There has always been a tradeoff between cooling and fan/case noise. Typically the louder the fans, the better the cooling system does. No one wants a jet engine sitting next to their desks. When modding first came to the main stream there were many braggers boasting how loud their case was, granted the cooling performance of their highly overclocked systems did better than most. While modding is still taking place, the tradeoff between cooling and noise has diminished.

Mainstream manufactures such as Dell and HP have come up with ways to silence the computers they sell. They typically use a duct system to the rear exhaust fan with a large heat sink on the processor. This works pretty well, but other noises still emanate from the innards such as hard drive sounds as well as the occasional noisy fan.

CoolerMaster approaches the noise issue in the Sileo 500 in much of the same way that car/home audio enthusiasts do; by adding sound dampening material to the inside. The material's construction and shape traps the sound waves before they can escape the case, but does the material lead to an increase in temperatures in this mighty mid-tower? Read on to find out.