SilverStone Seta Q1 Review | PCMag

You had one, no, make two jobs of it! The primary missions of any desktop computer case (beyond housing your system parts, of course) are to keep noise in and heat to escape. Other features like EMI shielding can also be important, but we’ve seen too many chassis that lay the groundwork in the wind to enhance the style. SilverStone’s $219 Seta Q1, a mid-case designed for quiet operation, makes no such compromises. One reason is that with all the silence sheets lining the case, there’s simply nowhere to put windows or any other trivial trappings. This is a serious black box for serious PC builders, and it serves both purposes well.

The design: enjoy the silence

SilverStone does not miss any specification when it comes to the size and capacity of this chassis. At 19.4 inches tall, the Seta Q1 is a true mid-tower that deserves that designation, despite some similarly tall gaming cases with other names. And with room inside for a 13-inch-deep motherboard, there’s no need to overdo it: SilverStone mentions SSI-EEB compatibility, which is just a server spec for the same size 12 by 13 inch card.

(Photo: Molly Flores)

The Seta Q1’s front panel ports are located on the front edge of the top panel and include one USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C port, two USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A ports, power and reset buttons, and an audio jack handset for which the company does not provide a headphone/microphone splitter cable. Behind, the steel top panel features diamond-shaped vents covered from below with a removable noise-cancelling sheet.

(Photo: Molly Flores)

On the back are ATX’s standard seven slots, a pair of additional slots for anyone who wants to mount their graphics card vertically on a riser cable (not included), and a 140 m exhaust fan. mm with slotted brackets for vertical adjustment and a second set of brackets that provide a 120mm fan option. Depth measured from the center of the curved front panel is 19.4 inches, with the +2 slot mount adding an extra half inch.

(Photo: Molly Flores)

Peeling off the face reveals a central flex-latch dust filter surrounded by ducts that extend to the side edges. The baffles between the central slot and the side ducts are probably intended to reduce reflection noise.

(Photo: Thomas Soderstrom)

(Photo: Thomas Soderstrom)

Baffles alone wouldn’t kill noise if it could just bounce from one hard surface to another, so SilverStone puts a sheet of damping material on the back of the face in this multi-piece design.

Another dust filter covers about half of the bottom panel and slides out from its rear edge.

(Photo: Thomas Soderstrom)

(Photo: Thomas Soderstrom)

Like the side panels, the top panel is covered with a bitumen damping sheet with a fabric face. Unlike the side panels, the top panel damper is removable, thanks to a plastic backing glued to the lid via magnetic strips.

Loaded with two 140mm intake fans and one 140mm exhaust, the Seta Q1 supports up to three 140mm fans in the front and three 120mm fans or two 140mm fans on the the top.

(Photo: Molly Flores)

Inside the Seta Q1 are three holes in the power tunnel for easy cable routing, two adjustable brackets for mounting water pumps and/or reservoirs, and enough space to mount a radiator 32mm thick behind the front fans and/or a 50mm thick radiator. Heatsink/fan combo above the top edge of the motherboard.

(Photo: Molly Flores)

The top panel fan mounts are also offset to provide horizontal clearance from the motherboard of 30mm to 48mm when installing a radiator with fan sizes of 140mm or 120mm, so feel free not to take into account the overlapping of components if necessary. Things won’t be as tight here as in many other cases with upper radiator mounts.

(Photo: Molly Flores)

SilverStone says the Seta Q1 will support power supplies up to 250mm deep, but those willing to sacrifice some front heatsink space will find a second set of mounting tabs that allow the drive cage slide forward an additional 30 mm. In addition to the drive cage, two 2.5-inch trays reside above the power supply tunnel at the rear of the motherboard tray.

(Photo: Molly Flores)

Removing and reinstalling the bottom drive cage may be necessary to fit some very long power supplies, as the cage has a protruding edge that might otherwise block the path. The cage itself supports two 3.5-inch drives, mounted via included shoulder screws on anti-vibration grommets.

(Photo: Molly Flores)

The Seta Q1 comes with a warranty sheet, enough extra motherboard spacers to support a full E-ATX motherboard (13 inches deep), various motherboard and drive mounting screws (including the type of shoulder needed to prevent damage to the 3.5-inch drive cage eyelets), two pump/reservoir mounting brackets, and a separate set of hardware for mounting various liquid cooling devices.

(Photo: Thomas Soderstrom)

Chassis cables include the standard LED and button cluster, a Gen 2 cable for the front panel USB-C port, a Gen 1 cable for the front panel USB Type-A, and an HD audio cable for the combo jack on the front panel. .

(Photo: Molly Flores)

We were able to keep the FSP Dagger Pro 850W power supply from our previous review thanks to its long cables and the inclusion of an old-school PS/2 adapter plate, but switched to the Asus ROG motherboard. Maximus IX Hero to fill in some of the vast space inside the Seta Q1. To preserve the case’s top panel noise dampening, we removed one of its included intake fans to install Corsair’s iCue H100i RGB Pro XT in the front.

(Photo: Thomas Soderstrom)

Seta Q1 review: thermal performance

Here is an overview of the complete test setup for the Seta Q1. We haven’t tested another silent PC case with our current hardware, so the comparison case here will be the smaller Lian Li A4-H2O.

The quiet-engineered Seta Q1 kept CPU temperatures surprisingly close to the tiny Lian Li case when both were closed, but the non-cramped quarters certainly caused temperatures to drop on the open platform. Keeping this latest data will make less sense as we move towards comparing cases of similar size.

Airflow over the voltage regulator was a concern we had with the front mounting of our liquid cooling system in the Seta Q1, as the top panel placement generally pulls more air over these heatsinks. The smug results you see here have allayed our concerns.

The only surprise was an apparent heat buildup surrounding the graphics card during regular testing (closed case) of the Seta Q1. It’s almost as if the exhaust fan is sucking air up and over the board with none passing past the board fans…hmmm.

We were hoping for at least 6dB of noise reduction given the SilverStone’s advanced front panel design, but we’ll accept 5dB as adequate proof of concept.

We were surprised to see more noise coming from its right front corner than its left corner, and can only attribute the 0.3dB difference to our SPL meter being better aligned with the angle of its right vent.

Verdict: Effectively quiet

The ability to quiet noisy hardware with minimal temperature sacrifice is a clear win for the SilverStone Seta Q1, and it’s safe to put this case under at least a few desks. While deploying the upper fan mounts for a second 360mm radiator requires you to remove one of the noise dampers, the cavernous space for a 360mm front-panel liquid cooling system ​mm offers a great build opportunity for those who choose to add even more cooling power.

(Photo: Molly Flores)

In short, you have plenty of options with this heavy, sound-dampening chassis. Its plain looks won’t be breathtaking, but this case is all about stealth, and by that measure, it’s a calm and cool customer.