Product Listing

Cooler Master Silencio 550 - Whisper Quiet

By Kenny Yeo - 26 Mar 2012
Launch SRP: S$129

Conclusion

The Quiet One

Overall, the Silencio 550 is a solid casing and a worthy flagship of the Silent series. It looks classy; is sufficiently spacious for a chassis of its size and price; and lastly, we also appreciate its tool-free design, which made it very easy to install components.

And while we don’t have a sound-proof room to get an accurate decibel meter reading to precisely ascertain the effectiveness of the Silencio 550’s sound insulation, the Silencio 550 did run slightly quieter than other comparable chassis. This is in no small part due to the generous helping of sound dampening foam that Cooler Master used in this chassis and the fact that its fans are limited to a leisurely 800rpm.

However, the Silencio 550 is not perfect and we were disappointed that it only has two USB ports. Also, the USB 3.0 port can only be enabled by routing a cable to the motherboard’s rear-side connectors. A more elegant solution would be having a connector that connects to the motherboard’s USB 3.0 header. Finally, it accommodates only up to three fans and considering the amount of sound dampening foam used, heat could be a problem if you are running powerful rig.

The Cooler Master Silencio 550 is an interesting proposition for users who cannot stand the incessant droning noises made by coolers and blowers.

At S$129, Cooler Master is positioning the Silencio 550 as a mid to high-end entry level chassis, and in this tightly contested segment of the market, the Silencio 550 has no shortage of competitors. While there are other chassis out there packed with more features, the Silencio 550 stands out thanks to its use of sound dampening foam and its promise of a whisper quiet computing experience.

To end, if the incessant droning from your CPU and graphics card cooler really get your nerves, the Cooler Master Silencio 550 is definitely worth taking a look.

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8.0
  • Aesthetics 8
  • Functionality 7.5
  • Usability 8
  • Value 8
The Good
Quiet operation
Mostly tool-free installation
Can accommodate most graphics cards
The Bad
Max of one exhaust and two intake fans
Only two USB ports
Heat could be an issue in high-powered systems
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