Silverstone Grandia GD07 HTPC Case Review

1. Introduction2. Packaging and Bundle3. Silverstone GD07: Exterior4. Silverstone GD07: Interior and Installation5. Testing Methodology and Performance6. Closing Thoughts7. View All Pages

As we mentioned earlier in the review the layout of this case is essentially a tower case laid on its side.  The most prominent feature of the inside of the case is the large drive rack which spans the entire front section of the case.  This can be removed after removing six screws around the edge.  This has room for two 2.5″ drives, four 3.5″ drives and four 5.25″ drives.

The vast number of drive locations makes this case ideal for use as a home server or media centre PC.  All drives have to be secured with screws, though, as there is no tool-less mechanism in the case.

In total there are three 120mm intake fans supplied with the case; one in the right hand side of the case and two in the floor.  The two in the floor blow over the 3.5″ drive bays to improve cooling.  There aren't any exhaust fans included in the system but you could easily switch some of the fans around or add further fans if you feel this is necessary.

The overall installation process is relatively simple, thanks in part to the clearly illustrated manual.  First of all we installed a ATX motherboard into the case which required us to screw in three further motherboard standoffs.

You'll need to bear in mind that there isn't a CPU cooler backplate cutout in the case so the CPU cooler needs to be attached before installing the motherboard into the case.  The case supports motherboards up to 138mm in height.

Installing expansion devices into the system isn't as straight forward as most cases as you have to remove a small cover from the back of the case to access the screws securing the expansion slots.  The case supports graphics cards up to 13.6 inches in length.

Next we installed the PSU into the system which requires four screws through the back of the case.  One of the most disappointing aspects of this case is the lack of cable routing options available.  Unlike a conventional case which has space behind the motherboard tray for cable routing, the motherboard sits on the floor of the case in the GD07 so all the cables have to pass over the top.

We managed to achieve a tidy build considering the lack of cable routing options.  If you put in a reasonable level of planning and have a few hours to spare, we expect that you could create a good looking system build.

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