Aerocool Dead Silence Gaming Cube Review

1. Introduction2. Packaging & Bundle3. Aerocool Dead Silence Gaming Cube (Exterior)4. Aerocool Dead Silence Gaming Cube (Interior)5. Testing Methodology6. Thermal Dynamics7. Acoustics Performance8. Conclusion9. View All Pages

Just over a week ago Aerocool announced their new line of Dead Silent Gaming Cubes and today we are taking a closer look. With support for air coolers up to 190 mm in height, GPU's up to 320 mm in length and even radiators up to 240 mm in length it is clear Aerocool is targeting enthusiasts. The big question is, can Aerocool successfully challenge the Bitfenix Prodigy's position in the small form factor arena?

The Dead Silence Gaming Cube will be available in a variety of different colours, ranging from black, through beige, white, orange and red. Our review sample shipped with a windowed side panel and an extra panel without a window.


Specifications:

• Leather coated front and top panels with smooth surface finish.
• Removable top cover for easy access to motherboard.
• Removable ODD+FDD rack.
• Supports top 240 mm radiator.
• Supports three 3.3″ drives.
• Supports two 2.5″ drives.
• Supports GPUs up to 320 mm in length.
• Supports air coolers up to 190 mm in height.
• 200 mm front in-take fan included.
• 120 mm rear exhaust fan included.
• Additional top cover.

Our review sample shipped in a brown box with the Aerocool brand name and an image of the case visible.

Included with the case are all the required screws, a USB 3.0 to USB 2.0 connector and a handful of cable ties. The USB 3.0 to USB 2.0 connector is an interesting addition that is sure to help those who want to move an older build into a new case.

The front and top panels have received a white leather finish that is soft and smooth to the touch.

Apart from the standard 5.25″ drive bay Aerocool has also included the option to install a 3.5″ drive, facilitating the installation of a small fan controller such as the Aerocool EasyWatch. Alternatively, those longing for the dark ages of computing can install a floppy disk drive.

At the bottom of the front panel we can see the only visible Aerocool branding on the case.

Up top we can see the Power button, Reset button, microphone and headphone jacks have been placed on the left-hand side of the case. The right-hand side houses two USB 2.0 and two USB 3.0 ports.

Moving slightly to the left we can see the relatively large window. The window is 270 mm wide to show off even the largest of graphics cards.

A closer look at the I/O panel shows the cut-outs in the removable top cover. The glossy black finish surrounding the ports further accentuates the black and white design.

Moving back to the front of the case we can get a better view of the Aerocool logo. As noted, this is the only visible piece of branding on the case, keeping the design low-key.

 

Turning the case around we can see there are 4 expansion slot covers, two rubber grommets for watercooling tubes and horizontal I/O plate cut-out.

We can also catch a glimpse of the included 120 mm fan here.

In our introduction we mentioned that Aerocool sent us an additional side panel without a window. The above image shows what the case looks like with this panel in place.

A final shot of the back shows the removable dust filter underneath the power supply.

Here we can also see the single screw that is used to secure expansion cards.

Underneath the case we find a removable vented cover. The feet provide 35 mm clearance. Although this case is most likely to reside on a desk, a power supply will not suffer from a lack of ventilation.

Rounding things out on the outside we can see the lock mechanism holding the top cover in place. Aerocool include an additional mesh cover with every case for users who want to use top exhaust fans.

Removing the front panel gives us our first glimpse of the included 200 mm fan.

We can also see a number of screws securing the 3.5″ and 5.25″ drive bays. These can be removed to simplify the installation of a 240 mm radiator in the top, though we expect creative modders will see an opportunity for some impressive custom water cooling loops here.

Next, we remove the top cover to reveal the mounting space for a 120 mm, 140 mm or 240 mm radiator or two fans. If a 240 mm radiator is installed the top drive bay can be put back in place, though this does limit cooling potential to a single top exhaust fan.

The top panel's wires run through cut-outs and it is a good idea to loosen these from within the case before removing the panel.

Starting from the bottom we can see there are two hard drive caddies on the right-hand side and space to fit a standard ATX PSU.

Directly above that we can see the motherboard tray with a small cut-out and two additional cable routing holes.

On the far right we find the 200 mm fan. This fan is rated to deliver 35.40 CFM of airflow at 500 RPM with a maximum noise level of 19.5 dBA. Removing the drive bays in the top allows for the installation of two 120 mm or two 140 mm fans instead.

Moving up further we can see the 120 mm fan on the left-hand side. This fan is rated to deliver 36.40 CFM of airflow at 900 RPM with a maximum noise level of 21.5 dBA. Alternatively, the fan can be replaced with a 140 mm fan.

A closer look at the motherboard tray cut-out shows it is relatively small.

Changing our angle we can see the 200 mm fan and additional cable routing holes.

The drive cages can be removed entirely. Theoretically this allows for the installation of a radiator in the front, though this sacrifices additional storage options.

A lower point of view shows the mounting holes in the top of the case.

This shot shows the large space available for cables under the motherboard tray and behind the hard drives.

Two 2.5″ drives can be installed in the cage in the bottom right of the case.

A final shot of the internals gives us a better view of the drive cage in the bottom right corner. Drives are secured with an included rubber spacer and screw.

Aerocool has made sure to label the case's drive caddies. Although more experienced builders will quickly remove the sticker, those new to building systems may find this helpful.

The caddies themselves use a clip mechanism holding the two sides together.

Simply sliding both sides of the caddies apart allows for the hard drive to be lined up with the pins. Pushing the sides back together secures the drive in place.

Solid state drives can be secured with 4 screws, a standard but effective method.

Rather than meticulously plan our build, we are most interested in finding out how forgiving the case is when we pay as little attention to cable management as possible. Keeping the path of airflow for our cooler clear was simple and we completed our build without any issues.

