liked the new format style for what it is now, way more refreshing than here you go charts and numbers. Seeing it again brought back memories, was a case review that got me hooked to this channel a while back actually, be quiet 500 dx. I like both, but lean towards the new one a bit more. You walk the line perfectly between humor and solid reviews.
It's awesome to see Silverstone and Antec back in the case market. It's almost nostalgic in a way, too.
I've been running my Corsair vengeance c70 case since 2011/2012. It's had 5 builds in it. The power button died earlier this year, so I've used the reset button as the main power button.
Still solid 👌
Love to see mainstream and budget case reviews to go with the more expensive stuff. Can't wait to see more of the computex stuff.
I'm from Argentina and I recently bought a GAMEMAX Brufen C1 (100k ARS = 100 USD). It's cheap, but good. Here we buy what we can. I'm happy :)
Really enjoying some less expensive case reviews. Thank you! Keep up the great work
Seriously need more compact cases. I like that Silverstone is doing this and i hope they bring this one to north america
The 515 is really interesting. Swap in a new front panel & bundle in four of their excellent SF160 fans would make a incredible case.
Very happy with my case CM H500, mora than 4 years, and a lot of gaming! Runs perfect from day one!
Honestly, i bought this case based on Steve's review as a very good case!
Love the cheap case reviews! Last time I bought an uber-cheap case (40 CAD) without looking at GN reviews first I ended up using a Dremel on the solid front panel to make holes for fans and filters because it was cooking my old FX-8350 system that I shoved in it.
A side note for case testing, something I encountered myself, 3.5-inch drive cages or more likely mounting points can be a trap sometimes. As they may forget to account for the screw hole placement of newer / larger 6tb or larger HDD's. Encountered this on the cooler master flatpak case.
May be worth a quick check when looking at drive cages.
I like the trend of good cases getting cheap. It’s always interesting to see what $100 or less can get you
I've got one of their horizontal* 'entertainment center' cases and it was pretty simple and sturdy. I don't do anything high end so no idea how the airflow is, but their build quality has seemed decent.
*I wanted a retro 'on the desk with a monitor on top' flair to my set up lol. Certainly makes cleaning easier: move monitor over, open top, hose out with air, reverse steps.
Thanks Steve!
It's a fine day when you're around.
I like the "old style".... then again I like most everything I have seen. Either you are just that good or I am not picky. :)
Peaceful Skies
The cool thing about the P400A was that if you had bought a regular P400 before they made the mesh front you were able to purchase the Mesh front by itself. I was really impressed phanteks did that. Made my P400 last a really really long time and then i even gifted it to a young gamer building his first PC. That thing will probably be in use for well over a decade when its all said and done.
i bought a case for 70 bucks, no fans included but room for 12 fans or two 360mm radiators and 6 fans and plenty of room for a hefty graphic cards. The quality is cheap and its bare bones in features but still sturdy. its my favorite case ever! that i might keep for multiple builds. Its called the darkFlash DK431 (ATX tower)
Here is an even better deal: Corsair 4000D Airflow is sold for 75 dollars. It's an excellent case with many modern features.
@@RM1969RMwhere in the world is that for sale for 75$? I'm looking now
@@RM1969RM This is where different region's prices come into play so it's not that easy to recommend someone a "better deal". The darkflash case he said is 72$ here and the Corsair you said starts from 115$, almost double the price. It was around 75$ for a month or two back in 2021, since then it went up a lot.
Ive used silverstone a good while back... the cases i had were pretty solid and had everything i needed for a well enough mid-tier build
I got a white mesh paneled Fractal North XL for 130 last week and it's basically only got a couple of things I'd change. I love it overall. Such a nice-looking case and it actually performs well. Just from a pure aesthetics standpoint, I don't know how silverstone hopes to compete with fractal.
the RL06 was a great case im glad to see they've followed up on that after all these years.
I still have my RL06 in pretty good condition.
I'd like to see how the RLO6 would perform nowadays, especially since the 514X looks almost the same as the RL06
In a rare circumstance, pricing here in Australia is much more palatable; we picked up a 514x recently for ~$58USD delivered. At that price point it is much easier to overlook the cost cutting measures. I think the snap out expansion slots were the most overt sign of the cost cutting when building in it, with the lack of captive screws in second place.
I would definitely consider the 515XR for a budget build. Good price & build quality, included fans and decent layout check basically all the boxes.
Only thing I'd change is to offer a version with non-LED fans and maybe a fanless option.
Also a version with no tempered glass side panel would be very nice to have.
