The SilverStone SETA A2 has a bit of an interesting looking price point of $168.88 - it seems that it was important to have three eights in the price for a bit of good luck? That is actually a perfectly adequate price point for the chassis, given its material mix and components included. One could argue that the bare case with four fans and GPU support would be able to fetch around $120. For added bang for your buck, that integrated PCB with the move to PWM fans could also be thrown into the mix for something like $129.99, so having a $38.88 premium to include the 4 HDD cages doesn't seem unwarranted.

SilverStone has managed to find a good balance with this body frame and the design details and included features. It manages to reproduce the iconic look of the A1 perfectly, but improves on it with a vented front for better airflow, as well diffused ARGB elements. While we do mourn the switch from aluminium to steel, it seems that was a necessity to provide venting. The rest of the exterior also feels very cohesive and right in line with the asking price, from the metal top with its cleanly embedded fully featured I/O and black USB-A ports, to the vented side panel, clean glass panel and full-size pull out dust filter on the underside.

In the interior, the SETA A2 impresses with that very clean cable management, which includes pre-wired cables to aid you in achieving a nice final look. While you already get up to four storage possibilities behind the motherboard tray - SilverStone also includes a stack of four cages for an additional eight drives. This is where that cohesion feels to fall apart a little bit, as the vast majority of those eyeing the SETA A2 will likely not need any of these, but would still have to bite the bullet to pay for them. Instead, SilverStone could have offered this as a separate SKU - ideally with other cases of theirs using this body in the future also benefiting from the availability of such an accessory. While the A1 also offered above average storage options, this just feels like overkill on so many levels: it blocks airflow from the front fans, gets in the way of long GPUs and the full glass panel means you have to look at these on a daily basis.

Another issue is the pairing of RPM based fans with a fan hub which can exclusively control PWM fans via the motherboard interface. Whether this is an oversight or not, it puts another real damper on the out-of-the-box experience. Luckily that PCB is still useful for your additional fans, and you could solve the issue of the RPM fans by buying a 4-way splitter cable, which will set you back just a few dollars.

The last two paragraphs are also the reason why the SilverStone SETA A2 skids by an Editor's choice recommendation. Looping back to that $120 price suggestion mentioned in the beginning, that was exactly the MSRP of the original SETA A1 when we reviewed it over four years ago. This further underscores that the SETA A2 included component choices are an unusual deviation that also results in that higher price instead of being a pure, clear successor, targeting the same user base.

Even so, the A2 can wholeheartedly be recommended, specifically for those who want and need all that storage. The reality is, those who don't will likely not see the need to spend nearly $170 for a case.