Detailed Exterior Features

For the most part, the outside of the Cooler Master Sileo 500 follows a standard mid-tower case design. There are, however, a few features worth pointing out and examining in a bit more detail.

First up is the finish of the front panel. As I mentioned earlier, Cooler Master went with an aluminum front bezel coated with a brushed black finish. The finish and material is also used for the drive bay covers, a design that helps differentiate the Sileo 500's exterior from that of a budget case.

Below the 5.25" bay covers, you'll find the exterior 3.5" drive bay and the front I/O ports. The USB and audio ports come as no surprise, but it's great to see that Cooler Master included an eSATA port as well. Of course, given the design, the front I/O ports can be removed completely and replaced with a third-party solution if desired.

Moving on to the bottom of the Sileo's front panel, we find the power button, reset button, and hard drive LED. The power LED sits just behind the power button and illuminates the entire length of translucent buttons in blue light.

Finally, a closer look at the side of the Cooler Master Sileo 500 reveals a series of vents. It's not much, but should be enough to feed the 800rpm 120mm fan. Any larger and the vents would threaten the Sileo's silent design.

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