It is worth noting that the location of connectors on the motherboard does impact cable management options. Our specific motherboard's connectors are situated on the right-hand side of the case, leaving some cables to bulge outwards. However, it is not feasible for any manufacturer to accommodate every possible motherboard design.

 

One last shot from the top before we close the case and run our tests.

We are using the Cooler Master Hyper 103 cooler to keep our Intel Core i7 3770k cool and perform our tests with the CPU at its default clock speed before then overclocking it to 4.3GHz with the voltage set to 1.3v.

Test System:

• Processor: Intel Core i7 3770k
• Motherboard: Gigabyte Z77N-WIFI
• Memory: 8GB G.Skill Ares Blue
• Graphics Card: Sapphire HD 7790 2GB GDDR5 OC
• Power Supply: Seasonic G-Series 650W
• Chassis: Aerocool Dead Silent Gaming Cube
• Monitor: Acer X243HQ
• Boot Drive: Intel SSD 510
• Storage Drive: 2TB Seagate Barracuda

System validation can be found here.

Software:

• CPUID HW Monitor 1.23
• CPUID CPU-Z 1.65
• Prime95 v27.1
• Furmark 1.11.0

We are testing the Aerocool Dead Silent Gaming Cube's performance as follows:

• Room temperature is kept at 22°C throughout our tests.
• The CPU Fan is set to 100% to eliminate inconsistencies as a result of PWM control.
• Idle temperatures are obtained after booting the PC and idling on the desktop for 30 minutes.
• CPU load temperatures are obtained after running Prime95′s Small FTTs test for 15 minutes.
• GPU load temperatures are obtained after running Furmark’s Burn-In Test for 15 minutes.
• To measure noise levels we disable the CPU fans and GPU fan.

We cleaned up our cable management to ensure nothing obstructs the path of airflow to the components we test.

Excellent performance across the board that is on par with high-end models of competitors. The large 200 mm front in-take fan appears to provide the small 92 mm fan on our cooler with plenty of cool air, keeping temperatures down.

We measure from a distance of around 1 meter from the closed chassis and 4 foot from the ground to mirror a real world situation. Ambient noise in the room measures close to the limits of our sound meter at 30dBa.

The minimum readings for our acoustics tests are obtained with the fans running at 5V. For our maximum readings the fans were left running at 12V. The CPU and GPU fans are manually disconnected to eliminate unwanted noise.

KitGuru noise guide
10dBA – Normal Breathing/Rustling Leaves
20-25dBA – Whisper
30dBA – High Quality Computer fan
40dBA – A Bubbling Brook, or a Refridgerator
50dBA – Normal Conversation
60dBA – Laughter
70dBA – Vacuum Cleaner or Hairdryer
80dBA – City Traffic or a Garbage Disposal
90dBA – Motorcycle or Lawnmower
100dBA – MP3 player at maximum output
110dBA – Orchestra
120dBA – Front row rock concert/Jet Engine
130dBA – Threshold of Pain
140dBA – Military Jet takeoff/Gunshot (close range)
160dBA – Instant Perforation of eardrum

Running the fans at 5V we were unable to obtain a reading above the lower limit of our decibel meter. Even when we increased the voltage to 12V the fans did not produce over 34 dBA. The inclusion of a large 200 mm fan certainly helps to keep noise emission levels down.

We asked ourselves if the Aerocool Dead Silence Gaming Cube can take on the reigning king of performance ITX cases, the BitFenix Prodigy. The answer to that question is a resounding yes.

Although Aerocool is often known for their bold designs, we believe they have made the right choice by adopting a low-key appearance for the Dead Silence Gaming Cube case. The improvements are also highlighted in the overall construction, which ditches the plastic design features found on Aerocool's larger cases. From the strong aluminium construction to the soft leather finish on the front and top panels, the build quality is excellent.

Adding to this is the Dead Silence Gaming Cube's thermal and acoustics performance. We achieved excellent cooling results in our tests whilst the case remained quiet.

The Dead Silence Gaming Cube's strong thermal performance also opens up possibilities for users to take full advantage of the micro-ATX support, bringing SLI and Crossfire builds into the realm of reality. The option to remove the front drive cages further reinforces the case's ability to house powerful hardware with gratuitous space for water cooling solutions.

Including two top covers is a smart move in our opinion. Those who do not want to install fans or radiators in the top of the case can use the solid cover to keep noise levels down. At the same time, those who do want to add more fans or radiators will not have to resort to modifying the cover.

Finally, users who plan to migrate an older build without USB 3.0 support will not be left with a large unused cable thanks to the inclusion of a USB 3.0 to USB 2.0 cable.

It was difficult to find flaws with the Dead Silence Gaming Cube, though we do have some concerns about the window and the rate at which it gathers dust. This is not something unique to Aerocool and all acrylic windows suffer from this problem. However, we remain hopeful that one day a dust-free window will hit the market.

What surprised us most is the competitive pricing. Set to retail for £59.99 for the standard version and £64.99 for the windowed version, we can confidently recommend the Dead Silent Gaming Cube to anyone who has been thinking about scaling down or creating a powerful media centre. Of course, gamers can also take the opportunity to build their own Steam boxes in anticipation of Valve's SteamOS.

Pros:

• Competitive pricing.
• Solid metal construction throughout.
• Smooth leather coating adds to the case's appeal.
• Plenty of support for high-end cooling.
• Excellent cooling performance.
• Excellent acoustics performance.
• Variety of colour schemes.
• Additional top cover to facilitate different builds.

Cons:

• Side panel can get dusty fast.

KitGuru says: An excellent case at an even better price point. Aerocool have a right to be proud of their creation.

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