SilverStone Redline RL05 Review: A Beautiful Budget Case With Great Airflow
Introduction
SilverStone is a well-known manufacturer when it comes to computer cases. They are known for making high quality computer cases that vary greatly in design and purpose. We recently reviewed the Precision PS11 and Precision PS13 which are designed for budget users and both performed exceptionally well for its price.
Today we are looking at the Redline RL05 which is a sturdy quality budget case that incorporates a wide range of features such as flexible storage options, two front USB 3.0 ports and a USB Type-C port, space for high performance graphics cards, and support for various cooling configurations. SilverStone's Redline RL05 comes in two versions, one with a black trim on the front panel (RL05BB-W) which is the one that I will be reviewing and another one that has a red trim on the front panel (RL05BR-W). The RL05 is designed to let you build a high-performance system with plenty of storage, extra graphics performance, and superior cooling and ventilation.
At $59.99, the front panel of the RL05 is plastic and the body is made out of steel which is what most cases are made out of and it also has a big side window. The RL05 is the most beautiful budget case that I have seen. The interior is painted all back and it has a nice clean look to it that is stylish. The case comes with a front, bottom and top removable dust filter but they feel kind of cheap but nevertheless, it's better to have them than not to. It also comes with plenty of room for installing graphics cards up to 14.7 inches, a full size ATX PSU and an ATX motherboard up to 12” x 10.2”.
It is obviously not targeted at the extreme enthusiast crowd but it feels well made and durable. The RL05 is designed for both air and water cooling. If you are going the air cooling route, it supports up to five fans total. It comes with two 140mm pre-installed fans on the front, you can install one 120mm at the back and two 120/140mm on the top. If air cooling isn't your thing, you can install one 120mm or 240mm AIO cooler on the front, one 120mm/240mm/280mm at the top and one 120mm AIO on the back.
Specifications
| SilverStone Redline RL05 Specifications | |
|---|---|
| Manufacture: | SilverStone |
| Model: | SST-RL05BR-W(black with red trim + window) SST-RL05BB-W(black with black trim + window) |
| Material: | Plastic Panel, Steel Body |
| Motherboard: | ATX (up to 12" x 10.2") , Micro-ATX |
| Drive Bay: | External - 5.25” x 1 Internal - 2.5" or 3.5" HDD x 2, 2.5" x 2 |
| Cooling System: | Front - 120/140mm fan slot x 2 (includes 140mm LED fan x 2), 80mm slot x 1 Rear - 1 x 120mm fan slot Top - 2 x 120/140mm fan slot |
| Radiator Support: | Front - 120mm x 1 / 240mm x1 Rear - 120mm x 1 Top - 120mm x 1 / 240mm x 1 / 280mm x 1 |
| Expansion Slot: | 7 |
| Front I/O Port: | USB 3.0 Type-A x 2, Type-C** x 1 Audio x 1 MIC x 1 |
| Power Supply: | Standard PS2(ATX) |
| Expansion Card: | Support graphics card up to 14.7", width restriction - 6.4" |
| Limitation of CPU cooler: | 165mm |
| Limitation of PSU: | 220mm |
| Net Weight: | 5.9kg |
| Dimension: | 210mm (W) x 465mm (H) x 450mm (D), 44.9 Liters |
Packaging
The case comes in a cardboard box and on the front of the box you see the name 'Redline Series RL05' in huge bold text and on the back you have the basic technical specifications of the case. The case is 210mm in width, 465mm tall and 450mm deep and weighs 5.9 kg.
When opening up the package, you are presented with a high density foam that securely holds the case in place and it is wrapped up in plastic to prevent any accidental scratches during shipping.
Along with the case, you will get a quick start guide that has all the information that you need to know about the case along with a plastic bag that has all the screws.
