SilverStone Primera PM01 Case Review

The SilverStone Primera is a new style chassis that focuses more on custom computer builds than simply a box to hold your hardware.  It still has many traditional design queues from the smaller half side window to the front mounted intake fans.  The chassis is covered in some high quality glossy black paint and all of the plastic panels are glossy to match.

Turning the case around you will notice a standard case layout with a single 140mm fan location near the I/O and seven expansion slots matching a typical ATX motherboard.  At the bottom of the case is the power supply.

Normally the side windows in a computer case are cut to only show areas of interest inside the system.  The window on the PM01 doesn’t take up the entire side panel but is large enough to show the entire motherboard area.

Of course, the window could be cut to only show the motherboard area however if you did that you’d miss the excellent power supply cover and screened version of the Silverstone logo. 

While the outside of the case is covered in glossy black paint the interior surfaces feature a dull matte finish that does a great job at defusing light and resisting scratches.  There isn’t much to say about the interior layout of the Primera PM01 because there isn’t much to it.  Your motherboard will install towards the left and the area to the right, which is normally reserved for external and internal drives have been eliminated. 

Instead you will find several holes for cable management and a large accessory rail for watercooling gear and additional mounting locations for SSD drives.

A nice thing about having a PSU cover or “basement” section to the case is that it completely separates the motherboard from the powersupply and drives.  This not only makes the build area extremely clean but also creates two thermal zones for better cooling.