Packaging

    The packaging for the case is just in a brown box with "Silverstone Technology" on the side. A cost effective way to advertise your product. On the inside is the case held into place with foam blocks, and all other hardware wrapped in plastic. Included with the case are an 80-watt external PSU along with 2 PCI riser cards, 1 at a 90 degree angle and 1 as an extender. Also included is a small bag of hardware and an allen key.

Outside

    The outside of this case is slick and somewhat sexy looking, having a black finish and 3 air vents trimmed in silver on top, along with an embossed Silverstone logo. A nice extra touch is the beveled edge around the lid. This breaks up the all-black look of the case. The power switch and 2 LEDs are also on top.

   The front of the case is plain with a simple curve to break things up. The front cover for the CD-rom is held in place with a magnet, which keeps the door from falling open. The sides of the case have air holes towards the rear for ventilation, and also included on the left side are USB, Firewire, and audio ports. At the rear of the LC09 are openings for the motherboard ports and 1 PCI slot opening.

   Also on the outside of the case there is an external connection for the PSU. The external PSU converts the 120v AC to 12v DC. The external PSU only has a rating of 60w and 80w peak. That means when you first turn on the computer a surge of power is needed to help spin up fans and motors. This surge can not peak more than 80watts. The 12v DC then connects to the internal PSU. I'll talk about that later on in the review.

Front	Logo	Side air holes
Rear	External ports	Flip down door
Top	Power switch	Nice feet

Inside

    To gain access to the inside of the case, first remove the 6 allen head screws securing the case lid to the main body. Once the lid is off and in your hands, flip it over. You will notice the foam dust filter covering the vent holes.

   On the inside, the first thing noticed was a circuit board. This board is the power supply. I know you are saying "Wait a minute, but this comes with an external PSU." Well, you are correct: the external PSU is an AC to DC converter. The internal PSU is a DC to DC converter. The power coming from the external PSU will be 12v DC; that power hits the DC-DC converter and then gets split into the proper voltage to run the motherboard and components, 12 and 5v. For component connections there are 2 Molex and 1 FDD  plugs.

    To the left of the converter is the shelf that holds the slim CD or DVD drive. Under that shelf is the area for the hard disk drive... a full size HDD. The other items in the case are the USB/Firewire/audio board and the power switch with 2 LEDs.

Filter mesh	On the inside
Internal PSU	Optical/HDD area