When I saw the 515XR, the size and specs immediately reminded me of the VALOR AIR case from XPG. That case comes with 4 fans and at a very low price. I really like XPG cases.
Good job Steve!
I've been rocking a Silverstone RL08 micro ATX case for 4 years. Built during the era of human malware, cooling/airflow is great, build quality excellent and the whole thing (a Ryzen 3700x with a 3070) has been absolutely solid. I say bring more smaller options to the market. Not everyone wants a behemoth box.
I got my original Meshify C on sale for $65 a while back. It now has a 7900xtx in it which fits okay. I love the compact size for an ATX case.
I got a Thermaltake V250 TG ARGB Air for $70 few years ago. I think they are $80 now. Comes with 4 120mm fans like those ones. Can fit 140mm. I used the 6 Antec 120mm RGB fans I already had from my previous case. It has been fine so far. I'm not too picky though. As long as the case gets the heat out.
I love these kinds of showdowns between two fairly similar products.
I was rocking an FT02 for over 10 years. I recently switched over to a Fractal North (mostly because I needed the desk space). Looking forward to seeing more cases from SilverStone.
Thank god!
I've been looking for a case for a new pc for my daughter who has an old pc of mine which fits precisely into her desk and I can't find anything besides small form factor and some other odd cases that fit that space!
The 515XR looks like it will fit nicely due to its short depth for a normal price using normal parts!
I LOVE YOUR VIDEOS, THERE IS SO MUCH WORK IN THEM FOR CONSUMERS!!!
I'm amazed just how far these boxes with fans have come
They saved around $3.20 by going for static rainbow fans instead of RGB btw. I think 99% of consumers would be happy to pay that upcharge.
I would rather save 3 more dollars and have no lights.
Or they could have just put on Arctic P120s and save everyone a headache. These fans on cheap cases are so awful. Inefficient, loud and hideously ugly.
I bet they could make a deal with Arctic and get them for dirt cheap. They are about $5 a piece to us and that's already a large markup over the wholesale price.
@@masterkamen371
Non-rgb 120mm fans start at around $0.60 wholesale.
@@wudntulike2no32
Sadly most people who buy in that price bracket don't really think that way. They'd take bad lighting over no lighting.
I really like Thermalright. Their coolers/fans are top tier and for the cost...they are chef's kiss.
Nice to see the Pop Air staying competitive and affordable. I love mine. Remember y'all, if you like the idea of the 515XR but want space for an optical drive and an ashtray, Fractal has you covered.
I own a Silverstone PC case. My conclusion is that their affordable PC case may not be perfect, but they are budget-oriented and doable PC case, unlike those expensive PC case that may not always be on par with expectation
The I/O options surprised me. That's on par with the Fractal North XL.
Warmer? Yes.
Cheaper? Yes.
The 514X looks really nice with that even symmetrical wrap around front mesh. Silverstone does make some unique stuff. My PC current resides in a RM-52 for instance. I think they largely cater to niche companies where they charge a lot for niche cases.
The shorter cases are great for saving a bit of space on desk. Using a middle performance video card and an air cooler for cpu, it works well for a normal multi use computer.
Really looking forward to your review of the Montech Sky 2. I've had mine for about 6 months and I'm really impressed by it's look and overall build quality for a case that can had for $100. Especially considering the 4 included 4Pin RGB fans, two of which are reverse blade design.
I own a similar case from a local company in Poland, unless you're making a huge-ass build with a custom loop, there's hardly any reason to pay more. As long as a good CPU tower and an 80-series GPU fits in, and the fans are not making strange noises, it's pretty much all you need at a decent price.
For $68 the fans can't be good quality, in my experience, all the cheap fans I've had either started making weird noises or just died after a year or two at most. It might be worth spending a bit more to get something better. It will also be cool if they sell the case without fans, the case looks good
Yeah. A 3 pack of Arctic DC p12s costs like 15$ and those things crush most stock fans.
I love silverstone! Although not well represented in NA, they make such good products, and have a huge selection of super niche accessories for any build.
Love my FARA H1M for its clean aesthetics, good airflow and decently small size.
They were the first with a thousand watt SFX power supply.
Silverstone makes some of the highest quality and feature rich cases on the market.
Especially for rackmounted servers and full-size workstations.
The 515XR reminds me of the various MSI and Antec short ATX and mATX cases that in recent years have engulfed the low cost case market. They're very popular with the bargain basement SIs in Australia: shove a base model 4080 and a 7800x3D into one of these cases with a barebones motherboard that can barely support the CPU, with a DRAM-less NVME SSD, then make a profit by overcharging on RAM upgrades.
loving the barrage of case reviews lately =D , amazing content as usual
Big fan of silverstone, not for their consumer mid towers but their special htpc and sever chassis.
