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 ML04 and ML05 HTPC Enclosures: Introduction
Silverstone is well-known among technology enthusiasts, and while they offer a great selection of technology-related goods, cases and virtually everything enclosure-related are their specialty. The company offers a very impressive selection of such products, and for variety we decided to have a look at their low-profile HTPC products; even then, Silverstone had over a dozen from which to choose.
We requested they send us two of their most popular slim HTPC cases and Silverstone responded by sending us the Milo ML04 and the Milo ML05. The former is Silverstone's entry level HTPC offering, capable of holding up to Micro-ATX motherboards, while the latter is its smaller cousin, designed for Mini-ITX motherboards. As with most similar products, both of these cases are non-standard designs that have been developed specifically for use in living rooms, each with their unique features, strengths, weaknesses and limitations.
The following tables summarize the most important specifications of each case:
| Silverstone Milo ML04 | ||
| Motherboard Form Factor | Micro-ATX | |
| Drive Bays | External | 1 × 5.25" |
| Internal | 1 ×2.5" 2 × 3.5" | |
| Cooling | Front | - |
| Rear | - | |
| Top | - | |
| Side | 4 × 80mm (none included) | |
| Bottom | - | |
| I/O Port | 2 × USB 3.0, 1x Headphone, 1x Mic | |
| Power Supply Size | ATX | |
| Clearances | HSF | ≈70mm |
| PSU | ≈140mm | |
| GPU | - | |
| Dimensions |
350mm × 440mm × 105mm (D × W × H) 13.78 in × 17.32 in × 4.14 in (D × W × H) |
|
| Weight | ≈4kg (8.8 lbs.) | |
| Price (without tax/shipping) | ≈56.5 EUR / 74.99 USD | |
| Silverstone Milo ML05 | ||
| Motherboard Form Factor | Mini-ITX | |
| Drive Bays | External | Slot Slot-Loading (not included) |
| Internal | 4 ×2.5" | |
| Cooling | Front | - |
| Rear | - | |
| Top | 1 × 120mm (not included) | |
| Side | 2 × 80mm (none included) | |
| Bottom | - | |
| I/O Port | 2x USB 3.0, 1x Headphone, 1x Mic | |
| Power Supply Size | SFX | |
| Clearances | HSF | ≈70mm / 37mm |
| PSU | - | |
| GPU | - | |
| Dimensions |
204mm × 350mm × 99mm (D × W × H) 8.03 in × 13.78 in × 3.9 in (D × W × H) |
|
| Weight | 2.1 kg (4.62 lbs.) | |
| Price (without tax/shipping) | ≈32 EUR / 39.99 USD | |
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Meaker10 - Friday, April 18, 2014 - link
Wow F-I90HD, that brings back memories, one of the first generation of performance based uATX options.homer_pickett - Thursday, October 9, 2014 - link
I agree, it does bring back memories. But I don't get how it's going to stand a chance on todays market. /Homer from http://www.consumertop.com/best-desktop-guide/britjh22 - Friday, April 18, 2014 - link
I think the MLO5 set up with the ASRock AM1H-ITX, Kabini Athlon 5350, a SSD and just use the DC in with a laptop power brick would be an awesome media front end for a basic FreeNas setup. That Keep the budge fairly low since you don't have to worry about SFX PSU's.johnny_boy - Saturday, April 19, 2014 - link
There are much better options if you don't need the graphics power of the 5350, which you wouldn't for freenas.teldar - Saturday, April 19, 2014 - link
Have it. No case. Just a bare power switch, while thing mounted on lexan on back of tv. Motherboard gets hot with the dc in. But a good little computer. Using 120gb crucial m500.DanNeely - Friday, April 18, 2014 - link
(all switching PSUs are extremely efficient if the magnitude of the load is below 20% of their rated capacity).this is backwards; very low (or high) loads result in inefficient performance, although with the newest efficiency standard specifying performance levels at 10/90% the efficient operation range is being forced wider (there's not much room left to improve in the middle any more).
E.Fyll - Friday, April 18, 2014 - link
That actually was a typographic mistake on my part (efficient instead of inefficient). It has been corrected. Thank you.Samus - Friday, April 18, 2014 - link
Ive been using an ml05 for awhile with a Pico PSU (90w) and a Brazos E350. Ive been looking into upgrading the board (and CPU) for awhile but keep putting it off hoping for more sub-20-watt desktop CPU options, although the new AMD A1 at 25watt is on the hot list right now. It seems to be the natural successor to Brazos, which to this day is still surprisingly competent.jlockheart - Friday, April 18, 2014 - link
I like the smaller size of the Milo ML04, constraints can sometimes make you more creative. For the full PCI slot above the motherboard I wound up using 4-port USB and ran the cables back to headers on my mobo. Also made good use of the VGA knockout with a spare half height AMD 5450.Brainonska511 - Friday, April 18, 2014 - link
A few years ago, I built my htpc system with an ML03b case. Looks to be the same design as the ML04, minus that weird faceplate on the ML04. It's been pretty solid. As far as airflow, I threw 2 quiet 80 mm fans on the side mounts, to help pull some air through the case. As for the noise the system produces: between the Scythe Big Shuriken heatsink (120mm slim fan), 2 80mm fans, and a PSU fan, I can't really hear it in a silent room if I'm more than 3 feet away. If you're watching something on TV, then any noise is drowned out completely.