Silverstone ML03 Home Theatre PC case review

Silverstone ML03: Conclusion

The ML03 is a good choice for those looking to build a home theatre PC on a budget. However, its lack of noise insulation ideally means it requires low-noise hardware, so you may not be able to simply reuse the old kit from your desktop PC if you want a quiet system.

On the plus side, though, the build-quality is solid, and you also get some good extras such as the front-mounted USB 3 ports, magnetic fan filter and metallic-look fascia.

Our only main criticism is that the whole case needs to be 3-4cm longer to ease the stress of fitting an optical drive, and we'd have preferred a stealthed 5.25in drive bay too. You might have to bring your own fans to the ML03, but at least it's well-ventilated without looking too much like a cheese grater. If you can live without an optical drive, then that would cut down on some stress, while also providing space for an extra hard drive.


Of course, it's not as convenient as a full size chassis when it comes to PC building, but the slimmer design is far better suited to the space under your TV. Besides, with the new kit coming from both Intel and AMD in 2011, plus the mammoth choice of NAS boxes these days, there's barely any need for a full size HTPC chassis any more.

The Silverstone ML03 is not without its quirks, but it's still a solid, affordable HTPC case.

• Features
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• -
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• 7/10

• Design
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• x
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• -
• -
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• 7/10

• Cooling
• x
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• x
• x
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• x
• -
• -
• -
• 7/10

• Value
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• -
• 9/10

• Overall
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• -
• -
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• 7/10