The 515XR reminds me of the Corsair 220T airflow. Part of the reason I chose the 220t was because of its size. The Corsair seems to be out of stock everywhere though. I still squeezed an EVGA 3080ftw card into back in 2021 with over an inch to spare between the end of the GPU and the middle front case fan.
I like these cases because it actually takes thought and effort. Making a lot with a little.
Glad to see these reviewed! Was waiting for this since your Computex coverage video. I was interested in the 515XR because it was so short and would be nice to stuff a retro setup in where you don't need the extra lenght because otherwise the front 30-40% of the case is just an emty void that looks out of place. However the review has changed my mind and it doesn"t seem to as interesting as hoped it would be. I did in the meanwhile get a Fractal pop air RGB and overall i'm pleased with it. Looking forward to that Lian-LI review you got coming up!
I would use the smaller black one for a kids PC build, or something where you just need a cheap basic case that just has the basics. I think if they just added a bright "Fans are NOT adressable rgb" in the beauty shots so its clear to people before they buy, I think it would be fine. I would use it, and it beats the snot out of ones I've had to build in at this pricepoint in the past that's for sure.
I bought a Silverstone case once and I inspected it when I received it and didn't notice any issues. Later when I actually started to put it together, I noticed there was rust inside the case, mostly under the paint. It was too late to return to Amazon and shipping PC cases for warranty sounds too expensive anyway so that just kinda sucked. The box it shipped in seemed fine - there was no apparent water damage, so maybe that was like that from the factory.
I would buy the black case immediately, perfect size for my needs. However I would prefer just black fans with no RGB at all
This one is a huge stretch, knowing the region and viewerbase has almost 0 overlap with the product, but could you consider reviewing the MONSTER Intel ARC 770 GPU? It'll be the first time a GPU's R&D and release is entirely local to the Turkish market (apparently in collaboration with ASRock). Happy to provide a sample if that's the main issue, since I plan to buy one anyway ^^
Nothing about that custom design is particularly interesting. It's just a rebranded ASRock A770 Phantom Gaming. Business as usual for Tulpar/Monster Notebook by the way, most of their gaming laptops are just rebranded Clevo machines.
@@-eMpTy- I'm fully aware. But the point would be mostly to show that these "lazy rebadges" still have a market. Different and especially less technologically educated countries have these kind of schemes which wouldn't succeed anywhere else.
I've collaborated with Monster for 5+ years in the past and they're a good bunch of people with some questionable businesses decisions.
Not to mention that monster have their own (and pretty solid) customer support and warranty polices which could be pointed out as a "do better" all across the globe ngl :kekw:
@@bluein_
We all know that rebranded products have a market, otherwise they wouldn't exist. Seriously, I don't know who would have any interest in a review like this. I could just check a review for that ASRock card that released what, a year ago? and call it a day if I would consider buying one. It's not a new product, even the original ASRock design isn't interesting, it's not available outside of Turkey. There are tons of Asia exclusive cards which are actually original designs, often interesting designs at that, technically and visually, sometimes with unique features as well, that I'd prefer GN to review - but even that would be an ask, as a review of a product that isn't available to 95% of your audience barely serves a purpose past entertainment - which is cool and fun every once in a while, but clearly not the primary focus of this channel.
Love the cheaper case reviews, please keep them coming! I also had a question maybe someone in the community can help me with; A few months ago Steve made note of a cheaper case that was slated to launch in September/October, I'm having a hard time finding the exact video but I was curious to know if these are those cases or if those are still going to be reviewed later (or the special 3rd option, they've already been reviewed and I missed them!) thank you in advance for any help and thank you GN for all the work you do!
I have had a couple of SilverStone cases over the years. Build quality is solid, and they do love to experiment with their cases. However, it can be a hassle to install new components sometimes with their cases, given how tight fit they designed them to be.
While I do appreciate the practicality of reviewing ~$100 cases since realistically that's what most users will likely end up buying, I do love seeing truly high-end cases with crazy features that the average consumer will never buy, I just think they're neat!
Im so glad i got my P600S many moons ago for £120 before all this 'cost of everything go brrrrrr'. Absolute unit that kicks cases arses still!
Great review, awesome job as usual. Thanks!