Design
Looking at the front, we can see the big side window which is the main feature of this case. The side window is big enough that you can see everything inside and it's bigger than in most cases. This is the black version of this case but there's also a red version with red stripes down the front grille. The entire front is a mesh panel which seems to be the norm nowadays. On the back, you will see the seven expansion slots, a bottom mounted power supply and also a 120mm fan location. The side panels are secured with thumbscrews at the rear of the case.
The interior is simple but feels solid for a case that is aimed at enthusiasts. When you remove the front panel, you will see that the RL05 comes with a removable dust filter. The same dust filter is used on top, bottom and front. The dust filters feel fragile and cheap but at least SilverStone includes them. Inside you will see a full length PSU cover that is designed to separate the PSU heat from the rest of the system which can also be used to hide the PSU cables for even better cable management.
You can install CPU coolers with a maximum height of 165mm and for reference, the Noctua NH-D15 is exactly 165mm so it should fit fine. When removing the side panel, we see a big cut out which helps when installing the CPU cooler and there are plenty of cutouts for easy cable management but there are no rubber grommets. On the back of the case, you will see two 2.5” brackets for SSDs which can be re-positioned.
You can install two 120/140mm fans on the top or one 120/240/280mm AIO cooler. SilverStone includes two pre-installed 140mm LED fans that are designed to generate positive pressure.
The tooless drive cage at the bottom can hold two 3.5” drives. There's also a removable thin sheet of mesh that filters dust coming the power supply fan. The RL05 supports a standard ATX power supply up to 220mm in length.
There are two USB 3.0 ports, headphone and microphone jack which are all located on the right side. The power and reset buttons are located on the left and are sort of hard to press. The RL05 comes with a tool-less design 5.25” drive bay and above it, you will see a USB Type-C port.
Comparison
| Cases Tested In This Review | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Model: | SilverStone RL05 | SilverStone PS11 | SilverStone PS13 | Corsair SPEC-01 | Price: | $59.99 | $53.99 | $39.99 | $49.99 | Warranty: | 1 Year | 1 Year | 1 Year | 2 Years |
| Weight: | 5.9kg | 4.825kg | 3.36kg | 4.8kg | Form Factor: | Mid-Tower | Mid-Tower | Mid-Tower | Mid-Tower |
| Dimensions: | 210mm x 465mm x 450mm | 215mm x 426mm x 481mm | 182mm x 426mm x 400mm | 447mm x 200mm x 428mm |
| Motherboard Support: | ATX (up to 12" x 10.2"), Micro-ATX | ATX (up to 12” x 11”), Micro-ATX | ATX (up to 12” x 11”), Micro-ATX | Mini-ITX, MicroATX, ATX |
| Fans Included: | Front: (x2) 140mm | Front: (x1) 120mm | Front: (x1) 120mm | Front: (x1) 120mm |
| Power Supply: | ATX (not included) | ATX (not included) | ATX (not included) | ATX (not included) |
| Material: | Plastic Panel, Steel Body | Mesh Panel, Steel Body | Plastic Panel, Steel Body | Plastic Panel, Steel Body |
| Maximum GPU Length: | 373mm | 412mm | 348mm | 414mm |
| Expansion Slots: | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 |
| External Connections: | USB 3.0 Type-A x 2, Type-C** x 1 (x1) Audio (x1) Mic | (x2) USB 3.0 (x1) Audio (x1) Mic | (x2) USB 3.0 (x1) Audio (x1) Mic | (x1) USB 2.0 (x1) USB 3.0 (x1) Headphone Port (x1) Microphone Port |
All the cases listed above are made for the budget user so with that being said, this will be a good way to see which case offers the best cooling performance. We'll be comparing the Redline RL05 against the Precision PS11/13 and Corsair SPEC-01. The Corsair SPEC-01 and PS11 can accommodate video cards up to 414mm/412mm while the RL05 and PS13 can accommodate video cards up to 373mm/348mm. Corsair's SPEC-01 comes with 2 years of warranty while the SilverStone cases come with only 1 year. All four cases have a front panel made out of plastic while the body is made out of steel.
