SilverStone Grandia GD04

Examination:

From the exterior the SilverStone Grandia GD04 does not look too different from some of SilverStone's other cases that are designed for media centers. The case really is not flashy at all but is quite simplistic, which we like and fits well especially within a home theater cabinet. On the front of the Grandia GD04, the lone 5.25-inch drive bay slot is exposed while below that are the power and reset buttons. SilverStone provides a black drive color that can be stuck onto the front of the optical drive so that it fits and matches well with this HTPC enclosure. Unfortunately, SilverStone does not make it easy if you wish to not use an optical drive at all to cover up the bay.

Occupying the left hand side of the front panel that is made of aluminum is SilverStone's logo, the two USB 2.0 ports, and two audio ports. Unfortunately, SilverStone has yet to really start providing eSATA ports on their computer cases. For now, it is not too much of a deal with the lack of eSATA integration, but in the future it will become more important.

On the left side of the Grandia GD04 is a 120mm intake fan that's protected by a fan filter and there is also a small area further back on the chassis for additional ventilation. On the backside of the SilverStone Grandia GD04 is room for two 80mm exhaust fans above the I/O panel, four expansion slots that align with a microATX motherboard, a standard power supply mount, and above the PSU mount is fifth expansion slot. This expansion slot can be used for any fan controllers or other peripherals that do not actually depend upon a PCI/PCI-E connection. The GD04 boasts a standard power supply mount and can accommodate power supplies up to 180mm in length.

On the right side of the GD04 are two 120mm fans that are pre-installed and covered by fan filters. These fans push air directly towards the motherboard and CPU socket area. Underneath the GD04 are the feet for this case, a 120mm fan intake area for the power supply that is covered by a fan filter, and a stamping that this case was made in China.

When opening up the SilverStone Grandia GD04 there is a bracket for supporting the single 5.25-inch drive bay and then another bracket that is used for supporting up to three hard drives. Removing both of these brackets is required when installing the motherboard and other hardware. It is also necessary to remove these brackets when cleaning the intake fan filters on the left and right sides. The internal layout of the GD04 is simple yet effective. There is sufficient room in front of the micro ATX motherboard area for adequate cable management.