Cooling Performance

System Used:

AMD X2 3800+ @ 2.6Ghz
Arctic Cooling Freezer 64Pro
2GB Corsair XMS @ 520Mhz
DFI Lanparty SLI-DR Expert
EVGA 8800GTS (stock)
Samsung Spinpoint 250GB
Silverstone Decathlon 850W

Room Temperature: 24.2°C









Idle and Load Performance



While we don’t have anything to compare this to since this is the first review using our new testing methodology, it looks like the Kublai provides ample cooling for all of the components. An increase of about 7°C in ambient temperatures is a very good result considering the amount of heat being generated by the components when they are under load.

Since we are using the cooler-running of our two 8800GTS cards, (the other one is no longer in its stock form) getting a comparison on GPU core temperatures is a bit hard but they seem well within the norms and actually a bit cooler than what we have experienced in the past with this particular card. Overall, it looks like the KL02 is a great choice if you are looking for good airflow in a relatively compact case.


Airflow & Noise Analysis

With the two included 120mm Silverstone fans, there is plenty of air movement within the KL02 since both fans move a surprising amount of air through the chassis and thus cool off your components pretty well. It is also very important to remove any of the plastic hard drive caddies you are not using since they impede airflow from the front 120mm intake fan. Also, if you choose to add the optional 120mm side fans, you are set up for one of the best-cooled mid-tower cases on the block.

While the amount of noise (or lack thereof) is quite subjective, there are certain sounds that will register as annoying to almost anyone’s hearing; something like….a vibrating front panel for instance. Well, the perforated aluminum panel which covers the front 120mm fan vibrates and rattles like no tomorrow if it is not installed in exactly the right way. After a bit of trial and error, you will find the right positioning but the fact this happens in the first place is not a good mark for Silverstone. All that needs to be added is a couple of rubber stoppers to absorb the vibrations and the problem would be fixed at the manufacturing level. Other than that small annoyance, the noise output of the fans never rose above that of the fan on our Arctic Cooling Freezer heatsink.