Cooler Master Silencio 550 Chassis Review

AcousticsFirstly with any sound level test we always take an ambient sound level measurement. We measure the sound level from 0.5 metres away and also measure it at 1 metre off the ground – the sound level metre does not move during the testing.

After measuring the ambient noise we measure the sound level we turn the system on, let windows boot up and then wait 1 minute and take a reading. We then also measure a sound level with the system running at full pelt – effectively set fans to full speed and run Furmark and Prime 95 just to make sure everything is running at 100%.

Results:

• Ambient ~25 dbA
• Idle Sound Level: 30 dbA
• Load Sound Level: 49 dbA

This might not be truly indicative of the cases performance. For this test we have used the Antec Kuhler 920 which when running at full speed is certainly not quiet – in fact Antec claim the output of their Kuhler 920 is ~55 dbA at full speed. We can tell you that in the recently reviewed Akasa Raptor our measurements for the Load Sound Level were 53 dbA so it is clear that this case is quiet compared to a very good case on the market. It is however maybe not as quiet as I was expecting for something called the silencio.