Value and Conclusion
- The SilverStone KL07E has an MSRP of US$129.99 excl. taxes.
- Fairly quiet under load
- Good temperatures under load for a sound dampened case
- Updated sound dampening material provides more airflow
- Positive air pressure setup
- Three 140 mm fans included
- Fan bracket in front for easy assembly
- Removable dust filters on all intake areas
- Velcro strips for easy cable management
- Tool-less HDD system for both 2.5' and 3.5" drives
- Can hold up to six drives
- 360 / 280 mm thick radiator will fit in front
- Solid metal shroud on the bottom of the chassis
- Easily detachable top and front cover - no buttons, LEDs, or plugs are attached to them
- Feels a bit dated
- Not cheap
- Complicated expansion-slot mechanism
- 2.5" hard-drive trays feel somewhat flimsy
- No zip ties included
- Lots of plastic on the exterior
- Power and reset buttons hard to find without looking for them
- Very simple exterior design may not be for everyone
Overall, the SilverStone KL07E provides a good balance between sound dampening and performance. The biggest concern when performing this review was the fact that the underlying chassis itself has been out on the market for a considerable time by industry standards. It is unusual for a brand to hold unto both the design and the tooling/frame of a case for that long.
Even by today's standards, the KL07E manages to provide a good balance between noise and temperatures—especially for a case that offers only three fans. That said, there are numerous classic cases out there with more fans that end up being just a tad quieter, simply because the internal components remain cooler and thus don't emit as much noise, due to their inbuilt fans running at lower RPM. Naturally, the experience can be slightly different for everyone due to the different system setups that are possible.
SilverStone did update a few things from the original KL07, with the most noteworthy being the new sound dampening material, which is dense and compact in comparison to what was previously used. But on top of that, there are a few subtle tweaks as well - from the black USB-A ports to the native USB-C implementation, SilverStone has also simplified a few things by removing the shroud cover plate and making the HDD cage immovable. Besides those changes, everything else has essentially stayed the same, so you still get the benefit of completely detachable covers, dust filters on all areas and the aging but useful cable management alongside the tool-free assembly process.
Ultimately, the evolved KL07E is a good case, but it feels like it will have a harder time really shining in a pretty specific niche today, compared to six years ago.