Test Methodology
| Test Setup | |
|---|---|
| Processor: | Intel i7 3770K @ 4.4GHz 1.24v |
| Motherboard: | Asus Maximus V Gene |
| RAM: | Kingston HyperX 8GB |
| Graphics Card: | MSI R9 380 |
| Storage: | Samsung 840 Pro 256GB |
| Power Supply: | Antec HCP 850W |
| Heatsink: | Noctua NH-U12S |
| OS: | Windows 8.1 64Bit |
| Thermal Compound: | Noctua NT-H1 |
| Case: | SilverStone RL05 SilverStone PS11 SilverStone PS13 Corsair SPEC-01 |
To test the airflow performance of these cases, we will be testing the temperature of both the CPU and GPU during idle and load phases. We will also be testing the cooling performance of the case with an Intel Core i7-3770K overclocked to 4.4Ghz at 1.24 volts. This will be a good way to test the airflow performance of these cases because we all know that Ivy Bridge runs hot once overclocked and it outputs lot of heat.
All of the testing is done with an ambient temperature of ~19C. RealTemp will be used to monitor the temperature of the CPU and Prime95 (Large FFTs) will be used to deliver the full load to the CPU for 20 minutes. We'll run FurMark for also 20 minutes to put as much load into the GPU as possible.
Idle temperatures will be measured after leaving the computer idle for 20 minutes. CPU-Z will be used to verify the CPU speed and the voltage being used in Windows 8.1 and GPU-Z will be used to monitor the temperature of the video card.
Results
When measuring the temperature, you have to account for the margin of error which is less than 3 degree Celsius.
The PS11/PS13 and SPEC-01 come with one 120mm pre-installed fan while the Redline RL05 comes with two 140mm fans.
The cooling performance is fantastic with the Redline RL05 and the PS11 performs great as well.
In idle, the CPU temperature was 35 degree Celsius while under load it was 70 degree Celsius which is 2 degree Celsius cooler
than the PS11 and 4 degree Celsius than the PS13 and 5 degree Celsius than the SPEC-01.
Moving on to the GPU temperature, the Redline RL05 once again performed very good.
Under load, the temperature was about 1 degree Celsius cooler than the PS13 case and 2 degree Celsius cooler than the PS11 and 3 degree Celsius than the SPEC-01.
The cooling performance is not very good with the Corsair SPEC-01 case.
Overall, the airflow performance is fantastic with the SilverStone RL05 case.
Conclusion
I am very impressed with the features and cooling performance of the RL05. Remember that this is a budget case so it won't blow anyone away but nevertheless, it is a well designed case with plenty of features with only a few flaws. The side window is big enough that allows you to see the entire case which is great since most budget cases have a small window. The PSU shroud can be used to route your cables and block the heat from the PSU. The build quality and design is sturdy and elegant and it was easy to work inside case.
The two LED 140mm pre-installed fans are silent and do a good job moving the air.
You can find the RL05 for $59.99 on Amazon and as we saw on the previous page,
the RL05 offers fantastic cooling performance.
The RL05 supports up to five fans total which is plenty but if you are into water cooling, you can install an AIO cooler from 120mm up to 280mm.
The tooless design of the HDD cage makes the installation a breeze.
Pros:
+ Cable Routing
+ Room For Full Size Graphics Card
+ Two LED 140mm Pre-Installed Fans
+ Nice Big Window
+ PSU Shroud
+ Aesthetically Pleasing
Cons:
- Dust Filters Feel Cheap
- No Rubber Grommets
SilverStone makes high quality cases and the RL05 is no exception.
They have done a great job designing the RL05 and there's only two little things that bothered me with it.
I would have liked to see rubber grommets and better quality dust filters but at $59.99, you can't really complain.
Overall, the SilverStone Redline RL05 is a great case for budget users with room for large graphics cards, ATX motherboards, and an ATX PSU.
Final Score 9.0
