SilverStone Grandia Series GD07 HTPC Case Review

A Detailed Look – At the Inside

Removing the top panel exposes the insides of the GD07 HTPC chassis.  The internal layout places the motherboard towards the left-rear, PSU to the right-rear and a large removable drive cage that spans the full width of the case across the front.

The drive cage is secured with six screws. Once the screws are removed the cage assembly lifts out via the included handles. You can clearly see the three included 120mm intake fans in the photo above.

Looking in towards the back we see the backside of the rear panel, with the power supply located against the left side, 7+1 expansion card slots in the middle and the two 80mm exhaust fan openings on the right.  The vented expansion card slot covers are held in place with machine screws, which means all the installed expansion cards will also be securely locked down.  Threaded stand-offs are used to mount the motherboard with patterns to accommodate Micro-ATX, ATX and Extended-ATX form factors.

The large GD07 drive cage is unique. It is designed to hold a combination of 5.25”, 3.5” and 2.5” drives.

The GD07 drive cage is divided into three main sections. Two 5.25” bays are located at each side; two with a horizontal orientation and two with a vertical orientation. There is room for four 3.5” drives in the middle but if you use one or more high-end graphics adapters (longer than ~9”) that extend into the central HDD storage area, then you will have to leave room and plan accordingly.  In addition, two 2.5” drives can be mounted under the top panel of the drive cage over on the left side.  Cutouts are provided in the top of the drive cage to allow access for connecting cables to the 2.5” drives.

Note, there is an optional mounting location for one 3.5” drive on the side panel in front of the included 120mm fan.