SilverStone ML04 & ML05 Slim HTPC Cases Review
by E. Fylladitakis on April 18, 2014 2:30 PM EST- Posted in
- Cases/Cooling/PSUs
- HTPC
- SilverStone
- desktops
Silverstone Milo ML05 Interior
Unlike the Milo ML04, the interior of the ML05 has been sprayed black as well. It is made from the same 0.8mm SECC steel, which is more than adequate for such a small case. As expected from a design of such proportions, the interior is not exactly roomy but the desktop format allows for direct access to all of the components. There is a small support bar, the use of which feels a little redundant, as it is only 3cm away from the massive multipurpose bracket. A small drive cage can be used to hold up to four 2.5" drives, which should be plenty for such a small system.
The multipurpose bracket has four functions, but sadly it can only be used for a single one of them at a time. It may be used to hold a slim optical drive, two 2.5" drives, one 3.5" drive, or a 120mm cooling fan. As there is already room for four 2.5" drives on the cage next to the PSU, the second option feels redundant for such a case. Unfortunately, the user has to select between optical disks, a 3.5" device, or extra cooling. We should also note that only slot-loading optical drives can be installed in the Milo ML05. The purchase of such a drive is optional but Silverstone sells such devices and provided us with one for this review. Not that it matters, but it is somewhat funny that "Drive by Toshiba/Samsung" is printed on the box of the optical drive whereas we found an LG drive inside.
Another limitation of the Silverstone Milo ML05 is the PSU. Due to the proportions of the case, an ATX PSU obviously won't fit, so Silverstone designed the ML05 with an SFX PSU compartment instead. This is a more versatile option than having a proprietary PSU attached to the case, but the selection of SFX PSUs is rather limited. Silverstone provided us with one of their best SFX units, the ST45SF-G, an 80Plus Gold certified PSU capable of continuously outputting 450W. Such a unit however will burn a $94.99 hole in your wallet and it's probably overkill for such a low-power system. The modular connectors also add depth to the unit and the cables will be tightly pressed against the HDD cage. Most Milo ML05 users would be far better off with a simpler PSU for half the money, such as the ST30SF. If however you are planning to fit a tiny powerhouse inside the Milo ML05, the option to go with a high-performance PSU is available.
The Mini-ITX board fits comfortably in the Milo ML05 but the cables will be a pain to manage. Even with the simple system we are using to depict the installation of components inside the case, the cables cause chaos above half the motherboard. A low profile expansion card may be used, or a single-slot full size expansion card with the use of a riser. If a full size card is used, coolers taller than 36mm will not fit beneath it -- and that's assuming that the card has no cooler or components extruding from it at all. We would strongly suggest sticking with onboard options over discrete graphics, or at most use a low profile GPU. Depending on the budget, the Milo ML05 can house anything from a low power Atom/Brazos-based up to a rather powerful Haswell/Piledriver-based setup, which ought to be more than enough for the intended use of such a system.
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Voldenuit - Sunday, April 20, 2014 - link
My bad, confused the two model numbers - the ML04 is the bigger one and does indeed have provision for a riser card (although if I understand correctly no riser card is bundled), and any card installed on said riser can only be single slot in width.Also, for some inane reason, the riser is oriented the wrong way and blocks off the CPU cooler, which is almost as bad as not having a riser at all, IMO.
Daniel Egger - Sunday, April 20, 2014 - link
Nowadays the main problem doesn't seem to be getting good low profile cards but cards which only need one slot as even the new Maxwell cards tend to require 2 full profile slots. So even if you have a case that supports a riser card you'll only have a single slot available...I very much gave up on the very small cases and instead opted for a somewhat big Lian Li PC-C50B. There're only a very small number of cases in desktop format that support a dual slot full profile card *and* a 5 1/4" drive...
rogueninja - Sunday, April 20, 2014 - link
Hot damn those are some ugly chassis. Never put meshes out of nowhere. It's either you make the entire panel a mesh, or nothing.billobob - Monday, April 21, 2014 - link
With the advent of the steam box and overall slow but steady advance of controller living room PC gaming, you can't really view HTPCs as exclusively media players anymore. In fact, given the nature of people building their own PCs in the first place, I'd argue its pretty damn common. With the rise of cheap streaming boxes and other appliances the number of people building media-only HTPCs is probably on the downswing.It would be nice to see some real thermal and noise testing as you'd do for a conventional case. A passive low watt test for media only use, and active test with appropriate components (ie midgrade mini-ITX or mid-premium ATX GPUs depending on the case). Sound is even more important because as someone who games with a computer in my living room, ironically the best noise data out there is for huge gaming cases.
MichaelD - Monday, April 21, 2014 - link
I recently built a low-power HTPC in the ML04. This case was exactly what I was looking for. Very plain front panel, same size as most HT-type equipment, locking front door and the lockable power button was icing on the cake. This case is definitely a PITA to build in, but I knew that from reading the online reviews. I run the OS off an SSD. Media is either streamed from the net or from my NAS. Stock Intel HSF and two silent 80mm case fans and you cannot hear it from more than 3 feet away. IMO, this is the perfect HTPC case for people that actually want a case as opposed to a tiny NUC-type device that you mount with Velcro to the back of the TV.plonk420 - Tuesday, April 22, 2014 - link
nice @ having a dimmable LED. i have the ML03 and i had to tape some thick paper over my HDD LED as it would flicker off the wall in front of the HTPC (which was right below as well as on my DLP projector's screen)another ghetto rigging i did was i replaced the 40 or 60mm fan on my E-350's heatsink with a twist-tied 120mm Arctic Cooling F12 Pro (PWM) to blow down onto the heatsink. it's ridiculously quiet.
wheat_thins - Monday, April 28, 2014 - link
I have been out of the HTPC loop for awhile. What's the opinion on front end these days? Is XBMC still being updated? Are people doing windows media center? I just want a box that I can easily control with just a remote or mini keyboard + trackpad that can stream movies, pictures, mp3's from my local NAS. Native Netflix, Pandora, Youtube, Weather apps would be a bonus so I would not need a keyboard.sirizak - Tuesday, April 29, 2014 - link
Xbmc is still going strong, I've recently built 2 HTPC's in the ML05, running Xbmcbuntu Linux. Not sure about Netflix but I believe there is an addon for Pandora, definitely has YouTube and weather support. PVR support has come a very long way as well now. Using an flirc adapter and a harmony remote. Very easy to use and versatile.sirizak - Tuesday, April 29, 2014 - link
Recently built a Htpc in the ML05 to replace a tivo which has shut down in Australia.MSI H87I, Pentium G3220, harmony remote via flirc adapter, Sony playtv tuner, running Xbmcbuntu. Working very well, and much more versatile than the tivo.
The ML05 is not terribly pretty but it's small size means it doesn't attract attention which was the real goal.