Clever engineering



This isolation technique build into a case by default is simply the most innovative on the market, intended for cooling as heat is conducted through the thick aluminum enclosure, vibration isolation as it’s suspended by thick rubber straps, this moist be a costly implementation for Arctic Cooling, but an astute piece of engineering.



Given today's HDD platter rotation speeds it makes perfect sense to isolate these devices, whether your isolating the drive from the system environment or the system from HDD vibration, this makes perfect sense on so many levels. In an extreme albeit morbid example, the isolation technique may help in the event of an Earthquake?



The T2 is all about silent operation and cooling. The PSU doubles as a cooling device (exhaust) similar to other cases albeit unintentionally in many of those examples. In this case (pun intended) Arctic Cooling designed the PSU to bear a large burden in the cooling process through its twin temp controlled fans. In fact all four case fans are temp controlled and actually work which is evident in the temps on the last page. Air is drawn down through the PSU and out the vents located just below it. This is accomplished via the PSU's obvious over powered (for a PSU alone) twin-fans. These draw heated case air through the PSU and aid in the overall cooling process. The image below is taken from Arctic Cooling's Silentium T2 page to aid in explaining case air-flow.





Insofar as PSU location in the front area of the case, an AC modular extension is required to get power to the unit. Note the vents in the bottom of the case these located at the rear are the primary intake and source of cool air for the Silentium. Originally I thought the PSU also doubled as an intake device since it also has vents beneath it. While this may fly in the face of basic thermodynamics the front vents in the case floor (under the PSU) are in fact exhaust vents. One major criticism is the lack of any dust filters. The case is elevated on a "vented" base, however; the floor is where most dust accumulates.



Working up from the AC in extension and intake vents PCI/VGA slots utilizes a locking mechanism to secure your add-in cards. This quick-snap's into place securing the cards without the need for screws.



Further up at the rear of the case we have the twin exhaust fans which are responsible for evacuating the bulk of the heat produced by your system devices. The air circulation in the Silentium T2 is a bit convoluted. I thought about using smoke to test the air flow; however, thought it best not to set off hard-wired smoke alarms in my building. Still the idea is intriguing for future tests.