In Asia, there are several vendors who sell a case for 2.5" drives that converts it to 3.5" . They're very cheap but compared to what's cheaper and commonly sold, the move to make the drive bay exclusive to 3.5" drives is very common. You would be surprised at how many systems here still operate with a 256g gen4 nvme and play games on a 1TB 3.5" . Many of these drives are refurbished or used so the market has more 3.5" than 2.5" .
It's funny to think I already had a 1TB 2.5" hard drive 10 years ago
I have a RL06 because of its chart topping status in your case reviews that I started watching your channel with! It's been a great case for the last four to five years.
Luckily I'm in a better position to get a nicer case this time 😅
I personally LOVE these smaller cheap cases. Lets do it! bring it to the NA market!
I never plan on having the top tier GPU card, so the "short" case would actually work great for me. It would still easily hold a 4070 for example and actually get the fans closer to it.
I'm still using my RL06. I like it.
I had a Corsair Carbide case with a simple controller switch with 3 fan speeds. I put a 140 mm Corsair white LED fan in the front and when I turned down the speed, the brightness of the fan LED dimmed. So dimming lights on fans is still a thing that can happen.
Seems legit cases, we also use Silverstone for server bounded systems. With water cooling with chillers for industrial use. Btw thanks for the T-shirt from GN Store, I reveived it yesterday, on this side it went less smooth, customs etc. What a shame for EU administrations. Thanks again.
Four good/decent fans are going to run you 20 bucks. So with that in mind, this case is is basically $50. Even they RGB lite, that's still okay as they're from a known brand like Silverstone. (Not sure who makes them for them but there's enough trust there) A good enough case that's not terrible close to the $50-60 range is something we do need a bit more of.
Silverstone all the way. I use Raven RV-03 and Primera PM-01 RGB.
I really love the short nose case design, I mean seriously its been my biggest complaint with ATX. That part of the case is ALWAYS empty for me, and any PC I help build. Its like a barren void which looks like something should be there but isn't.
This design is very much welcomed.
Since we don't use the front part of the case for huge 5 1/4 drives anymore what good does it even do? Not many will put in a custom loop in that case, and 20 HDDs stacked on top of each other also seem a bit weird for that case. I think as long as an AOI still fits, this is fine, saves desk space!
I still buy these styles of cases, never really stopped.
0:03 Reminds me of the design of my old Antec 900 case I'm still using. Got it for $99 back in 2009. Same fan setup. But it also has a big fan on top of the case. Think it's like 6 inch fan. Still going strong too. Didn't have filters but I did my own custom filter attachments. I've been thinking about getting a more modern case wish that one you are reviewing able to choose the colors. I like blue like the Antec has.
I’m kind of into this style. It flows nicely and doesn’t feel like information overload
Silverstone I usually associate with relatively boutique stuff (HTPC, NAS, and ITX cases) so it’s interesting to see their take on a mid-range, unassuming ATX case. Seems like if they make some minor changes here, they’ll be able to be competitive, but it’s also not really the company’s focus.
I wish more cases had handles on them. I'm sure I'm in the minority but I like the idea of having a big meaty handle to move my case, instead of grabbing at the corners and struggling.
In brazil and i believe most 3rd world countries the most popular cases cost like u$40-60 (40 with no fans, 50 with 3-4 fans, 60 have top mount wather cooler) and they usually have low quality (thin metal frame and usually bent somewhere). They look like very much to these silverstone cases, so hopefully silverstone have some improved quality to make it worth the price. U$ 100 semms a very high price for a simple case with rainbow rgb fans. My friend bought a darkflash case with 3 argb fans for U$70 and it was very good quality overall.
515XR is a good case for a Entertainment PC.
The white case is a good budget case .
Make the fans PWM, and drop the lighting.
Also avoids the marketing confusion.
Or if you really must, put a potentiometer on the controller to offer speed control for non-PWM fans, stick a label on the inside of the rear panel as a reminder and for any future owner of the case who doesn't know why their fans are running slow or fast.
I can't believe how much more expensive cases are now. I built my computer in 2017 and at that time even with a pretty decent mid-range $1200 build, I would not have considered $100 a budget case at all. I paid like $80 and felt like I had splurged.
I did not expect that pulling the front panel off at 5:30 would be so funny priceless face expression
A year ago I looked everywhere for a small ATX case. Ended up having to spend way more then I wanted on it.. something like this would have been nice.
The Fractal Pop Air sales have been good. I got the case without fans because it was so cheap and I already had fans I wanted to use anyway. I do like the case although I seriously underestimated how annoying it would be to have a reflective glass panel near a monitor.