Silverstone PS 08 Case Review

Up Close:  Exterior

Measuring just 168x355x400mm the PS 08 has to be one of the smallest Mid tower cases on the market.  Able to house both Micro ATX and Mini ITX boards, but not the more common, and much larger ATX boards.  With SFF becoming ever more popular, and the prices and functionality of the smaller boards improving hand over fist it's time we all sat up and took notice of these smaller cases.

Rather than produce a plain box Silverstone have added a substantial "chin" to the lower half of the front of the case and have also stamped in some depth to the side panels.  Presumably though the latter also serves to engender some structural rigidity and reduce panel vibration. 

Build Quality is more than acceptable for a case of this price.  OK, so no half inch thick slabs of Aluminium billet but then we didn't really expect that did we.  What we do get up front are 2x5.25" bays, each with an easily removable front cover and the lower of the two having a tabbed in steel plate which is also easily removed.

The front intake ventilation panel sticks out proud from the bay area by 10mm or so, giving the case a distinctive chin when viewed from the side.  The Front I/O area sporting 2xUSB3 and a pair of audio connections can be found between the drive bays and the front intake, with the power and reset buttons slipping subtly down the side.

A light press and tug on the catch at the base of the chin releases the mesh panel and filter covering the solitary 120mm fan.

In a bit of a throwback to the olden days of PC case manufacture, the PS 08 has it's PSU located at the top of the case.  There's no ventilation up here so be sure to mount it the right way up.  Below this we see the rear ventilation area, and although no fans are fitted there are screw holes for either 80mm or 92mm fans, Heck there's even a Kensington lock facility. 

We can't quite decide whether the four expansion bay covers are vented or just have cut outs to save steel and therefor cost.  Either way it's a win for the consumer.  They are however tabbed in meaning that once removed they cannot be re fitted.  At first view there appears to be a 5th slot located to the right of these for PCI devices that do not require motherboard attachment.  However this actually turns out to be the cover plate for removing the tabs and securing the expansion cards.

Like the roof, the base of the case is also devoid of any ventilation, but with 4 good sized rubber feet it does at least give a sound base to stand the case on.  what more could you ask for.