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The Silverstone Grandia Series GD06 is a beautifully designed chassis, right up there with the best looking Lian Li products we have tested. At a glance, it looks as if it might be made from aluminum, but the weight gives it away. The main body is crafted from steel, with an aluminum front door and plastic front panel.
The build quality is without reproach. There are no sharp edges, and the internal design is both clean, intuitive and engineered to the highest standards. The shape of the chassis means that the GD06 will be welcomed by the home theater audience who can easily slot the case into a rack of hi-fi and audio separates.
We really do appreciate the fact that Silverstone have added the aluminum front door which can be locked shut. This dramatically improves overall appearance and flowing curves, as all the ports and buttons are hidden from view, until they are needed. Cleverly, the power button has been designed to fit into the design ethic, recessed into the lower section of the front panel. This is always accessible, even with the front panel locked shut.
The air flow of the case is extremely impressive, with three quality 120mm fans supplied pre-installed. These are all set to intake positions and there are additional areas available to add more fans, if desired. We tested with a moderately powered system today, ideal for high definition multimedia environments so the radiated heat was never really a concern. Those people who want something more powerful, with a mid range or high end video card may want to look at populating the top fan position and even the rear fan locations, above the I/O panel.
Working in such a confined space is generally not a painfree process and some time needs to be spent in organising the cables from the chassis and power supply. A little cable routing under the motherboard is another good option to keep the system build clean and free from clutter.
Overall, this is a fantastic media chassis and one that I can recommend to our readers. Personally, I still prefer the Lian Li PC C60, mainly because it can accept a full sized ATX motherboard. That said, the asking price is significantly higher, almost twice as much as the Grandia Series GD06, which retails for around £100 inc vat in the UK.
Pros:
- Great design.
- Good cooling, which can be enhanced with additional fans.
- fairly quiet.
Cons:
- Not silent.
- Not aluminum, so heavy.
- Won't accept ATX motherboards.
Kitguru says: A quality case at a very good price.
