Your computer case is the first thing you or anyone else sees when looking at your build. There was a point when in order to have a good looking case with a tempered glass side panel, you would have to spend a pretty penny on your case alone. However, those days are a distant memory thanks to companies such as Silverstone and cases such as the focus of this review, the Silverstone Fara R1. The Silverstone Fara R1 is a mid-tower chassis that can fit a full ATX motherboard and any high-end graphics card up to 322 mm, depending on your cooling solution. However, measuring in at 207mm (W) x 446mm (H) x 390mm (D), and 37 Liters the Silverstone Fara R1 Pro won’t leave a massive footprint on your desk. However, smaller cases can be a bit tricky when building your PC, especially if you plan on getting into water cooling. With smaller cases, you really have to think ahead and spec out your build carefully. Usually, when I do a build I go for a full custom loop. This is generally why I tend to lean towards larger or even open-air cases. But with advances in AIO coolers over the past few years, I definitely see the appeal of small cases. We set out to see what kind of build we could put in the Silverstone Fara R1 Pro, without sacrificing performance of course. So, how was our experience building in the Silverstone Fara R1 Pro? Let’s get into the review and find out.
ThinkComputers would like to Thank SilverStone for providing us with their Fara R1 for review.
Specifications
| Model No. | SST-FAR1B-PRO (Black, tempered glass, ARGB fans) | |
| Material | Steel, plastic, tempered glass | |
| Motherboard | ATX, Micro-ATX, Mini-ITX | |
| Drive bay | External | — |
| Internal | 3.5″ x 1 2.5″ x 4 |
|
| Cooling system | Front | 120mm x 3 / 140mm x 2 (120mm x 3 ARGB fan included) |
| Rear | 120mm x 1 (120mm x 1 ARGB fan included) |
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| Side | — | |
| Top | 120mm x 2 / 140mm x 2 | |
| Bottom | — | |
| Internal | — | |
| Radiator support | Front | 120mm / 140mm / 240mm / 280mm |
| Rear | 120mm | |
| Top | 120mm / 240mm | |
| Bottom | — | |
| Internal | — | |
| Expansion slot | 7 | |
| Front I/O port | USB 3.0 x 2 USB 2.0 x 1 Combo audio x 1 |
|
| Power supply | Standard PS2(ATX) | |
| Limitation of expansion card | 322mm with front fan installed, width restriction – 170mm | |
| Limitation of CPU cooler | 165mm | |
| Limitation of PSU | 160mm with 3.5″ drive cage installed | |
| Net weight | 5.37kg | |
| Dimension | 207mm (W) x 446mm (H) x 390mm (D), 37 liters 8.15″ (W) x 17.56″ (H) x 15.35″ (D), 37 liters |
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Packaging
The Silverstone Fara R1 Pro comes in a standard cardboard box. The box has the Silverstone logo printed on the top left-hand corner, with a depiction of the front of the Fara B1 below the Silverstone logo. To the right of the logo is the Fara R1 product branding. The back of the box is the exact same as the front of the box. So technically, this may be the back of the box.
The Silverstone Fara R1 comes wrapped in plastic and set in hard styrofoam. I am really not a fan of hard styrofoam. When hard foam is damaged, it makes a mess when unboxing a product. However, the foam in the packaging was not damaged. This tells me that the case was handled properly during shipping, for the most part.