SilverStone ML05 - The Mini-ITX HTPC benchmark Review

Published by Christian Ney on 24.10.13
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Conclusion

General   + -
The SilverStone Milo ML05 left a very good impression. With the ML05 one can build a small but powerful Mini-ITX Home Theater PC without breaking the bank. We really like the design, the size and the selling price of the thing. Overall the case is very good but there are a few little things that could have been easily improved.   - Design
- Price
- Form factor
- Room for improvement
 
Manufacturing quality / Ergonomics   + -
The manufacturing quality is very good, our sample didn't have any flaws and was well finished. Overall the ergonomics is well thought but there are a few things we the manufacturer could have done different. SilverStone ships its case with only one dust filter when there two vent grills. The dust filter provided is very handy but a second one for the power supply vent would have been more than welcome. We found the I/O cables a bit long, which is not a big deal per se but it makes the cable management a bit more complicated.
The ML05 features a drive cage capable of housing up to four 2.5" drives. This one is handy, well done and very easy to move but there is something missing. The cage is very tight, you have less than one millimeter between the cage and the drive itself. Therefore if you have some noisy drives like the ones we used it is not possible to fit noise cancelling rubber in-between. The solution is to use SSDs or mod the cage. Alright it's a cheap case but SilverStone could have done the cage a tiny bit wider or even provide the case with a noise cancelling cage. We are pretty sure we are not the only ones around here seeking for a silent HTPC.
  - Manufacturing quality
- Dust filter
- Multipurpose bracket
- No dust filter for the power supply vent
- I/O cables length
- drive cage
- Hard wire ties
 
Design   + -
As we previously said we really like the design, especially the front made of plastic and acrylic. The only design flaw we see is regarding the dust filter. It is not disturbing or a big deal but it breaks a bit the design when the magnetic dust filter is placed on the top of the case.   - Front - Dust filter
 
Recommendation / Price   + -
With a selling price of only 37 Euros the Milo ML05 from SilverStone is a bargain. The price is very good for what you get. We obviously recommend the ML05 for a small Mini-ITX Home Theater PC build. The ML05 can even be used as a small office PC.   - HTPC
- Small office PC
- Gaming PC
 
Rating
The SilverStone Milo ML05 receive 4.5 out of five stars.
 






Page 1 - Presentation
Page 2 - Building the HTPC - Setup and Software
Page 3 - Building the HTPC - Part I
Page 4 - Building the HTPC - Part II
Page 5 - Noise and Thermal Testing
Page 6 - Conclusion





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SilverStone ML05 - The Mini-ITX HTPC benchmark Review - Cases - Reviews - ocaholic